To celebrate his 50th birthday today, Snoop Dogg just released the music video for Big Subwoofer featuring West Coast rap icons E-40, Too $hort, and Ice Cube. The video is set in the future with Snoop and his crew on a spaceship where they encounter all types of characters including a 3-boobed alien bartender. It […]
The rap supergroup is a concept that could really stand to be further explored. We can point to Jay-Z and Kanye West’s Watch The Throne album, Killer Mike and El-P’s ongoing parade around the sun with Run The Jewels, and Mos Def, Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek’s independent hip-hop triumph in Blackstar as creme de la creme examples. But is it ever really enough? The answer is no.
And if you were tuned E-40 and Too Short’s Verzuz battle last December, you’d have seen the delightfully sauced Bay Area rappers hyping that they were forming a West Coast rap supergroup with Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg. Then in April, at Triller’s Fight Club main event between Jake Paul and Ben Askren, we indeed saw the four rappers of the newly minted Mount Westmore play a new song at the end of their set. But that was it. No further announcements, no song title, no nothing. Just legit heat on the mic.
Finally today, the tireless West Coast titans have delivered as only they can, with a video for their first single, “Big Subwoofer,” of the four of them riding in a spaceship, smoking weed, and getting down with alien honeys. The video has it all, an alien in flannel crip walking on Mars while flanked by back-up dancers that look like they’re right out of the Avatar set, Snoop smoking a joint as he steers a spaceship and ray guns.
But when you clear through the space dust, there’s a banger of a single under the hood. Propped up on a familiar West Coast bass thump, the track rides on both hyphy and G-Funk production leans. Each rapper takes a turn spitting their verse with Ice Cube proclaiming that “You know me I’m up in it like a booger // then I tried the b**** like some dice and I shook her,” and E-40 stealing the show from the get go with, “She got her legs open like a field goal post // booty softer than a King Hawaiian roll.”
It might seem like there’s a comedy rap element here, but it’s obvious that the four are having a lot of fun on this track. And let’s face it, they’ve paid their dues.
Watch the video for “Big Subwoofer” above.
Most collectors of Funko Pop! action figures know the brand has collectibles for just about every form of entertainment from music to TV. The brand even has some exclusive Golden Girls Funkos. Funko has been recently beefing up their collection of music-related actions figures, and after unveiling dolls of Aaliyah and Devo earlier this year, they are now immortalizing some of hip-hop’s biggest stars.
Funko just dropped their new Vinyl Gold collection this week. Fans can now show some love to their favorite emcees by purchasing a Notorious B.I.G, Lil Wayne, Ice Cube, or Tupac Shakur Funko. Rather than having a large head and cartoonish features like most Funko figures, the rappers in their Vinyl Gold collection are more realistic looking.
Funko Vinyl Gold: Available for Pre-sale https://t.co/GRfvVGOdSl#Funko #POP #Music #Biggie #LilWayne #IceCube #Vinyl pic.twitter.com/LHDWIznmD5
— ShopPopONLINE (@ShopPopONLINE1) September 29, 2021
Each premium vinyl figure stands at five inches tall and features one of their recognizable outfits, with Biggie sporting a crisp white suit, Lil Wayne showing off his tattoo’d arms and red accessories, Ice Cube in some all-black attire, and Tupac standing shirtless with his signature bandana and Timberland boots. Biggie’s Funko is the only one with a different size option as there’s a 12-inch figure available for fans who want to make a statement.
Check out Funko’s Vinyl Gold collection here.
Today, TMZ reported the death of actor Anthony “AJ” Johnson, who was best known for his roles in Friday and House Party in the 1990s, after he was found unconscious in a store at the age of 55. Due to his roles in a number of cult classic films and TV shows throughout the decades since, he was a figure of some stature in the world of hip-hop — as evidenced by the abundance of tributes from rappers like Bow Wow, Ice Cube, and Vince Staples.
“Sad to wake up to the news about AJ Johnson passing away,” Ice Cube wrote. ” Naturally funny dude who was straight outta Compton at the same time. Sorry I couldn’t bring your character Ezal back to the big screen in Last Friday.”
https://twitter.com/icecube/status/1439970020109393921
Bow Wow, meanwhile, revealed that he owes his entire career to AJ, who picked him out of the crowd at a show in Ohio during Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg’s The Chronic tour as a child.
Bow Wow reveals that the late great AJ Johnson was the person who picked him out of the crowd and pulled him on stage in Ohio during the Dre and Snoop Dogg’s Chronic on the fateful night that led to his fame. #RIPAJJohnson #Ajjohnson #Bowwow pic.twitter.com/g0Ii53HAXt
— HipHopWired (@HipHopWired) September 20, 2021
Vince Staples, meanwhile, simply shared a clip of one of AJ’s iconic roles.
— VINCE STAPLES (@vincestaples) September 20, 2021
Among Johnson’s other memorable roles, the actor/comedian also appeared in B*A*P*S, Def Jam’s How to Be a Player, and The Players Club. He also appeared in the video for Dr. Dre’s “Dre Day” as Sleazy-E, a parody of Eazy-E, with whom Dre was feuding at the time.
