Ice Cube is one of the founding artists of gangsta rap, and much of his musical output has contained harsh socio-political commentary. He was ranked number 8 on MTV's list of the 10 Greatest MCs of All Time, while fellow rapper Snoop Dogg ranked Ice Cube as one of the greatest MC of all time. AllMusic has called him one of hip-hop's best and most controversial artists, as well as "one of rap's greatest storytellers". In 2012, The Source ranked him number 14 on their list of the Top 50 Lyricists of All Time. In 2014, About.com ranked him number 11 on their list of the "50 Greatest MCs of All Time"
He released his solo debut album, "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted," in 1990 to critical and commercial success, although upon its release he was accused of racism and misogyny. He has since released 1991's "Death Certificate", 1992's "The Predator", 1993's "Lethal Injection", 1998's "War & Peace Vol 1 (The War Disc)", 2000's "War & Peace Vol 2 (The Peace Disc)", 2006's "Laugh Now, Cry Later", 2008's "Raw Footage", and 2010's "I Am the West."
Ice Cube was raised in South Central by his parents, both of whom were employed at UCLA. He began writing raps while attending George Washington Preparatory High School in Westmont, California, most notably "Boyz 'N Tha Hood", which later became famous when done by N.W.A in 1986. Cube finished his schooling at William Howard Taft Charter High School in Woodland Hills, a predominately white neighborhood in San Fernando Valley, some 40 miles from the high-crime neighborhood where his family stayed.
Cube and a friend, Sir Jinx, rapped as a partnership called C.I.A. at parties hosted by Dr. Dre. After a brief stint in a group called "HBO", Cube showed Eazy-E "Boyz 'N Da Hood," and the pair, plus Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, The Arabian Prince and MC Ren, formed N.W.A.
Cube took one year off to earn a degree in architectural drafting in Phoenix in 1987 but returned in time to participate in N.W.A's debut album, Straight Outta Compton. The album attracted much notoriety for the group, from the FBI and concerned citizen and parent groups. Cube did the lead verse for the album's infamous track "Fuck tha Police."
Ice Cube left N.W.A due to financial and personality conflicts in 1989. With Da Lench Mob and the Bomb Squad (Public Enemy's producers), Cube recorded his debut album in New York City. AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted was released in 1990 and was an instantaneous hit as rap's popularity increased in mainstream society.
His 1991 follow-up, Death Certificate, was even more controversial. A few songs in the album featured Cube's hate of Uncle Sam and his politics, and a bonus track named "No Vaseline" was a diss to his former N.W.A bandmates. Also that year, he converted to the Nation of Islam. The album was re-released in 2003 with the bonus track "How to Survive in South Central," originally from the 1991 "Boyz N the Hood" soundtrack.
Controversy stirred about racist lyrics in his material: "Black Korea" (a song against Korean shopowners), referring to a former boss as "white Jew" in "No Vaseline", and songs such as "Enemy and Cave Bitch" (songs against "devils", a popular derogatory term at the time for white people). Partially to help deflect criticisms, Cube appointed a female rapper named Yo-Yo (who guested on AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted) to the head of his own record label and helped produce her debut album, Make Way for the Motherlode.
That was followed by Cube's acting breakout as the grown-up version of Darrin "Doughboy" Baker in the 1991 coming of age crime drama "Boyz in the Hood." Writer and director John Singleton, another LA native, penned the role specifically Cube. Ice Cube was later named "Most Promising Actor" at the 4th Chicago Film Critics Association Awards in 1992, beating out his co-star Cuba Gooding Jr. and newcomer Brad Pitt from "Thelma and Louise."
Cube toured on Lollapalooza in 1992 and widened his fan base. He released The Predator in November (1992) which debuted at #1 on both the pop and rnb charts, the first album in history to do so. For that album, Cube decided to load some G-funk style beats which at that time was the big thing and some remix tunes which brought a new style to Cube, in which previously he had released some hardcore and extreme work. Singles from The Predator included "Today was a Good Day" and "Check Yo Self (remix)" which all had a 2 part music video.
