Love To Hate

I'm sure we have all had the conversation about who in rap has got the best flow, the so called Greatest Of All Time (G.O.A.T) - I may have even mentioned it previously in the annals of A Story To Tell. You know the names that will come out ... Biggie, Rakim, Jay, Nas, Snoop, Eminem, KRS-One (maybe), Tupac (still not sure why?). Anyway, give me one name which always seems to be conspicuous by its absence. That's right, it's the original rapper you love to hate, the one and only Ice Cube. I've never understood why Cube doesn't get the props he deserves. Maybe it is because of his mid-90s hip-hop waning and successful moves into other branches of showbiz, but for me Cube is one of the key reasons I got into hip-hop, and remains a legend. His lyrics and delivery on NWA's key output is clearly incredible and if you take a moment to revisit his first four solo efforts (AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted to Predator, and including the Kill At Will EP) you'd be hard pressed to find someone more on top of their business. Whether spitting pure fury and anger, thoughtful and politically apposite tracts, or just straight up mellow party tunes and tall tales, Cube is the master. Indeed Death Certificate is still one of the most complete rap albums you could find and an all-time classic. So don't let Anaconda and Dangerous Ground cloud your judgement and go back to the source to give praise to a true great.