MC calls upcoming I Am the West album ‘West Coast hip-hop without any apologies.’ By Jayson Rodriguez, with additional reporting by Rahman Dukes Ice Cube Photo: MTV News Ice Cube premiered his new single, “I Rep That West,” Monday afternoon (April 26) on his website , and like many of the veteran rapper’s past efforts, the former N.W.A member is taking names and snarling at sucker MCs on the track. “South Central, home of so much potential/ But if you go there, the warfare is mental,” he raps over the synth-heavy production. The song is the lead offering from Cube’s forthcoming project, I Am the West. The album — slated for July — is his ninth solo album and first release since 2008’s Raw Footage. While on a promotional run for the project recently, Cube made headlines for what many perceived as a dis toward his former groupmate Dr. Dre on the I Am the West street track “Drinks the Kool-Aid.” Cube denied the allegations, and in a blog post, he revealed that he was reuniting with Dre for tracks that would appear on his new album. The mishap, however, created interest in his project, and Cube admitted that all the buzz got him excited. While in New York last week to promote his ESPN 30 for 30 documentary “Straight Outta L.A.,” Cube spoke to MTV News about his music and the incident, which occurred during the Paid Dues Tour. “It feels good,” he said of the attention. “That’s what it’s all about. I’m always an MC that likes to stir the pot a little bit. I don’t think you should rhyme for the sake of riddlin’, that’s what Chuck [D] said. I’m excited that people are excited about it. It’s a good record. I got production from Dre, even Sir Jinx got down. If anybody looked at the credits from my old records, we used to get down a lot. To me, it’s a record that should be anticipated. The lyrics are fire, the beats are right, and it’s West Coast hip-hop without any apologies. “The West Coast has been trying to figure out ‘What does the industry want from us?’ for the last 12 years,” he continued. “No more figuring out: We do what we wanna do. And people are gonna like it or not.” What do you think about Ice Cube’s statement about West Coast hip-hop? Let us know in the comments! Related Artists Ice Cube
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Ice Cube Celebrates The West Coast On New Single ‘I Rep That West’