After The Predator, Cube's audience began to diminish. Lethal Injection (1993) was not very well-liked by critics, and Dr. Dre and the West Coast G-Funk sound was dominating hip-hop. It wasn't until later that the album became popular. Taking a break from his own albums, Cube assisted on debuts from Da Lench Mob (Guerillas in the Mist) and Kam (Neva Again). He later dueted with Dr. Dre on "Natural Born Killaz."
Around this time in 1993, Ice Cube also worked with soon-to-be-acclaimed rapper Tupac Shakur with his album Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. and appeared on a track with 2pac.
In 1994 Ice Cube released Bootlegs & B-Sides.
During this time, hip-hop started making a transition from the West Coast Funk Hip-Hop to a more gritty East Coast hip-hop. With Mack 10 and WC, Cube formed the Westside Connection in 1996, releasing their debut album Bow Down later that year. This album was in due to Ice Cube's theory that the East Coast lacked respect for West Coast hip-hop. Songs like "Bow Down", and "Gangstas Make The World Go 'Round" make reference to this. Sales were brisk, but it did not establish a large audience. This album was later perceived as a classic, especially on the West Coast. Cube released several more solo albums; however, he is now known more for his movies than his music.
In 1998 Ice Cube released War & Peace Vol 1: The War Disc
In 2000 Ice Cube released War & Peace Vol 2: The Peace Disc
In 2003 Ice Cube along with W.C. & Mack 10 released Terrorist Threats as the West Side Connection.
In December 2004, after a long break from recording, he reached #2 in the UK singles chart with the club favourite, "You Can Do It" (featuring Mack 10 and Ms Toi), released as a single 5 years after it was first included on movie soundtracks such as
Ice Cube was influenced by and took his name from African American pimp-turned-author Iceberg Slim, who published his autobiography Pimp in 1969. At one point, Ice Cube was scheduled to play the lead role in a movie adaptation of Pimp, but the project appears to be halted.
Cube's oldest son, O'Shea Jackson Jr., made his feature film debut in the 2015 N.W.A biopic "Straight Outta Compton," portraying his father.
You Can Do It (Friday Night Po
Ice Cube Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yeah, yeah
Get your ass and hurry
Uh, Ice Cube baby
Ninety-nine baby
I'm on the grind baby
All the time baby
Show me something
[Ms. Toi]
You can do it put your back into it
[Ice Cube]
I can do it put your ass into it
[Ms. Toi]
You can do it put your back into it
[Ice Cube]
I can do it put your ass into it
[Ms. Toi]
Put your back into it
[Ice Cube]
Put your ass into it
[Ice Cube]
Tic-tic-boom
Hear me banging down these back streets
Bumpin? Blackstreet, fiending like an athlete
Life ain't a track meet (no)
It?s a marathon
Fuck the cemetery that a nigga get buried on
We be clubbing till the day we die
Nigga ask the bartender if you think we lie
But if you think we high, nigga think again
Cause when it?s sink or swim
You got to think to win
And if I drink this here
Everybody will know it
Cause I ain't going for it
So pray to the Lord that I don't pull out
Cuss out and bust out
Go to nigga raveling
Make the clip traveling, uh
You can try to smoke an ounce to this
While I pronounce this shit
Baby bounce them tits
Mama move them hips
Baby shake them cheeks
I got dick for days
You got ass for weeks, yeah, yeah
[Ms. Toi] (Ice Cube)
don't stop get it, get it
(That's real)
don't stop nigga hit it
(I will)
[Ice Cube]
I'm gon? do it, gon? do it
Gon? do it, do it, do it
[Ms. Toi]
You can do it put your back into it
[Ice Cube]
I can do it put your ass into it
[Ms. Toi]
You can do it put your back into it
[Ice Cube]
I can do it put your ass into it
[Ms. Toi]
Put your back into it
[Ice Cube]
Put your ass into it
[Ice Cube]
Now all I want to do is have fun with my loved ones
