Dubcnn: Exclusive Video Interview With Ice Cube Online Now!!

[Nima - Dubcnn.com]

www.dubcnn.com



Since Ice Cube is dropping his new album "I Am The West" on September 28th, it's only right that he connected with the West Coast News Network, dubcnn, for an exclusive interview to discuss the project. We met with Cube on the set of his video shoot to "Too West Coast" with WC and Young Maylay and he tells us about the making of the album, differences to his last one "Raw Footage" and his expectations.

We also speak about the artist-fan relationship, which has completely changed with the digital age where artists are in direct contact with their audience.

Cube tells us about the planned Dr. Dre tracks that didn't make the album, the E-A Ski and DJ Quik collaborations and why sometimes things do not go as originally planned when recording an album.

He also tells us why he never tried to stop his sons Doughboy and OMG (who are also featured on two songs on the album) from rapping, and what made him want to feature Young Maylay on the album.

Check out all that and much more in our exclusive video interview with Ice Cube:

Exclusive Video Interview With Ice Cube (September 2010)

"I Am The West" in stores September 28th.

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

I'll watch later, but did you ask him why put southern-sounding tracks on the album when he said before it was going to be strictly a west coast record?

[cubedogg]

You all worry to much about that. Just get the album and skip the tracts you dont like.

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

You all worry to much about that. Just get the album and skip the tracts you dont like.

Well for one I don't bother buying albums I don't consider consider at least an 8/10.

Secondly, Cube blatantly lied to us when he when was criticizing west coast rappers for trying to sound southern and he said his record was going to be strictly west coast. I want to know why.

[B.A.]

You all worry to much about that. Just get the album and skip the tracts you dont like.

Yeah I guess I could do that but I rather have an Ice Cube album that has a consistent westcoast sound throughout the whole thing so I don't have to skip passed half the album. I wouldn't even mind him making some bad westcoast songs but at least he's keeping it westcoast (I could live with that), but when he's making some terrible south songs that shit just aint right. Just think, if the other half of the album instead of sounding south sounded westcoast (on the same level as the other westcoast songs that are already on the album) the album could be near classic. It's funny how when Cube did Raw Footage he had no problem with having a south feel throughout the whole album, but then when he says that "I am the West" is going to be strictly westcoast about half of it still has that generic-ass south sound, and then he still names it "I am the West"? I think that's part of the problem why the west isn't getting as much attention right now. Snoop tries to have that south sound on his albums, Cube does too, a lot of the leaks that were on DUBCNN of possible songs that would be on Game's album also had a south sound to it. These are 3 of the main rappers we got reppin for the west and half the time they sound like they repping for the south. Look at Too Short, he had his formula down for making his albums, we all knew what to expect from him and love the style he brought to the west and then he started going south with it. Kurupt and Daz have done this too, Cali Iz Active and 100 Wayz both had some classic westcoast bangers on them but the momentum of the albums got fu@#ed up when the south songs come in (100 Wayz had less of a south sound though). Quik and Kurupt's Blaqout, the first half was for the most part solid westcoast, just what we'd expect but then the album fell off when it got to the second half. There is some thing wrong with all of this. You don't hear south artists randomly throwing in some straight up westcoast song in the middle of their albums (with poor results). How do westcoast artists expect to get back on top when even the O.G.'s are sounding like the south. You know hardcore south fans aren't checking for Cube or Snoop or whoever from the west to give them the south shit they want to hear, they got their own dudes for that. Out on the westcoast we want to hear some straight westcoast shit specially from the O.G.'s so we go buy one of their albums and end up getting mixed bag of songs many of them sounding way out of place. I mean they started this gangsta shit and now this is the muthafu@#!ng music we get? You don't hear Nas, Common or Jay-Z do that shit, they do what they do. So no, it's not cool at all when I hear Cube do this, specially because he's independent so he can do what he wants to do without someone over him telling him what he should sound like. But yeah to get back on topic, I guess I will just skip over the songs I don't like, I have no other choice. My bad for going off...

[doggfather]

good work, thank you!

