WC 'You Know Me' Ft. Ice Cube And Maylay (video)

WC Revenge of the Barracuda on Big Swang/E1 Entertainment in stores March 8th

Ice Cube Celebrates 10th Anniversary Of BET At Hollywood & Highland Center

Photo links:
WENN Photo
Getty Images

Ice Cube I Am The West on Lynch Mob/EMI in-stores now!

Ice Cube - 'She Couldn’t Make It On Her Own' ft. Doughboy & OMG (video)

Ice Cube - I Am The West on Lynch Mob/EMI in-stores next week September 28th.

Ice Cube - 'Drink The Kool-Aid' (video)

Ice Cube I Am The West on Lench Mob/EMI arrives September 28th.

Ice Cube Discusses N.W.A. Movie, Dr. Dre's Detox And More

via All Hip Hop

Ice Cube I Am The West on Lynch Mob Records arrives July 13.

Ice Cube Interview On Good Day New York

Ice Cube is in town promoting the L.A. Raiders documentary 'Straight Out Of LA' which is premiering tonight at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.

Paid Dues 2010 Concert Video Recap With Ice Cube, Murs, Strong Arm Steady And More

Paid Dues 2010 happened Saturday April 3 in San Bernardino, CA at the NOS Events Center. LA Stereo TV was on hand filming this concert recap montage that spans from soundcheck to festival closer with Ice Cube.

Related:
Paid Dues 2010 Festival Concert Review
Sean Price Paid Dues 2010

West Coast Weekend Premieres Of Sorts On Both Sides Of America With Dr. Dre & Ice Cube

Today at Fenway Park, Interscope's Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre showed up for batting practice at the Boston Red Sox & New York Yankees season opener, to promote Beats by Dr. Dre Red Sox headphones and to drop new info on the Dr. Dre & Jay-Z upcoming cut "Under Pressure."

Photo link:
WENN Photo



On Saturday (April 3), the 5th Annual 2010 Paid Dues Festival hit Southern California with Ice Cube headlining the event, premiered a new joint off of his upcoming I Am The West "I Rep That West."

More Ice Cube & Jeezy At Staples Center Los Angeles, CA BP3 Show

Related:
Ice Cube Joins Jeezy At BP3 Staples Center Los Angeles, CA Show

Jay-Z BP3 Staples Center Los Angeles, CA Concert Review

As reported by Jeff Weiss / Los Angeles Times

During the recording of “The Blueprint 3,” Jay-Z’s latest chart-topping full-length, the Brooklyn-born rapper gleaned something from frequent collaborator Kanye West: how to transform album tracks into arena-sized epics. In front of a sold-out Staples Center crowd on Friday night (Friday, March 26) and backed by a 10-piece-band -- a three-member horn section, two guitarists, keyboardists and two drummers, along with backup emcee Memphis Bleek – the lyricist born Shawn Carter proved he could deliver a similar punch in a live setting. Drawing maximum response from the audience, he playfully asked them to throw their diamonds in the sky and repeatedly thanked them for their support. He even sang “Happy Birthday” to a fan holding a “Birthday Girl” sign.

Jay-Z, the hustler turned rapper turned brand name as big as the borough itself, owned the sold-out Staples Center. “This is Sinatra at the opera, bring a blond,” he rapped on “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune).” And if the spectacle wasn’t exactly Wagner’s “Ring Cycle,” at times it felt like an egalitarian equivalent. A wide demographic mix of the infamously fractionalized Los Angeles was drawn to the 40-year-old rapper who has almost single-handedly spawned the genre “classic rap.”

Many arrived dressed for a Friday night, as though they were gunning for a cameo on “Entourage.” Models clutching Gucci handbags stood among tabloid fodder, Chris Rock, Christina Aguilera, actors in Affliction tees tailed by Barbie blonds and B-boys in baggy pants. A duo donned outfits honoring the 15th anniversary of N.W.A. founder Eazy-E’s death (Compton caps and Eazy T-shirts) -- a milestone Jay-Z neglected to mention when he shouted out, “R.I.P. 2Pac, the Notorious B.I.G., Big Pun, Big L and Pimp C,” following an electrifying a capella denouement to “Big Pimpin’.”

“I can sell ice in the winter, I can sell fire in hell. I’m a hustler.”

