Greatest Hits

by Ice Cube

Overview

Although the 17-track Greatest Hits covers all phases of Ice Cube's solo career in an extremely balanced fashion, it isn't quite the last word on one of the most seminal figures in hardcore and gangsta rap. It is definitely a worthwhile purchase, since it collects all the best singles from Cube's more uneven latter-day efforts; there are also two new cuts (although "In the Late Night Hour" has a lot of rewritten N.W.A. rhymes) and a couple that have never appeared on an Ice Cube album: the soundtrack contribution "We Be Clubbin'" and the Westside Connection single "Bow Down" (which are nice for collectors but not all that essential). That occasional filler makes it all the more frustrating that the classic "Dead Homiez" is inexcusably nowhere to be found, and that it apparently wasn't possible to license Cube's duet with Dr. Dre on "Natural Born Killaz." Selection issues aside, the singles from the post-Predator era prove that in his best moments, Cube could be a credible radio-crossover artist and keep up with contemporary production trends. As a storyteller (a facet of his work that's underrepresented here), Cube had a knack for keenly observed detail, as evidenced on "Once Upon a Time in the Projects" and his laid-back masterpiece "It Was a Good Day." Still, it doesn't quite add up to a truly classic compilation. Perhaps the problem is that while Greatest Hits is a fine, listenable portrait of Ice Cube the sometime hitmaker and full-time hip-hop celebrity, it doesn't completely capture the provocative, incendiary qualities that made him an icon in the first place (for that, listeners will have to go back to AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted and Death Certificate). For a fully fleshed-out picture of Cube's career, though, Greatest Hits is a very good place to go. ~ Steve Huey

Product Details

Release Date:	12/04/2001
Label:	Priority Records
UPC:	0724352909124

Tracks

1. Pushin' Weight
2. Check Yo Self
3. We Be Clubbin'
4. $100 Dollar Bill Ya'll
5. Once Upon a Time in the Projects
6. Bow Down (Westside Connection)
7. Hello
8. You Can Do It
9. You Know How We Do It
10. It Was a Good Day
11. Bop Gun (One Nation)
12. What Can I Do?
13. My Summer Vacation
14. Steady Mobbin'
15. Jackin' for Beats
16. The Nigga Ya Love to Hate
17. Late Night Hour

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Ice Cube   Primary Artist
MC Ren   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Ms. Toi   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Das EFX   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Westside Connection   Primary Artist,Guest Artist
George Clinton   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Dr. Dre   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Mack 10   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Mr. Short Khop   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Pusha T   Primary Artist,Vocals (Background)
Westsifde Connection   Guest Artist

Technical Credits

Theodore Life   Composer
The Bomb Squad   Producer
Allen Williams   Composer
Maggie Magarian Schmidt   Creative Director
Dutch   Producer
Ed Colver   Photography
Pamela Springsteen   Photography
S. A. Anderson   Composer
Budda   Producer
Marshall Mathers   Composer
One Eye   Producer
Edward Fletcher   Composer
Snoopy   Composer
Mario Castellanos   Photography
Colin Jahn   Design,Art Direction
Sara Rodriguez   Production Supervisor
O'Shea Jackson   Composer
Joseph Johnson   Composer
Theodore Life Jr.   Composer
Ricardo Thomas   Composer
Serban Ghenea   Mixing
Sir Jinx   Composer,Producer
Teren Jones   Composer
Andre Young   Composer
88X Unit   Composer,Producer
Sylvia Robinson   Composer
Bernie Worrell   Composer
Billy Nichols   Composer
Ice Cube   Composer,Producer,Executive Producer
Bootsy Collins   Composer
Rick Cousins   Composer
Robert Durrell Allen   Composer
Anthony Wheaton   Composer
Bryson Evans   Composer
Derrick Baker   Composer
Gregory Jacobs   Composer
Marvin Isley   Composer
Quincy Jones   Composer
MC Ren   Performer
The Neptunes   Producer
Mel-Man   Composer
Melvin Glover   Composer
O'Kelly Isley   Composer
Alan Gorrie   Composer
Arthur Baker   Composer
George Clinton   Composer,Performer
Harry Ray   Composer
Al Nichol   Composer
Brian Garten   Engineer
DJ Pooh   Producer
Dana Stinson   Composer
Mike Baiardi   A&R
Das EFX   Performer
Chilly Chill   Producer
Chris Jasper   Composer
J. Johnson   Composer
D-Maq   Remixing
Garry Shider   Composer
Andrew M. Shack   A&R,Producer
Rick Cousin   Composer
Anna Goodman   Composer
Victor Taylor   Composer
J. Miller   Composer
Stephen Anderson   Composer
Boogie Men   Producer
A. Baker   Composer
Lorenzo Patterson   Composer
David Spradley   Composer
Otis Jackson, Jr.   Composer
Laylaw   Remixing
Parrish Smith   Composer
Chad Hugo   Composer
Ellis Williams   Composer
John B. Miller   Composer
Mack 10   Composer
Eric "Vietnam" Sadler   Composer
Ernie Isley   Composer
John Barbata   Composer
WC   Composer
John Robie   Composer
Rockwilder   Producer
Leon Ware   Composer
Roger Troutman   Composer
Howard Kaylan   Composer
Pharrell Williams   Composer
Mark Copeland   Project Coordinator
Roger Ball   Composer
Ronald Isley   Composer
Brian Gardner   Mastering
Junie Morrison   Composer
Roger   Composer
N.O. Joe   Producer
Mark Volman   Composer
Jim Pons   Composer
Rudolph Isley   Composer
Erick Sermon   Composer
Dr. Dre   Mixing,Composer,Producer
Dexter Wansel   Composer
QD III   Composer,Producer
Afrika Bambaataa   Composer
Ms. Toi   Composer
Arthur Ross   Composer
Mr. Short Khop   Performer
Dave Pensado   Mixing
Hamish Stuart   Composer
William Hames   Photography
D'Mon Dedrick Rolison   Composer
Donald Saunders   Composer
Al Goodman   Composer
Eric Wright   Composer
E. Williams   Composer
Mychal-Kaye Simmons   Composer
Melvin Bradford   Composer
Lionel Hunt   Composer