[kuruptDPG]

Dubcnn: It also makes it harder to adapt to change. Like I remember on one of your blogs you had announced that Dr. Dre would be on the album and later you said that he wouldn't be. People were like "What's going on? Why isn't Dre on there?"

Ice Cube: Well you know, when you first start working on music, you feel like some of it is going to make it here and some of it is going to make it there. We never got a chance to finish the music, and if we didn't get a chance to finish it, then it's just a track that's sitting there, half done. So we've got 2 or 3 tracks that's sitting there like half done! When he calls, I'll finish it. It won't make my record, not this one, but you know… I think people will take a Ice Cube and Dr. Dre record any chance that they get.

Dubcnn: What was the last one, "Hello"?

Ice Cube: Yeah the last one was "Hello".

Dubcnn: That's 10 years ago!

omg what the hell? just get a random producer or someone here from the forums to finish it off lol

Dubcnn: We posted the album sampler on the site a few days ago and people were wondering what had happened to the DJ Quik and E-A Ski beats that you were supposed to get?

Ice Cube: Yeah I got stuff from them too. The songs really didn't fit this album. E-A Ski's track is going to be released on iTunes, it's called "Pros vs Joes" and that's going to be released as a bonus track on iTunes. I put together albums, I don't put together producer lists. I wouldn't care if I did get a beat from Dre or any of the top producers, if it didn't fit the album it's not going on the album! That don't mean it ain't never going to come out, but it just didn't fit this record.

i bet you they so did fit this album 110% lol, its quite dissapointing but we got the ski trak to here, cant wait

[acgrundy]

I haven't listened to the sampler.  I only watched the I Am the West music video, and the song was decent.  I hope I like the album.  I really liked LNCL as far as newer music goes.  Raw Footage I only gave 1 listen to...but I really did like the song Gangsta Rap Made Me Do it.  Hopefully I like this album.

[G-Bee]

I don't really get Cube.. This is what he says about his last album:

"With "Raw Footage" I felt that we were in a critical year. This was before Obama was elected, so we didn't really know where the country was going, Bush had fucked everything up, we didn't know if McCain was about to come in and continue it."

So now Obama's in office and he is basically continuing Bush's legacy, and what does Cube do?

"This record is just fun, it's just Hip-Hop, B-Boy shit. It ain't big on political commentary or nothing, it's just big on rhymes, dope beats and celebrating who we are."

I don't know about you, but to me, that's just plain dissapointing...

[Dre-Day]

Dubcnn: We posted the album sampler on the site a few days ago and people were wondering what had happened to the DJ Quik and E-A Ski beats that you were supposed to get?

Ice Cube: Yeah I got stuff from them too. The songs really didn't fit this album. E-A Ski's track is going to be released on iTunes, it's called "Pros vs Joes" and that's going to be released as a bonus track on iTunes. I put together albums, I don't put together producer lists. I wouldn't care if I did get a beat from Dre or any of the top producers, if it didn't fit the album it's not going on the album! That don't mean it ain't never going to come out, but it just didn't fit this record.

if southern stuff fits, then everything fits

[Laconic]

Props on the interview.  Cube makes a lot of interesting points.  Can't wait to pick up IATW.  I'm expecting another solid record minus a few tracks.  Definitely going to support this.

[terrymak]

Fuck the West...jk lol

[jonathandubcnn]

Awesome Nima!!!!

[doggfather]

I don't really get Cube.. This is what he says about his last album:

"With "Raw Footage" I felt that we were in a critical year. This was before Obama was elected, so we didn't really know where the country was going, Bush had fucked everything up, we didn't know if McCain was about to come in and continue it."

So now Obama's in office and he is basically continuing Bush's legacy, and what does Cube do?

"This record is just fun, it's just Hip-Hop, B-Boy shit. It ain't big on political commentary or nothing, it's just big on rhymes, dope beats and celebrating who we are."

I don't know about you, but to me, that's just plain dissapointing...

you said somethin!

[CHICANO RAP CHANNEL]

GOOD INTERVIEW