It’s only been 2 years since Ice Cube’s last album, which is a much shorter gap than between previous Ice Cube albums. So it seems Ice Cube is intent on keeping a firm foothold in the rap game with this release which has been creating a buzz ever since “Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It”(watch video here) was released back in January. Ice Cube said he was going to come really political and hardcore on this album. Did he stick by what he said?
The album gets off to an indifferent start with “I Got My Locs On” featuring Young Jeezy, this song seems like it would fit more on a Jeezy album with the southern style beat and hook but Cube holds up well with the beat. The album then goes into some songs with real food for thought including the aforementioned “Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It”, “It Takes A Nation”,, “Why Me?” (one of my personal favorites) and “Hood Mentality” (where Cube attempts to look at the mind state of young people in the hood), then there’s the cocky “Jack N The Box” where Cube claims to be the “greatest” and reminds us what we would be missing if it weren’t for him. There are one or two tracks that seem designed for the club, like “Do Ya Thang”. And some really nice tracks like “Tomorrow” where Cube talks about the effect of illegal downloading of music and “Get Use To It” featuring WC and Game which is basically just a West Coast battle cry. “Stand Tall” doesn’t seem like it would work because of the beat which doesn’t seem remotely Cube-esque but it ends up being one of the strong points of the album. And the album goes out on a high with the brilliant Butch Cassidy assisted “Take Me Away”.
Overview:
Overall the album is a really decent offering as there is some really raw lyricism on here, some thought provoking subject matter and Cube’s delivery is amazing and exactly what you would expect from Cube with that “pyroclastic flow”. That being said, Cube didn’t seem to stay fully committed to having it as a fully political and hardcore album as there are one or two tracks that just don’t seem right for the album and some that don’t even seem like Ice Cube tracks. The production is really good for the most part but there are some are a couple of generic beats that take away from the album. We knew we were weren’t going to get another “Death Certificate” because at 39 years old, Cube just isn’t in that mind frame anymore, but he does still deliver with an album that is perfect for this time in hip hop, gets the brain working and is definitely worth buying.
Overall Rating: ★★★★☆
The Hip Hop Post 
August 19, 2008 at 2:43 am
my name is Djay Cas and my partner Yung Fokus and I produced “Take Me Away”
thanks for the great review
http://www.pmpworldwide.com/djay-cas
August 20, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Ice Cube’s Raw Data: An opinion of a somewhat purist.
For starters, up to this album, i did like Ice Cube and i’ll still listen to his older albums. They are surely better than this.
Now, What Is A Pyroglastic Flow starts the album with a hardcore sounding poem, which is a nice touch. But before the album dropped, everybody talked about how Ice Cube is going back to the ol’ days and make this album political, hardcore and before all, raw… But is I Got My Locs On really what you would label as political or conscious? “And you can’t see my eyes. And you can’t see my eyes…” What the fuck? When did Ice Cube stoop top Soulja Boy’s level? And this song doesn’t even sound like Ice Cube. I understand that Jeezy brought his worn-out samples to make this track, but this isn’t the only track on the album that sounds like Dirty South.
It Takes A Nation is also disturbing. “There are 7 known wonders of the world. You about to witness the eight.” That is a stupid punch line. I’m sorry, but it is. Besides, what about producer 9th Wonder? Whould he start yelling out isht like that? Someone once said that ‘a good rap album of today is a one, that doesn’t talk about cars’. Well, Ice Cube just can’t skip the car-part and even talks about his wet paint, like he is a stunt double for Mike Jones or something. Maybe Chrome And Paint was enough?
Gangster Rap Made Me Do It is an instant classic. No badmouthing on that track.
Hood Mentality is the first song that has some real meaning. Again, southern samples and he even sounds like southern rapper, but at least this song has a point. “If you don’t wanna shake that hood mentality, how the fuck we supposed to change our reality?” This i can dig.
Why Me? sounds better than previous songs.
Cold Places uses same southern samples that were on I Got My Locs On and well, on at least 1/10 of southern rap songs.
Jack N The Box is just stupid. His head is so big that they call him Jack in the box? I still call him Ice Cube. And again, southern samples. And slowing down your voice when saying “Jack In The Box is also a southern thing, cuz is makes the song sound like it’s screwed and chopped. Lyrics like “The whole industry had to bite my style” sounds like sarcasm, because it seams like he is biting style of Jeezy, Wayne, Rick Ross and so on…
Do Ya Thang… I’m sounding like a broken record, but isn’t “Dipping wit dat wood grain” Trae’s saying? And “So fucking hood that they call me the boogie man.“… Now seriously, WHO calls Ice Cube the boggie man?
Thank God starts off with Ice Cube saying that everybody blames Gangsta Rap. He overdoes that shit and doesn’t say WHO blames gangster rap. Starts to seam like a gimmic, because i wouldn’t exactly label Raw Footage “Gangsta”. At 1:44 when Ice says “Better go change your battery” faster than rest of the track. Please tell me, that that doesn’t sound like Mike Jones.
Here He Come also has dirty south samples. This song sounds like Yung Joc, Three 6 Mafia or Trae.
Get Money, Spend Money, No Money was nice when the scratching part sayd “Yes“, but that was all. 50 Cent’s I Get Money was enough of this topic for a couple of years.
Get Use To It‘s instrumental is like a dejavu. That beeping sound and barking is familiar, but i can’t put my finger on, what song.
Tomorrow sounds better than previous songs. But talking about downloading music like it’s stealing from the rappers isn’t pushing My buttons.
Stand Tall takes me back to times when The Chronic dropped. This song really stands out. Weird how most of the album sounds like It’s from Flo Rida or some other asshole and songs like Why Me and Stand Tall sounds like something else.
Take Me Away has a west-coast sound, but the whole religious thing isn’t working. And he seams to recycle rhymes on this one: “Train ticket, Ice Cube and Obama. American dream, Ice Cube And Your Momma” Rhymes Obama + Momma can also be heard on one of previous songs.
Only good songs besides the lead single are “Hood Mentality”, “Why Me?” and “Stand Tall”. I usually don’t rate albums, but to illustrate my point i would give this album 1 mic out of 5. For an album that my friends and i’ve been waiting for months, this is bullshit. For a mainstream album, which it is, it’s better than most, but still bs. I’m sorry, but i didn’t hear any pyroglastic flow on this record. This album is a ‘banger’. There are lot of hard knock beats that are suitable for bouncing in yo whip.
But if you have a two-hour busride ahead of you and you want to listen to some intellectual lyrics and more original sound, I’d recommend Nature Of The Beast’s new album “Homeland Security” which has good vibes, ispiring lyrics and more scratching than a Dialated Peoples album.
August 23, 2008 at 1:24 pm
@ The Shadow:
I don’t think you “got” the album.. It’s like a movie.. I Got My Locs On is a reference to the album cover.. Its like the intro track “What Is A Pyroclastic Flow” is the opening sequence and “Locs On” is the credits.. It Takes A Nation is one dope ass track and you can’t critcize an album for having southern samples.. And it seems like you didn’t focus on the meat of the lyrics as such..
@ Djay Cas – Thanks and that track is dope..
August 26, 2008 at 12:11 am
@ Djay Cas – I just looked at your page and you got a lot of hot beats on there.. props..