Back when Ice Cube was threatening to sling bean pies or bootleg T-shirts if the cash ever ran too low, I assumed that he was the baddest man in hip-hop.I might have been right. And if I wasn't exactly right, I was close enough. Thirteen-year-olds are rarely wrong when it comes to figuring out who can kick some ass.
From his days as the lead writer and rhymer for West Coast supergroup N.W.A to his highly contentious exit to a solo career that solidified his spot among the best MCs of the '90s, Ice Cube managed to maintain the balance between jheri-curled tough guy and marketable hip-hop star.
But over the years, Ice Cube has transitioned into something a little more mellow and a lot less threatening. Which makes sense. A 21-year-old couldn't have produced and starred in "Are We There Yet?" in the same way that a married 40-year-old father of four couldn't sensibly pen a song titled "Givin' Up the Nappy Dug Out."
It just doesn't make much sense. And, of course, I don't begrudge O'Shea his maturity or his professional growth.
Cube's legacy in hip-hop is secure. The jheri-curl has given way to a nice, closely-cropped cut. Instead of hardcore rap, Cube is doing documentaries for ESPN and lightweight comedy films. And I doubt he even hates white people nearly as much as he once did (I mean, really, do any of us?)
Nobody believes he's the wrong n*gga to f*ck with anymore.
But does he know that?
If you made it all the way through the clip, you'll see a hint of that ex-NWA member - bandannas, tooth pick, all-black everything. Played by Ice Cube. Who we're supposed to believe would buck up to - and wantonly threaten - the cartoonishly muscled Terry Crews.
Right.
It's much too early to pass judgment on the show. But if Ice Cube - in that particular role - is anything more than a bit player in the sitcom, it's going to be a tough sell.
I'm not 13 anymore. And Ice Cube damn sure ain't 21. So why keep pretending?
Also, apropos of nothing really, Ice Cube proved once and for all that, uh, with his broken jump shot, there was no way in hell he could "f*ck around a get a triple double."