From "Westside Slaughterhouse" and
"West Up" to
"Hoo-Bangin'" and "Bow Down," the
Westside Connection is
consistently proving themselves
a force to be reckoned with.
While they have single-handedlyconfronted
their New York
detractors and disbelievers in "gangster"
rap music with blatant
disregard and raw passion in not
just their coat or style of rap,
but ultimately themselves. The Westiside
Connection is Ice Cube,
WC and Mack 10. As nefarious as
the monikers indicate these
three rap kingpins have taken so
called gangsta rap to its ultimate
level. While every rapper today
scurries for tstreet credibility, this
monstrous trio have just made it
more difficult for the hardest of
hardcore rappers to believe themselves.
Taking on the identities
of societies' worst nightmares Ice
Cube, WC and Mack 10 have
created audible motion pictures
chalk full o'drama, suspense and
mayhem.
As individuals, these three men
have cornered a market of respect for themselves.
Mack 10, a virtual newcomer to the
spotlight has already gone gold on his self-titled
debut album on Priority Records
which is still a hot commodity today. Can you say
platinum? The first single is a
hip hop classic, "Foe Life," where Mack 10 debuts not
only as a new artist but also a
new style of delivery, flowing through breaks and having
fun in the process. The album Mack
10 also marked the formation of the Westside
Connection. After being introduced
on Ice Cube's "Ta-Dow" remix, Mac 10 and Ice
Cube decided to incorporate WC into
the fold, Spawning the now infamous "Westside
Slaughterhouse." Mack 10 first met
up with Ice Cube in 1994 through a mutual
friendship with DJ Pooh. In fact,
Mack 10 was actually waiting in the wings for his shot
at the microphone when he went to
Ice Cube's lair, Street Knowledge, and asked for a
deal. Cube auditioned "One-O," as
Mack 10 is often called, on the spot. Cube says,
"He said he could rap over some
beats that I had laying around...He made me a
believer." Cube quickly took his
new found protege over to Priority Records.
WC's part of this tag-team of hit makers is quite different from
Mack 10's. WC was actually an old label-mate of Ice Cube's,
as well as friend. While Cube was bangin' out hits for
N.W.A., WC was busy in the garage writing hip hop classics
like "Pay Ya Dues" for himself and his world renowned dj, DJ
Aladdin, cementing the formation of their duo Low Profile.
However, after Low Profile's debut album We're In This
Together, WC soon found that things weren't that together.
Opting to remain friends, Aladdin and WC chose to dissolve
Low Profile. It was at that point WC with his little brother
Crazy Toones, Coolio, and Big Gee formed WC & The
MAAD Circle. While still under contract with Priority
Records, WC and company released another debut album,
Ain't A Damn Thang Changed. That was to produce even
more underground rap classics such as "You Don't Work,
You Don't Eat," which also featured J-Dee formerly of Da
Lench Mob (another Ice Cube produced group) and MC Eiht
of Compton's Most Wanted; and also "Dress Codes" a hit
single whose video marked the introduction of F.
Gary Gray to the music video industry.
WC and Crazy Toones,
disillusioned with the recording
industry, took a hiatus from the music
business, instead playing the backdrop,
coaching Coolio into a
successful solo career and playing
hypeman and dj, respectively,
along side Ice Cube on his road
shows. In early 1995, WC & The
MAAD Circle reappeared on the rap
scene with a new album, Curb
Servin', on PAYDAY Records. Curb
Servin' , is where the
Westside Connection joined forces
once again to release "West Up."
This is where the Westside Connection
also became a real group.
Mack 10 adds, "We had so much fun
doing the first two songs, we
just said 'fuck it!' let's do an
album." Most recently WC made his big
screen debut, playing the role of
a misguided bank robber in F. Gary
Gray's latest film Set It Off, which
also stars Queen Latifah and Jada
Pinkett.
Ice Cube added the final spoke in
the wheel which made the car
complete. Like a proud first time
father he grins and says, "I came up
with the name, because of where
we're all from, and from there we
just started creating hip hop hits."
