Ice Cube's Series of Unfortunate Events

Nov 21, 2005

Ice Cube's Series of Unfortunate Events · by David Donald

How many storytelling rappers have given their protagonists bad endings as often as Ice Cube? Out of the great storytelling rappers, I don’t think anyone has created so many gloomy situations for their protagonists.

In the self-mocking tradition of comedic American storytelling, many rappers have told the occasional story of their own misfortune, but for every “The Moment I Feared” there is usually a “Kit (What’s the Scoop?)” to balance the hyperbolic misfortune with exaggerated victory.

There is also the parallel tradition of the cautionary tale, the archetype of which is probably Slick Rick’s “Children’s Story.” The mocking tale of misfortune and the cautionary tale are fused in “Indian Girl.”

But Cube’s stories often fuse the two traditions in the opposite manner – instead of creating an external protagonist to mock and make an example of, Cube’s stories are very often narrated in the first person, so any abuse the protaognist suffers is inflicted directly on Cube’s persona. This tendency is not nearly as pronounced on AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted, appearing only in the extreme form of a long jail term on the title track. “Once Upon A Time In The Projects,” is also phrased as a cautionary tale, but the consequences are only “two weeks in the joint.”

It is only on the Kill At Will EP that Cube really starts writing truly bitter stories. The last sentiment expressed by the imprisoned narrator on “The Product” – “my life is fucked!” – is echoed on “My Summer Vacation” from Death Certificate. A similar outcome occurs on the “What Can I Do?” Remix from a couple years later.

In contrast to this wide-eyed appraisal of the despair felt upon starting such a long prison term, songs where Cube’s narrator merely dies or gets badly beaten (see “Alive on Arrival” and “Who Got The Camera?”) seem less gloomy.

To be fair, in Cube’s long list of storytelling songs there are many that either do not follow a story arc at all (like many of Nas’ stories) or have a good ending. However, it is a testament to Cube’s noted sense of anger and frustration with his society that he was able to sustain inspiration to write so many stories with such bitter endings.

Comments for "Ice Cube's Series of Unfortunate Events"

I am not so certain that I agree with your characterization of Ice Cube’s woeful first-person narratives as being directed reflexively against O’Shea Jackson himself. I am not inclined to debate intentionality, but I do feel that the implications of these stories are broader than your reading suggests, and can therefore be read as allegories, just like his other narratives.
— R.H.S. Nov 22, 05:44 PM
I guess I did not make that part clear – I did not mean that they were literally aimed at O’Shea Jackson, but at O’Shea Jackson as prime representative of young black men from LA. Point taken about the allegorical aspect, however.
— David Donald Nov 22, 06:10 PM
Nerds!
— rafi Nov 22, 06:35 PM