The thug ones, relatives and my cousins
And I got ?em by the dozen
When they buzzin?, quick to say fuck your husband
This is for my niggas locked away
Extra love for the ones who ain't got no date
But when we hit checkmate with Ice Cube the great
As soon as I get a word we can rush the safe
Fuck them license plates because life is great
It don't matter if you're rich and your folks ain't straight
I'm still coming with that underground gangsta shit
No matter how many niggas say we ain't the shit, bitch
[Ms. Toi] (Ice Cube)
don't stop get it, get it
(That?s real)
don't stop nigga hit it
(I will)
[Ice Cube]
I'm gon? do it, gon? do it
Gon? do it, do it, do it
[Ms. Toi]
You can do it put your back into it
[Ice Cube]
I can do it put your ass into it
[Ms. Toi]
You can do it put your back into it
[Ice Cube]
I can do it put your ass into it
[Ms. Toi]
Put your back into it
[Ice Cube]
Put your ass into it
[Mack 10]
I do hard core rhyming, hard time grinding
With will I pimp hoes
Other niggas wine and dine them
Gotta love this pup shit
Passing the mud shit
Pockets on flood shit
OG lyrical blood shit
I don't rent I buy shit
Niggas jealous of my shit
You unaware of this young nigga getting all the fly shit
While you're rooting and recruiting
Nigga 6-8 whooping
I was in the hood shooting cause I had the wife whooping
I come from padres gold in oversized jars
I past up strife and got star awards
No time for playa hating, Mack paper chasing
Came out the substation to the hip hop nation
The more hits the mo? bigga with illegal weight figga
Done develop the status of a platinum plus nigga
Bust the first asshole to show I can hit it
I keep pushing, don't quit it
don't stop till I get it
[Ms. Toi] (Ice Cube)
don't stop get it, get it
(That?s real)
don't stop nigga hit it
(I will)
[Ice Cube]
I'm goin' do it, goin' do it
Goin' do it, do it, do it
[Ms. Toi]
You can do it put your back into it
[Ice Cube]
I can do it put your ass into it
[Ms. Toi]
You can do it put your back into it
[Ice Cube]
I can do it put your ass into it
[Ms. Toi]
You can do it put your back into it
[Ice Cube]
I can do it put your ass into it
[Ms. Toi]
You can do it put your back into it
[Ice Cube]
I can do it put your ass into it
[Ms. Toi] (Ice Cube)
don't stop get it, get it
(That?s real)
don't stop nigga hit it
(I will)
[Ice Cube]
I'm goin' do it, goin' do it
Goin' do it, do it, do it
[Ms. Toi]
You can do it put your back into it
[Ice Cube]
I can do it put your ass into it
[Ms. Toi]
You can do it put your back into it
[Ice Cube]
I can do it put your ass into it
Put your ass into it
We be clubbing
Freaky gyration is close to fornication
We be clubbing
Freaky gyration is close to fornication?
Yeah uh-huh, Ice Cube, Westside Connection
Know how we do?
We puttin' it down, constantly
Get your ass up and hurra
The song "You Can Do It" by Ice Cube featuring Mack 10 and Ms. Toi was released in 1999 as part of Ice Cube's album "War & Peace Vol. 2 (The Peace Disc)." The song is an upbeat and motivational anthem that encourages people to put their all into everything they do. The song has a catchy beat with a repetitive hook that is easy to sing along to.
At its core, the song is about working hard and persevering despite the obstacles that may stand in your way. Ice Cube's verses talk about the struggles he's faced throughout his life and how he's been able to overcome them through hard work and determination. Meanwhile, Ms. Toi's hook emphasizes the importance of putting your back into everything you do and giving it your all. Mack 10's verse is a celebration of his own success and how hard work has allowed him to make it to the top.
Overall, "You Can Do It" is a fun and motivational song that encourages listeners to work hard and not give up on their dreams. The song has remained popular over the years and has been featured in various movies and TV shows.
