| I Am the West | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 28, 2010 (2010-9-28) | |||
| Recorded | 2009–10 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 49:43 | |||
| Label | Lench Mob | |||
| Producer |
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| Ice Cube chronology | ||||
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| Singles from I Am the West | ||||
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I Am the West is the ninth solo studio album by American rapperIce Cube. It was released on September 28, 2010[1] throughLench Mob Records, marking his second independent release following 2008'sRaw Footage.
The album was produced byDJ Montay,Hallway Productionz, JIGG,T-Mix,B.A.M.,Bangladesh, Dae One, Doughboy, John Murphy, Rocko,Sir Jinx,Tha Bizness,The Fliptones and Track Bully. It featuresguest appearances fromWC, Doughboy,OMG,Young Maylay andJayo Felony.
In the United States, the album debuted at number 22 on theBillboard 200, number 7 on theTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, number 6 on theTop Rap Albums and number 3 on theIndependent Albums charts with 22,000 copies sold in its first week.[2]
Ice Cube said this album would be different from any one of his others, having a different direction. The album was released independently under his labelLench Mob. Ice Cube stated that "being independent is beautiful because we can do things 'out the box' that record companies would usually frown at. Instead of working from a ready-made cookie-cutter marketing plan, we can tailor make a marketing plan specifically for me".[3]
In an interview with Baller Status, Ice Cube spoke on two songs that were going to be on the album, "Man vs. Machine" and "Hood Robbin". "'Man vs. Machine' is talking about our obsessions with machinery and how it's taking over. Automation is taking over human beings in all our relevancy in this world. Pretty soon, machines are gonna take over and that's just real...['Hood Robbin'] is talking about how big corporations is now stealing from the poor and giving to the rich. It's a whole thing about the things we're going up against with housing and medical insurance ... just everything people are going through. Real shit that ain't got nothing to do with money, cars, and all the shit most rappers talk about."[4]
Young Maylay made guest appearances on the album.[5] Ice Cube confirmed thatDr. Dre would no longer be on the album in August.[6]He received beats from West coast veteran producers such asDJ Quik,Dr. Dre,E-A-Ski, andSir Jinx, not having worked on a solo album with the latter in nearly 20 years.
I Am The West, like several previous Ice Cube/Westside Connection albums, features interludes byKeith David.
The album's lead single "I Rep That West", was released on April 25, 2010.[7] The album's second single "Drink the Kool-Aid", was released on July 27, 2010.[8] The album's third single "She Couldn't Make It On Her Own" featuring Doughboy and OMG, was released on August 31, 2010.[9][10] A music video for "Too West Coast" (produced byHallway Productionz) was released on October 5, 2010.
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 62/100[11] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [12] |
| HipHopDX | 2.5/5[13] |
| Los Angeles Times |  [14] |
| Pitchfork | 4.4/10[15] |
| RapReviews | 7.5/10[16] |
| Rolling Stone | [17] |
| Slant | [18] |
I Am the West was met with generally favourable reviews frommusic critics. AtMetacritic, which assigns anormalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received anaverage score of 62 based on eight reviews.[11]
AllMusic's David Jeffries praised the album, writing "most won't have the skills to follow his playbook, either on or off the field, but Cube's utterly unique I Am the West shows the younger generation how to cross 40 while retaining their freedom and baller status".[12] Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews wrote: "on the tracks ofI Am the West that work the best, he's still got the vintage gruff demeanor, lyrical ferocity and hard hitting beats to claim some significant ownership of the Pacific shoreline. At other times he desperately desires to have a contemporary sound, and that's where things fall apart, but those mistakes can be overlooked or easily skipped compared to the quality of the overall presentation".[16] Jeff Weiss ofLos Angeles Times stated: "on his ninth album, the independently released I Am the West, he retreats to self-satisfied taunts about his legendary status, the enervated state of the Left Coast, and his rivals, both real and imaginary".[14]
In mixed reviews, Jon Dolan ofRolling Stone found Ice Cube's "rants get boring over track after track of bland NinetiesG-funk (a promised collaboration with his estrangedN.W.A homey Dr. Dre never came through)".[17] Huw Jones ofSlant concluded: "judging by moments like these, when Cube's performance is allowed to take center stage,I Am the West becomes an engaging hip-hop record".[18] Ian Cohen ofPitchfork resumed: "so even ifI Am the West is little more than another reminder of what Cube's day job was before becoming a Hollywood supermogul, if it does result in someone's hearingAmeriKKKa's Most Wanted orDeath Certificate for the first time in 2010, it's done its job".[15]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Boy Was Conceived" (Intro) | John Murphy | 0:26 | |
| 2. | "Soul on Ice" | O'Shea Jackson |
| 3:39 |
| 3. | "Life in California" (featuringJayo Felony andWC) |
|
| 4:02 |
| 4. | "She Couldn't Make It on Her Own" (featuringOMG and Doughboy) |
| Shondrae Crawford | 2:58 |
| 5. | "Urbanian" | O. Jackson | Kevin Harris II | 2:25 |
| 6. | "Ya'll Know How I Am" (featuring OMG, Doughboy, WC andYoung Maylay) |
| Montay Humphrey | 2:18 |
| 7. | "Too West Coast" (featuring WC and Young Maylay) |
|
| 2:58 |
| 8. | "I Rep That West" | O. Jackson | Amir Perry | 4:31 |
| 9. | "Drink the Kool-Aid" | O. Jackson | Brandon Alexander | 3:09 |
| 10. | "No Country for Young Men" | O. Jackson |
| 4:13 |
| 11. | "It Is What It Is" | O. Jackson | Humphrey | 3:21 |
| 12. | "Hood Robbin'" | O. Jackson | Tristan Jones | 3:45 |
| 13. | "Your Money or Your Life" | O. Jackson | Jones | 3:23 |
| 14. | "Nothing Like L.A." | O. Jackson |
| 3:20 |
| 15. | "All Day, Every Day" | O. Jackson |
| 2:21 |
| 16. | "Fat Cat" | O. Jackson | Perry | 2:54 |
| Total length: | 49:43 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17. | "Man vs. Machine" |
| Infinity | 2:27 |
| 18. | "Pros vs. Joes" |
| E-A-Ski | 2:19 |
| Total length: | 4:46 | |||
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
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