When I was a kid, rap was (in my opinion) at its very best. It was kind of funny that I liked rappers like Ice Cube, Eazy-E, Ice T, and their crews. I couldn’t have been more separated from the worlds they were rapping about, and I certainly was not keen to become a gangsta myself. Ice Cube in particular seemed to be from a world that was scary yet kind of daring and exciting. I wondered how a guy named O’Shea Jackson could be so darned angry.
Of course, right around the same time, John Mellencamp (who had a cougar in his name) was also huge. His message was…well…slightly different from that of Ice Cube. John sang little diddies about Jack and Diane and I’m pretty sure that he bled red, white, and blue. He was the Midwest personified, but a bit less corny. He wore white t-shirts, blue jeans, and seemed like he was the kind of person you could run up to to get an autograph.
Twenty years later…
Time has passed, as it tends to do. Boy how the times have changed for Ice Cube though. Beginning with some gritty acting roles, Cube went on to act in a Disney movie called Are We There Yet. I had to rub my eyes the first time I saw the preview. Was this the angry gangsta rapper in a Disney movie? About annoying kids? Eh? Now he’s on TBS with a show of the same name. He still seems kind of angry, but most people watching his show probably don’t recall that most of his earlier work would have made Tipper Gore break out into hives.
As for John Mellencamp, he’s still singing diddies, still bleeding red, white, and blue, and while he might seem a bit more cynical than he was back in the day, he’s still pretty much doing his thing.
So what does this mean to you?
It’s just a question, really. Where do you see yourself in twenty years? Will you still pretty much be doing your thing, or will you have totally remade yourself into something new? Will you try to carry your audience with you when you remake yourself, or will you just completely start from scratch?
It takes courage to follow the path of Ice Cube, and it takes courage to follow the path of John Mellencamp. In the case of Ice Cube, you are separating yourself by a wide margin from everything that made you who you were. You have to be resistant to ridicule and criticism. Whether you make this change because it will make you more money or because it just makes you feel better, you have to keep on keeping on.
By the same token, it takes a certain kind of courage to do what John Mellencamp has done. He has stayed pretty much the same while groups like the Spice Girls, ‘N Sync, Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, and Lady Gaga have come and gone. He might seem old-fashioned now, yet he doesn’t seem stale. How does he do that? How does he remain relevant? Maybe his audience has stayed a consistent size while Ice Cube has added a whole new branch to his potential consumers. Is that a bad thing? Is a loyal core crowd better than a diverse, spread out crowd?
What do you think?
Hi Margie
I like the contrast and the interesting question you pose. What a lot of people don’t get about rap and the music is it was always about about giving a voice to the unheard. Ice Cube is still the same person he was when he started to do his thing with NWA. I guarantee you his values are still the same. His professional objectives are undoubtedly different and that element is part of the process of growth as Artist.
Some aspects of Rap are mainstream now. In those times the position and access for minorities was severely restricted and it still is to a large extent to this day. What he is doing is showing you don’t have to be angry all the time. You can grow as a human being. Yes people will criticize him for so called selling out but what he is doing is setting an example for the younger generation and providing alternatives to the stereotypical representations society and the media deliberately distribute..
All the evidence points to fact that as a society and as human beings we have a long way to go to eradicate fear and discriminatory behavior. By stepping into new environments whilst honoring your roots and beliefs what you do is break boundaries and show there is an alternative way of being that does not always involve kicking down the Whitehouse or 10 Downing Streets door. 🙂
As for John Mellecamp artist’s have reinvented themselves throughout history and still stay relevant I think certain genre’s of music facilitate that process whilst rap is a completely different political and social representation of reality.
There are plenty of kids of all colors and social backgrounds who want to be rappers. And for Ice Cube I think he would agree his message has spread far and wide it’s not about the place it’s about the content and the contribution to pushing those boundaries and in the process changing hearts, minds and the depth and scope of your audience.
That’s just my opinion. Other’s may disagree.
Wow, what a fantastic comment, Kenny! You took this post to places I hadn’t even thought of, and you know I love it when that happens!
Thank you very much 🙂