I Am the West

I Am the West
Studio album by Ice Cube
Released September 28, 2010
Recorded 2009-10
Genre West Coast hip hop, gangsta rap
Length 49:43
Label Lench Mob
Producer Ice Cube (exec.), JIGG, E-A-Ski, Bangladesh, T-Mix, Hallway Productionz, The Fliptones, Sir Jinx, Infinity, Doughboy, Tha Bizness, Dae One, Track Bully, Willy Will, Brandon Alexander, Rocko, DJ Montay
Ice Cube chronology

Raw Footage
(2008)		 I Am the West
(2010)		 Everythang's Corrupt
(2015)
Singles from I Am the West
  1. "I Rep That West"
    Released: April 25, 2010
  2. "Drink the Kool-Aid"
    Released: July 27, 2010
  3. "She Couldn't Make It on Her Own"
    Released: August 31, 2010
  4. "Too West Coast"
    Released: September 1, 2010
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
HipHopDX [2]
Los Angeles Times [3]
RapReviews (7.5/10)[4]
Rolling Stone [5]
Slant [6]
The Smoking Section [7]
USA Today [8]

I Am the West is the ninth studio album by American rapper Ice Cube. It was released on September 28, 2010.[9]

Background

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 label Lench 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".[10]

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."[11]

Young Maylay made guest appearances on the album.[12] Ice Cube confirmed that Dr. Dre would no longer be on the album in August.[13] He received beats from West coast veteran producers such as DJ Quik, Dr. Dre, E-A-Ski, and Sir 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 by Keith David.

Singles

The album's lead single "I Rep That West", was released on April 25, 2010.[14] The album's second single "Drink the Kool-Aid", was released on July 27, 2010.[15] The album's third single "She Couldn't Make It On Her Own" featuring Doughboy and OMG, was released on August 31, 2010.[16][17] A music video for "Too West Coast" (produced by Hallway Productionz) was released on October 5, 2010.

Reception

Early reviews perceived to be generally positive gaining a 62% out of 100 in Metacritic.[18] Jeff Weiss from The L.A. Times music blog gave it 2 and a half out of 4 stars stating "Even the greatest can use a little help from their friends, and all too often this feels like how the West was one-dimensional." Allmusic reviewer David Jeffries said "I Am the West shows the younger generation how to cross 40 while retaining their freedom and baller status. Middle age hip-hop is born here, and if the game follows his lead, it will be one monster of a genre. "

Commercial Performance

The album debuted at #22 on the Billboard 200 and sold 22,000 copies in its first week.[19]

Track listing

No. TitleProducer(s) Length
1. "A Boy Was Conceived" (Intro)John Murphy 0:26
2. "Soul on Ice"  Tha Bizness 3:39
3. "Life In California" (featuring Jayo & WC)Sir Jinx, Dae One 4:02
4. "She Couldn't Make It on Her Own" (featuring OMG & Doughboy)Bangladesh 2:58
5. "Urbanian"  Track Bully 2:25
6. "Y'all Know How I Am" (featuring OMG, Doughboy, WC & Young Maylay)Willy Will 2:18
7. "Too West Coast" (featuring WC & Young Maylay)Hallway Productionz 2:58
8. "I Rep That West"  JIGG 4:31
9. "Drink the Kool-Aid"  Brandon Alexander 3:09
10. "No Country for Young Men"  Doughboy, Rocko 4:13
11. "It Is What It Is"  DJ Montay 3:21
12. "Hood Robbin'"  T-Mix 3:45
13. "Your Money Or Your Life"  T-Mix 3:23
14. "Nothing Like L.A."  The Fliptones 3:20
15. "All Day, Every Day"  Hallway Productionz 2:21
16. "Fat Cat"  JIGG 2:54
Total length:
 49:43

References

  1. ↑ Jeffries, David (2010-09-27). "Allmusic review". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  2. ↑ Vasquez, Andres (2010-09-27). "Ice Cube - I Am The West | Read Hip Hop Reviews, Rap Reviews & Hip Hop Album Reviews". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
  3. ↑ "Los Angeles Times review". Latimesblogs.latimes.com. 2010-09-28. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  4. ↑ "RapReview of the Week". Rapreviews.com. 2012-07-31. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  5. ↑ Jon Dolan (2010-10-18). "I Am the West | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
  6. ↑ "Slant review". Slantmagazine.com. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  7. ↑ Joseph, Ryan. “It Is What It Is” – Review Of Ice Cube’s I Am The West. The Smoking Section.
  8. ↑ Gardner, Elysa; Mansfield, Brian; Shriver, Jerry; Jones, Steve (October 3, 2010). "USA Today".
  9. ↑ Hanna, Mitchell (2010-06-29). "Tuesday Rap Release Dates: G.O.O.D. Music, Cam'ron, Stat Quo | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
  10. ↑ Jacobs, Allen (2010-03-19). "Ice Cube Blogs About "I Am The West", Mack 10 | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
  11. ↑ "Ice Cube Talks Dependence On Technology, Corporate America's Greed in Two New Tracks". Ballerstatus.Com. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
  12. ↑
  13. ↑ Burgess, Omar (2010-08-09). "Dr. Dre No Longer Featured On Ice Cube's Album | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
  14. ↑ rzep. "Debuts New Single TODAY". Ice Cube. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
  15. ↑ Video on YouTube
  16. ↑ "She Couldn't Make It On Her Own (Clean) : Ice Cube". Icecube.com. 2011-07-13. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  17. ↑ "Ice Cube "She Couldn’T Make It On Her Own" Introducing Omg & Doughboy Music Video Premier". Karmaloop TV. 2010-09-20. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
  18. ↑ "I Am the West Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. 2010-12-20. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
  19. ↑ Jacobs, Allen (2010-10-06). "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 10/3/2010 | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2012-02-23.