No one has ever questioned whether Ice Cube is a leader within the hip-hop nation. The matter has always been one of agenda – from his days as founding member of N.W.A to his fiery solo offerings such as the 1990 album AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted and 1991's Death Certificate. For all of its poetic and musical brilliance, Death Certificate was
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especially blasted by the media for its overt anti-Semitic and anti-Asian sentiments. With the death of Tupac Shakur, Ice Cube is one of the few rap artists of the post-Public Enemy era still capable of truly making you think, even if you don't agree with a word he says.
Westside Connection, a trio composed of Cube and the rappers WC and Mack 10, is the West Coast's answer to what the group believes is years of "criticism and disrespect" from the East Coast, specifically smug-ass New Yorkers. And, like the last great Cali quake, The Chronic, by Dr. Dre, Bow Down is da bomb. With the street wit of "Gangstas Make the World Go Round" (which clevetly draws on the Stylistics classic "People Make the World Go Round") and the infectious hook of "Bow Down," Cube, WC and Mack 10 – a k a "the Gangsta, the Killa and the Dope Dealer" – are determined to tell heads that the "Westside is the best side."
But while Bow Down is in the tradition of representin' the Cali lifestyle – the cars, the women, the violence, the parties, the French braids and the khaki pants – to the max, "All the Critics in New York" is sure to draw the most attention. It is the biggest dis of hip-hop's official birthplace ever put on record. Tipped off by a voice admiring the skyscrapers of the Big Apple, Ice Cube cuts in and barks his reasons why, "Y'all niggas a never get our respect again." Backed by a bass-heavy groove, Westside Connection blast New York rap journalists, cultural markers like baggy jeans and backpacks, and the style of borough-by-borough call and response. (Few listeners will probably care that Cypress Hill, who are from Los Angeles, are viciously ripped in "King of the Hill," which recalls the heated antagonism of "No Vaseline," on Death Certificate.)
Unfortunately, with "All the Critics in New York," Westside Connection aggravate the breakup of the rap community in the wake of Shakur's murder and with the ongoing feud between Bad Boy Entertainment's Sean "Puffy" Combs and Death Row Records boss Marion "Suge" Knight. In spite of its genius and Ice Cube's attempt to air the West Coast's feelings openly and honestly, Bow Down may be the most ill-timed rap record in history. (RS 749)
KEVIN POWELL
