Laugh Now Cry Later (Explicit Version) (2006)

XXL (Magazine)
(p.136)
- "Dusting off his black Raiders cap, Cube lambastes every wanksta within earshot....Cube's knack for self-reflection also serves him well..."

Mojo (Publisher)
(p.90)
- 3 stars out of 5 -- "[He] proves he still has sufficient desire to make angry, focused music....The vocals bristle with lip-curled sneers and contemptuous snorts."

Now Magazine 9 of 10
Cube, man. When does he sleep? One day he's XXX, the next he's a driving Nia Long's bratty kids around in Are We There Yet? Then he drops an album whose title makes me laugh out loud. Then I listen to it and am blown back by how few cracks he's showing (especially next to Uncle Ladies Love Cool J). This is hot. The beats on this thing are some drippy, Hollywood shit, and Cube's so-West-Coast-it's-actually-in-the-ocean twang is still humorous, still saying politically salient thangs. The retrospective Growin' Up is interesting, and Smoke Some Weed is the most powerful budda track of 06. As we learn on it, 'Even Robert Downey hits the bong.' Who knew? - Jason Richards
 
RapReviews.com 8 of 10
Ice Cube fans have been waiting for this one a long time. O'Shea Jackson hasn't released a new album of his own material since 2000's "War & Peace Vol. 2," and his last album as part of a group was Westside Connection's "Terrorist Threats." Reactions to both were mixed - the latter being something of a pleasant surprise but doing little to re-establish Westside given their seven year layoff, while the former was panned by many rap writers who said Ice Cube had "gone Hollywood." This writer didn't have that much of a problem with either one, although I think we're all in agreement that the days when Cube made albums like "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted" are LONG gone. Nevertheless Cube linked up with Scott Storch for the first single off "Laugh Now, Cry Later" and the result was a an eeriely familiar track called "Why We Thugs." - Steve Juon
 

Ice Cube began his career with the notorious gangsta rap group N.W.A. He broke away at the height of their national notoriety. On his initial solo release, 1990's Amerikkka's Most Wanted, Ice Cube injected virulent political and cultural rhetoric that stepped above N.W.A's gangbanging braggadocio. Ice Cube squashed the bi-coastal rap rivalry and collaborated with New York's hip-hop heavyweights Public Enemy. Their production team, the Bomb Squad, produced Amerikkka's Most Wanted. The track "Amerikkka's Most Wanted" was his debut solo single and was #1 on the Hot Rap Single chart. The album sold over a million copies.

Ice Cube became a lightning rod for attracting attacks from rock critics and moralists for his lyrical content. Time has shown that the ruthless words and pointed imagery on both Amerikkka's Most Wanted and 1991's pre-LA riots Death Certificate were not included for shock-value. The message construed in his rhymes presaged Los Angeles's incendiary reaction to the outcome of the Rodney King trial. America was now listening to Ice Cube. Death Certificate debuted at #1 on the R&B Album chart and #2 on the Top 200 Album chart.

In 1992, Ice Cube continued his vocal incursion into suburban America with a role in John Singleton's epic film on South Central LA, Boyz In The Hood and by touring on the second Lollapalooza. His next release, The Predator, galvanized him as the premiere multi-platinum West Coast hip-hop G. It debuted at #1 on both the R&B and Top 200 Album charts. The Predator was an epilogue to the LA riots and while "It Was A Good Day" provides a hassle-free moment in a Compton day, there is still dissonance in Ice Cube's America. 1993's Lethal Injection sees Ice Cube morphing into his "Don Mega" persona that permeates his War & Peace albums and projects with Westside Connection.

These first four albums set him up for his later successes. In addition to his War & Peace two-album series, Ice Cube has recently starred in The Friday After Next, the 3rd installment of his multi-million dollar earning Friday movie franchise, Player's Club and the critically praised Barbershop.