Ice Cube/ Raw Footage

I promised, and now I deliver... O'Shea Jackson's 8th album "Raw Footage". For those of you who enjoyed "Laugh Now, Cry Later", you should expect a more political album, full of Public Enemy references (necessary to succeed at social commentary). I remember the first hype for this album came with the single "Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It", everyone was hyping it up as Ice Cube's return to NWA form. Which I didn't buy in any case, since the song was on Juice's album named "Death Certificate", named after Cube. I also remember that Nas had a verse... which got cut from the album version for some reason. Is it me... or is it ironic how Ice Cube is going from R rated movies to PG-13 to PG to fucking youth movies, yet at the same time his rhymes are more revolutionary and controversial. How O'Shea still gets roles, I don't know. Let's see if this album is any good:

The Good:

2. I Got My Locs On- The beat and hook are menacing in the best way possible... Jeezy's lines are weak as fuck, but Cube delivers.

3. It Takes A Nation- Just the first P.E. reference, but once you get past that... you will notice that what Cube is saying really makes sense.

4. Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It- If you haven't heard it yet, enjoy.

5. Hood Mentality- This sounds strangely like Nas' new album.

6. Why Me?- The first verse is great, but Cube ruins it with his "white man" racist spiel.

7. Cold Places- The first great song.

8. Jack N The Box- This song bangs, whoever "Tha Bizness" is they did a great job producing this track. And Cube spits some hot shit at ya ass.

11. Here He Come- This song would fit perfectly on "Laugh Now, Cry Later", but not on this album. Regardless, it sounds good. It's funny to see how the members of "Tha Lench Mob" changed... I'm talking about you Doughboy.

16. Take Me Away- Even though this song is only average, it sounds a lot better than the shit before it.

And we're finally done. First, all the instrumental's on this album are good, some are very good, and a few are average. Second, Ice Cube probably made this whole album very quickly (a week I'm guessing), because after the second song the political rhymes get worn out. Not because I'm ignorant and need songs about money, hoes, weed, and guns... but because every other line is "Fuck the government", "Fuck Bush", "Ice Cube For President" or some sorry-ass Public Enemy reference. I wanted to love this album, but it is easily the weakest Cube project I have ever heard. As a hip hop head who admires Nas yet still respects Lil Wayne, I can confidently say: most of this shit sucks.

0-20: Terrible listening experience
21-40: Maybe one good song
41-60: A few good songs
61-80: Half are good songs, half are weak
81-100: Great listening experience, almost all are great songs

I give this album a 62. The lyrics are dull and repetitive after the first half of the album. But if you want to find out for yourself:

Download Here