SONGWRITERS SERIES

Written when rap wasn't accepted by most pop fans as an art form, these five Ice Cube songs helped win a begrudging respect for the genre

Clips require RealPlayer.


Written when rap wasn't accepted by most pop fans (especially anyone over 25) as an art form, these five Ice Cube songs, in order of preference, helped win a begrudging respect for the genre as well as lay down a blueprint for storytelling that influenced everyone from Tupac Shakur to Eminem.

(Audio samples feature commentary by Robert Hilburn)

1. 1992. This fantasy about 24 hours when everything in the 'hood goes right was so eloquent and affecting that it didn't lose Cube any street credibility, even though it made the Top 20 on the pop charts.

2. 1988. Co-written by MC Ren, this song launched a movement in rap. A lot of the gangsta rap that has followed has been clichéd and exploitive, but the best (by Cube and others) explored a raw social nerve.

3. 1991. There were charges of racism leveled at Cube after this tirade against some Korean merchants in the African American community, but the rap was social commentary and observation at its rawest.

4. 1990. Even before "It Was a Good Day," Cube was showing a poignant side. Here, he looks at the senselessness of gang violence.

5. 1992. This demonstrates Cube's skills as an entertainer and commentator. He gets beaten up, Rodney King-style, by police and hopes someone with a camera will come to the rescue