How Atlanta influenced Ice Cube
In 1988, rapper and actor Ice Cube came to Atlanta for the first time as a member of West Coast rap group NWA.
The hardcore hip-hop group known for its gritty lyrics depicting the inner city and police brutality performed at the Omni. He was surprised to see the venue connected to the Omni Atlanta Hotel where the group stayed.
But it was seeing Atlanta’s Black community that inspired Ice Cube to consider the city as a place to potentially explore his creativity.
“We just had a ball, and I knew it would become a large part of my career in the future,” Ice Cube said.
Thirty-seven years later, Ice Cube is back in Atlanta on Tuesday — this time at State Farm Arena — to celebrate his multi-hyphenate career. He’s performing “Truth to Power: Four Decades of Attitude,” his first U.S. concert tour in a decade.
The show is a career retrospective featuring Cube’s jams like “It Was a Good Day,” “You Can Do It” and “Check Yo Self.” The performances are combined with multiscreen video, rotating stages and narration telling his coming-of-age story in entertainment.
Cube said the tour allows him to share his creative process behind his song catalog.
“I’ve headlined shows with a lot of different people on the bill, and I never get enough time to do all the songs that the fans want. It’s hard to do that when you’re only given an hour or 75 minutes, but now I get to take my time to go through my whole career,” Ice Cube said.
“I get to highlight some different moments that took me from one level to the next, so hopefully the fans can learn a little more about who I am and who I’ve become.”
After Ice Cube departed NWA in 1989, he made frequent social and professional visits to Atlanta. He was a regular on the sidelines at Atlanta Falcons games to watch his friend, cornerback Deion Sanders, play.
Ice Cube, who’s from South Central Los Angeles, befriended producer Jermaine Dupri, who became one of his confidants. “He was one of the first people to welcome us (in Atlanta), especially after I went solo,” Ice Cube said.
Ice Cube had major success as a filmmaker and leading man. His films “Trespass,” “Ride Along” and “Barbershop: The Next Cut” were shot in Atlanta. “The Player’s Club,” a 1998 film about exotic dancing, was shot in Los Angeles, but the story was based in Atlanta.
“We Be Clubbin’,” which was featured on “The Player’s Club” soundtrack, is inspired by Ice Cube embracing Atlanta’s nightlife and music scene following the bicoastal hip-hop rivalry of the mid-1990s.
“Once the East and West Coast (hip-hop) beef blew over, that gave Atlanta a lot of leeway to take music and become a front-runner. It opened the door for the South to be influential. After that, everybody (me included) has their ears to Atlanta in some way, shape or form,” he said.
In September, Ice Cube released “Man Up,” his 12th studio album. Its lyrical content addresses artificial intelligence, social media trolling, generational changes in hip-hop and the current political climate.
The 56-year-old emcee was inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as part of NWA in 2016, said he’s not allowing age to dictate if he can still make rap music with a message.
“You have to do what you feel and not listen to all the noise. I was itching to get into the studio because I still had things to say. I wasn’t trying to chase trends, sounds or anything,” he said.
“I just wanted to do records that I like at this point. It’s about if you can do the job or not.”
Ice Cube is in the process of developing “Last Friday,” the fourth sequel in his “Friday” film franchise. He hopes the film will get same reaction from fans as the original film when it was released in 1995.
“We wanted a hood classic like ‘Car Wash,’ ‘Cooley High’ or ‘Let’s Do It Again’ that people would watch over and over again and enjoy it like you saw it for the first time,” he said.
When the multi-hyphenate talent talks a potential new “Friday,” it feels like he’s breaking down a larger point about where he is, creatively, in life.
“Being on the horizon of another one feels like we’re getting the old band back together, so I’m going to take that opportunity and run with it,” he said. “I don’t just want to do stuff because I can. I want to do it because I can make it work.”
CONCERT PREVIEW
Ice Cube
“Truth to Power: 4 Decades of Attitude” tour. 8 p.m. Tuesday Oct. 12. $30.94-$940.10. State Farm Arena, 1 State Farm Drive, Atlanta.
About the Author
Christopher A. Daniel is a Black Culture reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He is an Atlanta-based, award-winning journalist, cultural critic and ethnomusicologist. He previously taught courses at Morehouse College, Clark Atlanta University and Georgia State University.
