lune 07. 2006
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Page B3
Focus
Ice Cube Unleashes New Blend of Rap
Joins beat w ith
com m entary, dash
o f silliness
(AP) — Before he was an actor, before he
made TV shows and movies with his own
production company, before he had a record
label, Ice Cube was a rapper.
Cube was just a kid in 1988 when he and
NW A helped launch the gangsta rap genre
with “Straight Outta Compton," a raw collec­
tion of catchy rhymes about inner-city injus­
tices that appealed to audiences of all kinds.
Now he’s returning to his rap roots with his
first solo album in six years, “Laugh Now. Cry
Later,” out June 6.
In it. Cube unleashes a 20-track blend of
bass-thumping beats and social commentary,
with a dash of silliness thrown in for good
measure.
“I d id n ’t want to make a record that was
like a history book,” the 36-year-old says,
sitting inside his Cube Vision office, the
walls dotted with posters that include
M uhammad Ali and the movie “Scarface."
“I w anted to make a record that does what
all good hip-hopdo. It makes you feel good,
it kinda pumps you up but it also shows you
a part o f life that you might not have been
paying attention to or might not even know
exists.”
On “Laugh Now. Cry Later,” the targets of
Ice Cube at his office in S a n ta Monica,
Calif. (AP photo)
C ube's lyrical fire include George W. Bush,
money-drenched gangsta rappers, racial ste­
reotypes and his own evolution as an artist.
Rap sends a message, he says.
“That’s really the essence of the music," he
says. “Yeah, it’s got ego and macho and all that
stuff, but at the end of the day, it’s music that
you can learn from,”
The godfather of gangsta rap ought to
know. Before it was a genre with its own
streetwise name. Cube and his crew called
their rhymes “reality rap.” They said what
they wanted and people responded. Their
work paved the way for other artists to
express them selves. Cube says.
O f course, music is still a business - one
that Cube describes as "gangsta" and
“shady” - where money calls the shots, alter­
ing what some artists can say.
That’s one reason he released his new
recordon his own Lench Mob label. Working
without corporate constraints made record­
ing fun again, Cube says.
“There was no pressure, no time limits, no
schedules, no A & R, nobody telling me what
kind of record to do,” he says. “It was just me
going in there and doing the record that I like,
that I think my fans would like. I took my time
with it.”
Cube has been busy with a string of films,
including 2OO2’s “Barbershop,” “All About
the Benjamins” and “Friday After Next.” Other
credits include 1999’s "Three Kings” and the
1997 sea-monster thriller, “Anaconda.”
He took a yearlong break from movies to
focus on the new album, collaborating with
some of the hottest names in hip-hop, includ­
ing Snoop Dogg, Scott Storch and Lil Jon.
Hearing Lil Jon’s beats inspired Cube to
start rhyming and eventually head back into
the studio, he says.
“I started writing to (the beats) and ended
up, like, not stopping,” says Cube, who also
contributed two tracks to Lil Jon’s latest
album.
Prince Honor: Web Innovator
(AP) — Prince will be
honored with a lifetime
achievement award for his
use of the Internet to dis­
tribute music and connect
with audiences.
Tiffany Shlain, founder
o f the W ebby online
awards, described Prince
as a “musical genius" and
“a visionary, who recog­
nized early on that the
Web would completely
change how we experience Prince perform s during the “American Idol" finale
sh o w M ay24 at the Kodak Theater in Los A ngeles.
B eyonce Knowles
The 47-year-old pop
superstar was the first major art-
ist to release an entire album,
1997's “Crystal Ball,” exclusively
Another Solo
for Beyonce
Beauty and Ease
R&B songstess Shaniee re­
turns to the music scene with her
new album "E very W oman
Dreams.”
Boasting a five-octave range,
which she handles with beauty
and ease, the CD follows a 5-year
hiatus over which she did a lot of
writing, performing and also
started a family of her own.
Shanice was a child prodigy
who had her first album at 14. As
an innocent 18 year old, she stole
hearts with the addictive hit “I Love
Your Smile." She bringsa more adult
flavor to this new set of sexy songs.
The single “Every W oman
Dreams" tells the story of a woman
that has been through hardships
with past relationships but now
touts the confidence to demand the
kinds of things from a man that her
heart truly desires.
The album also features the
single “Take Care of You,” co-writ­
ten by Shaniee and Flex Alexander.
Paintings Embrace
Hispanic Culture
Mixed media paint­
ings by Cristina
Acosta celebrate
and honor the
traditions o f His­
panic culture and
the gifts o f the
environment. Works
by the artist are on
display this month
at Onda Arte Latina/
Cross Currents
Gallery, 2215 N.E.
Alberta St.
Rob Corddry of Com-
edy Central's "The Daily Show
With Jon Stewart" will host the
show.
Batwoman Comes Out
Character's point of view changes
B atw om an is show n a s a 5-
foot-10 superhero with flowing
red hair and knee-high red
b o o ts with sp ik e d h eels.
Top 2°/o
in Portland M etro
(AP) — Years after she first
em erged from the B atcave,
Batwoman is coming out of the
closet.
DC Comics is resurrecting the
classic comic book character as a
lesbian, u n v e ilin g the new
Batwoman in July as part of an
ongoing weekly series that began
this year. The 5-foot-10 superhero
comes with (lowing red hair, knee-
high red boots with spiked heels,
and a form-fitting black outfit.
"We decided to give her a differ­
ent point of view,” explained Dan
Di Dio, vice president and execu­
tive editor at DC. “We wanted to
make her a more unique personality
than others in the Bat-family. That's
one of the reasons we went in this
direction."
The original Batwoman was
started in 1956, and killed off in
1979. The new character will share
the same name as her original alter
ego, Kathy Kane.
“She's a socialite from Gotham
high society,” Di Dio said. "She has
some past connection with Bruce
Wayne. And she’s also had a past
love affair with one of our lead
characters, Renee Montoya.”
KELLER WILLIAMS
Portland P im e n e
creations
HAIR DESIGN FOR MEN & WOMEN
Tony and Libby Kelly
MB.A. M Ed.. Brokers, CRS. ABR. SRES
WWW S e llin g P o rtla n d R c a lE s ta te
5425 N.E. 30th Ave.
503/281-1185
503-330-5488
17700 SW Upper Boones Kerry Rd
Portland, OR
P r o j e c t
S h a nice brings a
m ore adult flavor
to a new s e t o f
s e x y so n g s in
‘Every W om an
D re a m s.'
Sfoconi tBax&zx
(AP)— Beyonce Knowles will
i celebrate her 25th birthday with
I the release of “B ' Day," her sec-
|o n d solo album . C olu m b ia
Records said the CD will be re­
leased internationally on her
\ birthday. Sept. 4, and in the
United States on Sept. 5.
The first single, “Deja Vu,”
features Knowles’ boyfriend, rap
mogul Jay-Z, as a guest artist.
Knowles, who fronted R&B
I girl group Destiny's Child, won
I five Grammy Awards forhertop-
I selling solo debut, 2OO3’s "Dan­
gerously in Love."
She stars opposite Jamie Foxx
and Eddie Murphy in the Holly-
5 wood adaptation of the Broad-
' way musical "Dreamgirls," slated
' for release Dec. 25.
on the W eb. according to the
announcement, and "long before
MySpaee and iTunes, Prince used
the Web as a new way
to distribute music,
prem iere videos and
build his relationship
with his fans.”
His website http://
www.npgmusicclub.com
has more than seven
full-length CDs of mu­
sic unavailable else­
where.
The aw ards c e r­
emony
i...,,, i V will
u r i n take
r i „ \ place
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S u ^ Z h T n '
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