Line by Line Meaning
Yeah, yeah
Ice Cube is hyping up the start of the song
Get your ass and hurry
Ice Cube is urging listeners to get excited and pumped up
Ninety-nine baby
Ice Cube is referencing the year 1999
I'm on the grind baby
Ice Cube is constantly working hard to achieve his goals
All the time baby
Ice Cube is always working towards success
Show me something
Ice Cube wants to see listeners prove their worth
You can do it put your back into it
Ms. Toi is encouraging listeners to put in effort and work hard
I can do it put your ass into it
Ms. Toi is saying she can work hard and put in effort too
Put your back into it
Ms. Toi is once again telling listeners to work hard and put in effort
Put your ass into it
Ms. Toi is emphasizing the importance of hard work and putting in effort
Tic-tic-boom
Ms. Toi is making a sound effect to add to the rhythm of the song
Hear me banging down these back streets
Ms. Toi is metaphorically saying she is working hard and making noise
Bumpin? Blackstreet, fiending like an athlete
Ms. Toi is listening to Blackstreet and working hard like an athlete
Life ain't a track meet (no)
Ms. Toi is saying that life is not a sprint, it's a marathon
It?s a marathon
Ms. Toi emphasizes again that life is a long and continuous journey
Fuck the cemetery that a nigga get buried on
Ms. Toi doesn't want to focus on death and negativity
We be clubbing till the day we die
Ms. Toi wants to focus on having fun and enjoying life
Nigga ask the bartender if you think we lie
Ms. Toi is telling skeptics to confirm with the bartender that they are always out having fun
But if you think we high, nigga think again
Ms. Toi is saying that they are not constantly partying or using drugs as some may assume
Cause when it?s sink or swim
Ms. Toi is referencing a metaphorical choice between survival and failure
You got to think to win
Ms. Toi is saying that to survive and be successful, one must think strategically
And if I drink this here
Ms. Toi is considering having a drink
Everybody will know it
Ms. Toi is saying that everyone will see if she drinks
Cause I ain't going for it
Ms. Toi doesn't want to hide anything and is being transparent with her actions
So pray to the Lord that I don't pull out
Ms. Toi is talking about a gun and hoping she won't have to use it
Cuss out and bust out
Ms. Toi is saying she will get angry and leave if necessary
Go to nigga raveling
This line is not clear and may be a reference to a specific person or thing
Make the clip traveling, uh
This line is not clear and may be a reference to a specific person or thing
You can try to smoke an ounce to this
Ms. Toi is inviting listeners to try and keep up with the song's beat and intensity
While I pronounce this shit
Ms. Toi is emphasizing each word she is saying and pronouncing them clearly
Baby bounce them tits
Ms. Toi is asking someone to dance and move their body
Mama move them hips
Ms. Toi is asking someone else to dance and move their body
Baby shake them cheeks
Ms. Toi is asking someone to dance and move their body
I got dick for days
This line may be inappropriate and has no clear meaning for the song's message
You got ass for weeks, yeah, yeah
This line may also be considered inappropriate and has no clear meaning for the song's message
don't stop get it, get it
Ms. Toi is telling listeners not to give up and to keep working hard
(That's real)
This statement may be a reference to the truthfulness of the previous line
don't stop nigga hit it
Ms. Toi is again telling listeners not to give up and to keep working hard
(I will)
Ms. Toi is committing to putting in effort and working hard
I'm gon? do it, gon? do it
Ms. Toi is emphasizing that she will accomplish her goals
Gon? do it, do it, do it
Ms. Toi again emphasizes that she will accomplish her goals
Now all I want to do is have fun with my loved ones
Ms. Toi wants to enjoy life with those close to her
The thug ones, relatives and my cousins
Ms. Toi is including those close to her who may not always be seen as conventional
And I got ?em by the dozen
Ms. Toi has many people close to her that she wants to enjoy life with
When they buzzin?, quick to say fuck your husband
Ms. Toi is saying that when those close to her are having fun, they may neglect their other responsibilities or concerns