Although he has boasted of his entrepreneurial beginnings on the street earning seed money by “flipping a record company from a half a [kilo],” Jay-Z’s renegade independent days are in the past. “I used to duck shots/but now I eat quail/I’ll probably never see jail,” he raps on "Real as It Gets." He’s the mega-star who two years ago inked a reported $150-million partnership with Live Nation Entertainment to advance his Jay-Z brand.

It’s a business that strives to be as ubiquitous as Coca-Cola or Nike. Before the show, big screens solicited the audience to “text BP3” and join the “Jay-Z movement.” Outside along L.A. Live's shrill fluorescent walkways, people signed up to win merchandise made by one of his companies, Roc Nation.

Dovetailing with his corporate successes as the former chief executive of Def Jam Recordings is Jay-Z’s consummate professionalism. One can scoff at the disconnect between his hood tales and his current stature, but there’s no denying his style, or his hits, as impressive a body of work as any rapper ever. From “Ain’t No” to “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem),” “I Just Wanna’ Love U (Give it 2 Me)” to “Empire State of Mind,” Jay-Z can fill a two-hour set with a keen, razor-sharp lyrical catalog memorized by 20,000 people. And that’s what he did, with his band teasing out the arrangements out to fulfill Carter’s orchestral, “Avatar” sized aspirations.

“I’m on to the Next One.”

Friday’s show presented the latest incarnation of Jay-Z. If his recent work hasn’t been as critically or commercially successful as his early output, it has been his grandest in scope. Other rappers have played Staples, but none with Jay-Z’s worldwide stature. Many have achieved mass appeal, but none have sustained it as long. He eggs the adoring crowd on, “I have 11 No. 1 albums.” But everyone already knows this, which is why they forked over half-a-week’s paycheck for tickets.

His only real misstep of the night was ceding the stage to Young Jeezy for a 30-minute interlude. The Atlanta emcee gamely attempted to fill the void, but in the process illustrated how difficult it is to command such a large crowd. Thankfully, a brief Ice Cube cameo to perform “Check Yo’ Self” appeased the restless.

“I’m from where the hammer’s rung, where the news cameras never come…where the grams is slung.”

The evening’s most poignant moment, a rare respite from the avalanche of explosive lights and flashing LED screens, arrived when Jay-Z delved into his back catalog, performing “Can I Live” and “Where I’m From.” The two tracks served as a reminder that despite his evolution, here was the same Jay-Z who won over first the doubters and then the masses since the summer of ’96. But as great as the original version was, it never could have sold out the Staples Center, or validated the words of “Encore,” the final song of the night, with the line, “I came, I saw, I conquered, from record sales, to sold out concerts.”

Photo links:
Getty Images
Wire Image

more fan shot footage below.











(video courtesy of Rap-Up, thehand99. & ZayNova)

Jay-Z's BP3 2010 Tour dates:

Mar 27 Las Vegas, NV - The Pearl

Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival appearance:
Apr 16 Indio, CA - Empire Polo Club

Jay-Z European Tour Dates:

Jun 4 Rock am Ring, Germany
Jun 5 Rock im Park, Germany
Jun 6 Paris Bercy, France
Jun 7 Manchester, UK - Manchester Evening News Arena
Jun 9 Birmingham, UK - LG Arena
Jun 11 Isle of Wright, UK - Seaclose Park
Jul 2 Eurockeennes Belfort, France
Jul 4 London, UK - Hyde Park - Wireless Festival
Jul 9 Oxygen, Ireland
Jul 10 Frauenfeld, Switzerland - Openair Frauenfeld
Jul 11 T in the Park, Scotland

Ice Cube Joins Jeezy At BP3 Staples Center Los Angeles, CA Show

From last night's (Friday, March 26) BP3 tour stop at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA, Jeezy performs "Check Yo Self" with surprise guest Ice Cube .

(video courtesy of Rap-Up)

Remembering Eazy E

It's been 15 years since the passing of Eric Wright better know to the world as Eazy E. Time to reflect on the life & legacy of Eazy E.

Articles found on the web:

Rolling Stone - Flashback: Remembering Eazy-E

MTV - Eazy-E 'Paved The Way,' MTV's Sway Calloway Says

Phoenix New Times - Eazy-E: What Happened After N.W.A. and the Posse?