Ice Cube’s began his rap career as a member of N.W.A., the Compton-based group famous for records like “F*ck The Police” and “Straight Outta Compton.” The group, which featured other notable names like Eazy E, Dr. Dre, MC Ren, DJ Yella, and Arabian Prince, first got its start in 1987. However, things fell apart in the following years, with Arabian Prince leaving the group in 1988 and Cube doing the same in 1989. During a recent interview with HipHopDX, Cube reflected on his departure as well as the weight of his decision.
“I think leaving N.W.A, that was a big risk,” Cube told Big 3 basketball league founder, who asked about the biggest risk he took in his rap career. “It could have went all bad from there after reaching the mountain top and you just kind of throw yourself off,” he added. “So that could have went bad, but it taught me how to trust myself, trust what I see and what I believe. And I was dedicated to not letting this business change who I am.”
After leaving N.W.A. in December 1989, Cube released his solo debut album, AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted, the following year, followed by 1991’s Death Certificate, 1992’s The Predator, and 1993’s Lethal Injection.
You can read Ice Cube’s full interview with HipHopDX here.
Ice Cube‘s Friday series is a classic, but the chances of getting another film in the series is apparently in doubt due to a dispute between the multi-hyphenate and the studio behind the series.
According to a Wall Street Journal story detailing the dispute, Ice Cube apparently wants Warners to surrender the rights to the Friday series as well as All About The Benjamins and The Players Club, two other films he made with the studio.
According to letters between the parties, Warner Bros. doesn’t intend to do this, instead blaming Ice Cube for dragging his feet on a new movie with the studio.
Warner Bros. replied, calling the demand “extortionate” and saying it won’t release rights to the valuable franchise or any other Ice Cube movies, according to the correspondence.
One letter from Ice Cube’s lawyer said the studio has been excessive in its feedback notes on the scripts Ice Cube wrote for the latest “Friday” and contends Warner Bros. has been a “poor steward” for the franchise. “These guys don’t get me, and I don’t get them,” Ice Cube said in an interview.
The report indicates that Cube’s other projects, such as the Big 3 basketball league, is distracting him from the next installment in the series, titled Last Friday. Meanwhile, the rapper and actor says potential discrimination in allocating resources is part of his issues with Warners.
In one letter, Ice Cube’s representative wrote that movies he has done for the studio “are habitually underfunded in comparison with projects featuring white casts and creative teams.” The correspondence points to other Ice Cube films he says weren’t well supported; it doesn’t offer specific comparisons to projects from other filmmakers.
Warner Bros. denies it has discriminated against Ice Cube or that it gave short shrift to any of his projects. In a letter sent in May to Ice Cube’s lawyer Bryan Freedman, the studio said the complaints are “grounded in a libelous set of knowing falsehoods.”
The disagreement between the two sides seems serious, and also doesn’t seem likely to be resolved anytime soon. Which means a sequel to Friday, which came out in 1995, isn’t on the horizon anytime soon. As the report noted, an agreement to make a new Friday movie was first signed in 2012. The story details some plot details the studio objected to, and the pushback that Cube gave about the film’s direction.
It’s all certainly been a long time coming, but fans are likely to have to wait even longer before any real progress is made on on Last Friday.
[via Wall Street Journal]
As live music returns in 2021, the growing list of festivals and tours being announced has a new entry from a dark horse: A new festival called Once Upon A Time In LA is gaining attention for its impressive, diverse lineup, which includes headliners 50 Cent, Al Green, The Game, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, and YG. The festival is billed for December 18 at Banc Of California Stadium in Los Angeles, as well as the surrounding Exposition Park area.
Further down the list, the lineup appears to be a similar mix of (mostly) LA rap favorites spanning the last three decades of hip-hop and the funk and soul bands that inspired the original G-Funk sound that put the West Coast on the rap map in the early ’90s. While names like Cypress Hill, DJ Quik, Mack 10, Warren G, and WC should satisfy old-school hip-hop fans, their soulful counterparts include The Delfonics, George Clinton, The Isley Brothers, Lisa Lisa, Morris Day, Rose Royce, War, and Zapp.
Meanwhile, younger fans — and those older fans who are young at heart, I guess — can enjoy newer acts like Blueface, Drakeo The Ruler, OhGeesy, and RJMrLA. Out-of-towners range from Bay Area legends like E-40 and Too Short to Clevelanders Bone Thugs N Harmony and Memphis’ own Three Six Mafia.
Once Upon A Time In LA
Register now for the presale that starts Friday June 25 10AM PT. All Tickets starting at $19.99 down. https://t.co/J7GpbOcJqE pic.twitter.com/4oKT1JlXxS
— onceuponatimeinlafest (@onceinla) June 22, 2021
Presale begins this Friday, June 25 at 10 AM PT, with payment plans available. You can find more info at onceuponatimeinlafest.com.
Hip-hop mogul Ice Cube is facing some heat right now. Reports are a former colleague has stepped forward and claimed the award-winning rap star and actor owes him royalties for uncompensated work. Ice Cube’s Ex Producer Sues L.A. producer Sir Jinx has accused the West Coast icon of hiding dues he deserves related to music […]
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