In a recent interview, veteran rapper Ice Cube opened up about the making of his debut solo album AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted. Cube revealed that he had initially wanted his former N.W.A. bandmate Dr. Dre to produce the album, but Eazy-E and the group's manager Jerry Heller ultimately vetoed the idea.
"I still tried to be friends with the guys who had nothing to do with the business. Me and Eazy was shaky, and I didn't care about Jerry Heller at all, so it wasn't no love lost there," Cube told Complex's Idea Generation. "But I tried to keep it together with Dre. I even wanted Dre to produce my solo record, and we was talking about it, but Eazy and Jerry vetoed it."
Instead, AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted ended up being produced by the legendary Bomb Squad production team from Public Enemy. Cube would later go on to diss Dre on the infamous "No Vaseline" track in 1991, further souring their relationship.
The two N.W.A. co-founders would eventually work together again in 1994 on the track "Natural Born Killaz," which was originally planned for a joint Dre and Cube album titled Heltah Skeltah that was ultimately shelved.
Now, Cube is gearing up to release his first album since 2018, titled Man Down. The 19-track project is set to feature an impressive lineup of West Coast legends, including Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, Kurupt, B-Real, E-40, and Too $hort. It will also include collaborations with Killer Mike, Busta Rhymes, Sting, and country star Jelly Roll.
Fans have been eagerly awaiting new music from Ice Cube, and it seems he's pulling out all the stops for this highly anticipated release. With a star-studded guest list and Cube's signature raw, socially conscious lyricism, Man Down is shaping up to be one of the must-listen hip-hop albums of the year.
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