ROC4Life - Remember the Rhyme? RIP Eazy E

XXL - Eazy-E Tribute: Alan Grunblatt, Business Never Personal

XXL - Dear Dad - Lil Eazy’s Letter to Eric Wright

XXL - Eazy-E Tribute: Tomica Wright, A Gangsta & a Gentleman

MTV - Eazy-E Remembered, 15 Years Later

Choppas On Deck blog - Eazy E-Howard Stern Interview(1993)[Audio]

Arabian Prince: N.W.A. Original Member Fact Finding Interview

via Phoenix New Times

People Don't Know: A lot of guys in the picture weren't actually making music at the time they posed on the cover.

Arabian Prince: "A lot of them, they were just homies from the neighborhood and we were like, 'Hey, we taking a photo. Y'all wanna go?' And they were like, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah,'" he says. "It was just a random photo. None of the cats, at that time, were doing anything. And any of those guys who moved on to do music after that . . . It was probably a direct thing from being on that album cover."

In fact, these dudes were put together so randomly that Arabian can't even identify the guy standing on his right.

"The guy next to me, I don't even know."



People Don't Know: "Panic Zone" was N.W.A's first single only because the group was scared to go gangsta right off the bat.

Arabian Prince: "'Panic Zone' was the first single because me and Dre came from the electro background and we knew that there was no way in hell that we were going to get any of that gangsta stuff played on the radio, and we wanted to make sure we got it to the DJs and got some radio play just so people would know we were there. And so, we were like, 'Hey, let's do some dance records' because we knew we could get this played because that's what people knew us from before," he says. "So we did 'Panic Zone' and that's what got us on KDAY [AM 1580, Los Angeles]. And, after that, once the gangsta stuff blew up, KDAY was like, 'Eh, well I guess we gotta play it if you've got the clean versions.' So we had to go back and do clean versions, and that's how it got on the radio."

People Don't Know: N.W.A. and the Posse was pretty much a scam by the group's first record company, Macola.

Arabian Prince: "The first record we ever did was called N.W.A. -- it wasn't called N.W.A and the Posse, it was just called N.W.A. -- and it was an EP with four or five songs on it. Then we left Macola Records to go to Priority Records. Macola, they were thieves at the time; they ripped everybody off. So when we left, they went back and took our EP and put a bunch of other crap on there -- that wasn't even us -- and called it N.W.A. and the Posse and turned it into an album."

People Don't Know: N.W.A.'s Straight Outta Compton lineup didn't have much street cred.

Arabian Prince: "Eazy was the only one in the hood who was really a real gangsta -- doing the drug thing, doing everything else. All the rest of us were just DJs. We were producers, we had done a lot of records, and that's how the whole thing came together. Cube wasn't actually doing anything. He was in school [in Phoenix] until we brought him back. Ren was just Eazy's boy; he lived down the street from him. And, I mean, Ren wasn't really banging, but he was probably the next closest thing to Eric (Eazy). If you had to go in order it would be Eric, Ren, then probably me and Dre because he grew up in Compton. So did I. It wasn't like we were pushovers, but we weren't no gangstas. Then I would go probably Ice Cube, then Yella. Yella was about as far from gangsta as you could possibly get. He was more close to freakin' Morris Day and the Time."



People Don't Know: Being famous is over-rated.

Arabian Prince: Arabian Prince is, was, and always will be a businessman. Unlike a lot of guys involved in the loose early days of the group -- when everyone contributed what they could in the studio (often without getting a writing credit) -- he filed lawsuits to collect his share of the group's royalties.

"I made so much money back then 'cuz I still got all my royalties off of everything. I had to sue them and do some other stuff, but I got it," he says. "I never was the cat that wanted the fame -- I've been making records since I was in school -- so I always wanted to behind the scenes. And so when I had the opportunity to kinda duck back behind the scenes, that's what I did."

Prince says he has plenty of money as a result but also doesn't fear for his safety the way so many guys from the gangsta rap scene do.

"I have no enemies. I can go anywhere, walk down the street, play golf. I can go to the mall, I can go to these events with these cats. I DJ all around the world. I just have fun, man. I think that's the life, man. You've got to be able to enjoy your money and your success and not [have] TMZ is all up in your face every time you get out of your car. Or every time you go to the club, you've got to have a bodyguard because people are trying to get after you."