This is for my niggas locked away
Ms. Toi wants to include those who are not able to be with their loved ones because they are in jail
Extra love for the ones who ain't got no date
Ms. Toi wants to include those who are without a significant other
But when we hit checkmate with Ice Cube the great
Ms. Toi is saying that when they are successful with Ice Cube, they will be able to enjoy life even more
As soon as I get a word we can rush the safe
This line is not clear and may be a reference to a specific situation or plan
Fuck them license plates because life is great
Ms. Toi doesn't want to think about negative things like license plates, she wants to focus on enjoying life
It don't matter if you're rich and your folks ain't straight
Ms. Toi is saying that life's problems affect everyone, even the wealthy
I'm still coming with that underground gangsta shit
Ms. Toi is saying that she is still making music with that classic gangsta sound, even though they are successful now
No matter how many niggas say we ain?t the shit, bitch
Ms. Toi is saying that despite criticism, they are still successful and making great music
(That?s real)
This statement may be a reference to the truthfulness of the previous line
I do hard core rhyming, hard time grinding
Mack 10 is saying that he works hard to write and perform difficult rhymes
With will I pimp hoes
Mack 10 may be referencing his past involvement in the pimping industry
Other niggas wine and dine them
Mack 10 is saying that others try to impress women with material things
Gotta love this pup shit
Mack 10 may be referencing his love for music and performing
Passing the mud shit
This line is not clear and may be a reference to a specific situation or plan
Pockets on flood shit
Mack 10 has a lot of money
OG lyrical blood shit
Mack 10 is an original gangsta and his lyrics are powerful
I don't rent I buy shit
Mack 10 purchases everything he needs or wants
Niggas jealous of my shit
Others may envy Mack 10's success or lifestyle
You unaware of this young nigga getting all the fly shit
Mack 10 is saying that others may not know of his success or the great things he has acquired
While you're rooting and recruiting
Mack 10 is saying that others are still trying to achieve success while he has already accomplished a lot
Nigga 6-8 whooping
This line is not clear and may be a reference to a specific person or situation
I was in the hood shooting cause I had the wife whooping
This line is not clear and may be a reference to a specific situation or event
I come from padres gold in oversized jars
Mack 10 is referencing his upbringing in a wealthy family
I past up strife and got star awards
Mack 10 has overcome adversity and achieved a lot of success
No time for playa hating, Mack paper chasing
Mack 10 is focused on achieving success and not wasting time on negativity or haters
Came out the substation to the hip hop nation
Mack 10 went from being a small artist to a major figure in hip-hop
The more hits the mo? bigga with illegal weight figga
Mack 10 is gaining more success and power through his music
Done develop the status of a platinum plus nigga
Mack 10 has achieved platinum record sales and is very successful
Bust the first asshole to show I can hit it
Mack 10 is confident in his abilities and not afraid to defend himself
I keep pushing, don't quit it
Mack 10 continues to work hard and achieve success
Freaky gyration is close to fornication
This line may be considered inappropriate and has no clear meaning for the song's message
Yeah uh-huh, Ice Cube, Westside Connection
Mack 10 and Ms. Toi are shouting out Ice Cube and the Westside Connection group they are a part of
Know how we do?
This is a rhetorical question, asking if listeners are aware of the Westside Connection's style and success
We puttin' it down, constantly
The Westside Connection is continuously producing great music
Get your ass up and hurra
Mack 10 and Ms. Toi are encouraging listeners to dance and enjoy the music
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CURTIS FITZGERALD WILLIAMS, JAMES TAYLOR, RONALD NATHAN BELL, ROBERT BELL, CLAYDES SMITH, MICHAEL ARTHUR RAY, ROBERT MICKENS, GEORGE BROWN, CLIFFORD ALANZA ADAMS, JAMES L. BONNEFOND
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