The “Ice Cube went hella soft through movies, you mark-ass trick” meme has been around for some time now. FilmDrunk hasn’t been shy about gagging on it. We said then and will repeat now: it’s not so much about judging and making glib comments about “selling out” so much as it is being amused about the contrast in persona. Oh, and seeing if he goes soft enough that Billy Crystal would try to perform blackface in front of him.
Nevertheless, I’m not sure why Ice Cube takes so flack for this, while other rappers from the same era (Queen Latifah, Flava Flav) have had their once imposing identities softened or made ridiculous by their choice in projects. Perhaps it was because when Ice Cube told America “We Be Clubbin'”, America believed it in ways that we don’t with other acts. Now it doesn’t feel like we be clubbin’ so much anymore and that takes some getting used to.
Anyway, the wags over at Slacktory put together this mix of Ice Cube’s music from his gangsta-type imposed over footage of his pappy family movie roles of today.
Cube, of course, plays a police captain in the impending 21 Jump Street, which people find ironic since he was all, “F*ck the Police” back in his rapping days. Because apparently every actor endorses the lifestyle and actions of every role they play. Anyway, Cube has trying for a good while now to get a movie about N.W.A. made so hopefully his turn as a cop in a dumb comedy will help deflect the inevitable “quit glorifying police murderers” criticism that that movie would get.