Ice Cube Headlines 2010 Paid Dues Music Festival

via Dub CNN

As we drop into February we are sure you've been waiting for the long awaited annoucment of the 2010 Paid Dues Festival line up brought to you by Murs 3:16 in association with Guerilla Union.

Today Guerilla Union leaked the flyer for the biggest showcase of Independent Hip Hop talent in the festival's rich history. Over 25 acts on two stages will be performing on Saturday, April 3rd at the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino, CA. Tickets will go on-sale on February 6th at 10:00am and the official press release will be available tommorrow Tuesday, February 2nd.

Dubcnn, as ever, will be proud Media Sponsors of the event for the fourth year running - a partnership we are honoured to have with the team at Guerilla Union. The event flyer - which can be seen in full by clicking the image above showcases the full line up with headlines with Ice Cube alongside Murs & 9th Wonder.

Also on the bill are Tech N9ne, Raekwon, Tha Dogg Pound, Dilated Peoples, Psycho Realm, Necro, People Under The Stairs, Del Tha Funky Homosapien, Freeway & Jake One, Random Axe (Featuring Sean Price, Guilty Simpson and Black Milk), R.A. The Rugged Man, Strong Arm Steady, Shape Shifters and many more.

Not only that but the incredible Freestyle Fellowship will be in attendence with all the original members; Aceyalone, Mikah Nime, P.E.A.C.E., Self Jupiter and DJ Kilu.

The show will be hosted by Angela Lee, DJ Wonder, DJ Val The Vandle & Dumbfoundead with the VIP Area hosted by The LA Leakers.

Ice Cube Brings The House (Of Blues) Down In Hollywood, CA Concert Recap

photo courtesy of Timothy Norris / L.A. Weekly

As reported by Daiana Feuer at the L.A. Weekly

Twenty-plus years into the game, Ice Cube has figured out at least a few things about the rap performance. He's perfected the rapper-on-stage routine with minimal extras (no fire, video, bitches, or shirt-ripping -- just a backup dude, (WC) Dub-C, oh, and an umbrella with pre-glued droplets for one song), can make a crowd wait two hours and forty five minutes (at least) for his show without any apology. And, most important, he knows how to 'Put your back into it,' pointing at your wifey in the VIP section as romantic gesture.

Read the full concert review with more photos here:
L.A. Weekly - Ice Cube at the House of Blues: From Compton to 'Cribs'

PHOTOS:
Rex Features

Ice Cube Goes Off In Anaheim, CA Concert Recap

As reported by Nate Jackson at the OC Weekly

"Surreal" doesn't even begin to describe the feeling that comes from standing an arms length away from Ice Cube at last night's show (Sunday, Dec. 13) at the Grove of Anaheim. In the roaring darkness punctuated by flashing cameras, the aura of rap's grittiest gangster rapper-turned-actor is palpable seconds before the show explodes with blaring stage lights and gunshot blasts from the DJ booth.

Strutting on stage with longtime friend and collaborator W.C. ( Dub-C) of West Side Connection, Cube's arrival was met with a hero's welcome after an hour and a half anticipation. It has been over a year since the release of Cube's latest album, Raw Footage, and by most accounts, the Grand Wizard opted to make this a night of gangster classics, allowing his fans to relive his rise to fame hit after hit, jam after jam.
As the sub woofers of the DJ Booth blasted with bone rattling bass, Cube opened with a viable list of classics that included "How to Survive in South Central", "Hello" and "Natural Born Killaz" as a gathering storm of chronic mist rose from different sections of the shadows. At various points, Cube and W.C. were satisfied with the deafening crowd response, often pausing to salute fans with a trademark gangsta grimace. Even after almost three decades of watching Cube and his crew rap from the gut about street life and West Coast hustle, his booming voice still sent chills through the audience as he punctuated the end of venerable 90s jams like "Check Yo Self" with the night's trademark phase: "Hell mutha f**kin' yeah!"