As the lyrical powerhouse that
injected the potency into N.W.A.'s
fire, Ice Cube is now aiming his
sights on the entire world. Explaining,
"Our initial intent was to
dominate everything East of the
Mississippi and eventually
world-wide record domination." He
spent years becoming the entity
that he is today, from a mere solo
"gangster" rap artist to record
producer, video and movie director
and finally record label owner. In
1994 Ice Cube announced the formation
of LENCH MOB Record
with the release of long-time friend
and debut artist K-Dee. Ice
Cube's current movie credits include
"Boyz 'N' The Hood," "Higher
Learning," "Glass Shield," "CB4,"
"Tresspass," "Anaconda,"
"Dangerous Ground," and "Friday"
a comedy that was written by Ice
Cube and DJ Pooh as well as co-produced
by Ice Cube. This debut
album from the Westside Connection
becomes yet another feather in
the already full cap Ice Cube wears.
Mack 10, WC and Ice Cube have all added something
unique to the formation of the Westside Connection.
They've all sacrificed and put a lot of wok into bringing
something fresh and exciting to the table, something to
spark another evolution in the ever-changing face of rap
music. The album titled, Bow Down is full of hip hop
classics, direct disses and ghetto bravado at its finest. The
first single, also, aptly titled, "Bow Down" is not the
anticipated New York dis-record that most listeners
were expecting, but more of a directive to anyone that is
wasting their energies on dissin' so-called "gangster" rap
to do just that- 'Bow Down.' Besides the dramatic
introduction incorporating a properly scripted British
fellow and a haunting string loop the album flows into
other pointed tracks produced by Ice Cube, Bud'da,
Binky and QDIII. The second single is "Gangstas Make
The World Go Round." This single song is enough to
make the entire country pay homage to the Westside
Connection for the sheer cleverness of the track. Using
the Stylistics' most memorable "People Make The World
Go Round" and replacing the word "people" while
delivering the blow-by-blow of a lifestyle that has
obviously made an impression on our young protagonists.
"Kids when you grow up who the fuck you wanna be,
like me, your Black super hero, got enough zeros to
hire Rob Shapiro; Your honor I'ma have to get rid of
ya, 'cause it ain't no trivia about my flat in West
Bolivia; I blew the jury a kiss 'cause they'd rather
dismiss than swim with the big fish..Gangtas Make
The World Go Round." The album is put together very
tightly, not allowing any listener to get bored or a moment
to realize that they're listening to the next track before
another quotable sound bite is being delivered. The next
notable cut would be "All The Critics In New York," a
song that uses former East Coast hip hop classics and a
full borough roll-call to substantiate an age old argument
about various magazines' rating systems and the obvious
bias that takes place in regards to West Coast rap artists.
"The Gangsta, The Killa, & The Dope Dealer" is another
hard hitting classic utilizing the erie sounds of Nine Inch
Nails to create an appealing cut of nefarious stories
making you believe that like the movie Scarface, the
world is yours. The track also usessubliminal gang howls
in the back to fill the track with mystique and
pointedness. "King Of The Hil," is the anticipated
response to Cypress Hill and if "No Vaseline" (Cube's
response to N.W.A..) is any indication then Ice Cube is
back again in rare form. This track also includes a
retaliatory response from Mack 10 directed toward
Cypress. This album also features the remix to Mack 10's
latest hit single "Hoo-Bangin'", featuring appearances by
Ice Cube, WC, K-Dee, The Comrads (Gangsta &
K-Mac), and AllFrumThal's Squeek-Ru. The album is
forty-eight minutes of hardcore rap music, hands down
and "W's" up Bow Down is an album of hits and hip hop
classics.
BOW DOWN:
1.World Domination (Intro)
2.Bow Down
3.Gangstas Make The World Go Round
4.All The Critics In New York
5.Do You Like Criminals?
6.Gangstas Don't Dance (Insert)
7.The Gangsta Killa And The Dope Dealer
8.Cross 'Em Out And Put A 'K
9.King Of The Hill
10.3 Time Felons
11.Westward Ho
12.The Pledge (Insert)
13.Hoo-Bangin' (WSCG Style)
RANGKING: 8 OUT OF 10
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