With the promotional campaign for the new Straight Outta Compton movie now in full force, Vanity Fair got Ice Cube in front of a camera to address the strange, hyper-analytical annotations of N.W.A's titular single, "Straight Outta Compton," as interpreted by Rap Genius.
Predictably, a few of these Genius annotations are superficially academic or else cheesy, but there's also a few astute readings that grapple with contemporary crime stats and history of South Central Los Angeles in the late '80s. Still, Ice Cube's brashest songwriting speaks well enough for itself. In his review of a few Genius users' notes on "Compton," Cube generally prefers the simplest interpretations as the most accurate. Cube's reaction to one user's interpretation of his "cook 'em in a pot like gumbo" line is especially perplexed.
Watch the full video below. It's odd to hear Hollywood mogul Ice Cube rapping his notoriously violent and vulgar "Straight Outta Compton" verse in relaxed, conversational flow over a facsimile beat provided by Vanity Fair. What a come-up.