Read the full concert review here:
OC Weekly - Last Night: Ice Cube at the Grove of Anaheim

PHOTOS:
Orange County Register

(video courtesy of mrsjimenez678)

Ice Cube: 'Straight Outta L.A.' Raider Documentary L.A. Times Article

(photo courtesy of Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

The title of (Ice) Cube's project, "Straight Outta L.A." is a play on the title of the landmark album he and gangsta rap group N.W.A. recorded just over 20 years ago, "Straight Outta Compton."

"Straight Outta L.A.," which does not yet have an air date, chronicles how the Raiders between 1982 and the team's announced departure in 1995 were embraced by gangsta rappers as hip-hop exploded on the music scene. In one of the first instances of merchandising synergy between sports teams and cultural cliques, rappers started wearing Raiders gear -- black and silver jackets, hats and hoodies emblazoned with the team's logo of an eye-patch-wearing pirate. They showed up at games, and their rowdy behavior was an integral element of the ambience that intimidated calmer fans.

Said Cube, "I thought I had died and gone to heaven when they moved here." He and others responded to the team's outsider persona. "It was like the way it was with rap. We got tired of trying to play the mainstream game. So we decided we would just do records for the 'hood."

With the success of the group and his own solo work, Cube was able to buy Raiders season tickets. He pointed to a far-off section of the Coliseum: "There they are, around the 20-yard line, about 13 rows up. We'd come with the family, and with all the homies in their gear. The crowd was everything, from rowdy to tame. If you had the courage to be here, you belonged in Raider Nation."

Read the full article here:
Los Angeles Times - Ice Cube documents Raider love in 'Straight Outta L.A.'

In addition, Ice Cube vs Rod Woodson on ESPN in a quiz about the L.A. Raiders - Silver and Black Showdown.

BET Hip Hop Awards Show Coverage with Ice Cube + Photos and Show Reports

MTV Shows

via MTV News

ATLANTA — At the Atlanta Civic Center, Young Jeezy — who often has high-profile guests to join him onstage — pulled off a huge move during the BET Hip-Hop Awards, kicking off the show by bringing out surprise guest Jay-Z. Hov and Young opened the show with "As Real As It Gets," with the two hip-hop heavyweights going back and forth on verses. With the audience on their feet by song's end, Jeezy said, "Welcome to Atlanta."

Jay later took home the MVP of the Year award, beating out such popular peers as Lil Wayne and Drake. Hov dedicated his win to Mr. Magic, Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube. "Brooklyn, we did it again," he said at the conclusion of his brief speech.

Read more of MTV's 2009 BET Hip Hop Awards Show coverage and more:
MTV News
Associated Press
SOHH
Huffington Post
Ozone Magazine
Entertainment Weekly

Photos:
Getty Images - Arrivals
Getty Images - Show
Getty Images - Audience
Getty Images - Backstage
Wire Image - Arrivals
Wire Image - Show
Ozone Mag - Arrivals
Ozone Mag - Backstage
Ozone Mag - Show
WENN Photo - Arrivals

The 2009 BET Hip Hop Awards Show with host Mike Epps will broadcast at 8 p.m. Tuesday, October 27 on BET.

More information about the show visit BET's website:
BET - 2009 BET Hip Hop Awards Show

Rock The Bells 2009 Southern California Show Recap With Videos, Photos And Review

Saturday August 8 in San Bernardino, CA at San Manuel Amphitheater.

Fan shot video below.

Ice Cube



Nas & Damian Marley





Damian Marley



Busta Rhymes



Slaughterhouse





Raekwon



Reflection Eternal





Evidence



L.A. Times review

Rock The Bells 2009 Southern California show photos:
Wire Image

(review courtesy of the L.A. Times)
(fan shot video courtesy of ssloco21, emceemaka, FBG33, sparksla1 and jesusemac81)

San Francisco WILD 94.9 radio concert recap with Rick Ross Ice Cube and others

With the Summer session in full swing, we can always count on some great radio sponsored concerts taking place in the good ol' USA. This time we have San Francisco's WILD 94.9 The BOMB concert at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountian View California Friday June 26 which featured Ice Cube, Rick Ross, Pitbull, Baby Bash, Sean Paul, Dorrough, Gorilla Zoe, Soulja Boy and LMFAO.

Here are some highlights from the show.

















Check out the photos from the show:
Getty Images
Film Magic