Ice Cube’s Tucson show pays respect to 40 years of gangsta rap

When Ice Cube rapped “Fuck the police comin’ straight from the underground / A young nigga got it bad ’cause I’m brown / And not the other color, so police think / They have the authority to kill a minority,” it changed rap forever. “Fuck tha Police” dropped on an unexpecting American public in 1988, and never before had a song so vehemently unburdened by the civil demands of polite society been put to wax. Cube’s timeless bars continue to hold weight to this day in a country grappling with a runaway police state. 

“My shows are not a political mission; my shows are a celebration. If it calls for a statement or something happened in the world that I think a statement needs to be made, I don’t mind giving out my personal philosophies on things that we all face,” Cube says.

The rap legend returns to Arizona on Friday, April 17, for a concert at Casino Del Sol in Tucson.

Cube spoiled fans with back-to-back albums “Man Down” and “Man Up” in 2024 and 2025, respectively, after an eight-year hiatus. His “Truth to Power: 4 Decades of Attitude” Tour in late 2025 brought his triumphant return to 22 cities across the U.S. and Canada.

We asked Cube how it felt to be back in the lab making music again for a hungry fanbase.

“It’s all about inspiration,” he explains. “If I’m inspired, I’ll go. I think I should have the itch, you know. I’ve had it lately and we in a groove, you know, we making good songs. When I say we, it’s not just me. I got a production team that helps me put the right music to these lyrics,” he says, referring to his collaboration with producer big dogs like Zaytoven, David Banner, Nottz and even Lil’ Jon. “Hopefully, the youngsters can learn from the record, you know, it’s a lot of game on that record.”

Forty years in hip-hop is no small feat, especially in gangsta rap. The subgenre of rap music saw its wax in the ’80s with the entrance of Cube and the rest of N.W.A., then underwent its 1990s saturation before waning in the early 2000s with the last major star of the genre, 50 Cent, carrying the torch.

By then, rap began to veer off course from its tough image, and the arrival of markedly not-gangsta acts like Kanye West and Drake took the torch-bearing in a different direction. But this didn’t mean the appetite for the gun-bucking party music from rap’s golden era faded, and Cube, now a multi-hyphenate movie impresario and business magnate, wants to make sure you mark-ass bitches don’t forget it.

“I got so much music,” he says. “I’m sprinkling in a little “Man Up” / “Man Down,” but for the most part, you know how we do it: “Check Yourself,” “Good Day,” “We Be Clubbin,’” “You Can Do It …”

“We ain’t gonna leave nothing untouched,” Cube says.

Cube hopes to offer fans a respite from the day’s political madness with his April 17 show in the 5,000-seat amphitheater at Casino Del Sol in Tucson.

“W.C. is coming,” he says. “You know I gotta keep my partner in crime with me. We do a great show, and, you know, we really rapping. We’re not playing with it.” (Warren G is also on the bill.)

Selfishly, we always hope to see more of the architects of speaking truth to power, well, speaking truth to power. But with nearly all of rap’s most outspoken founding fathers juggling more lucrative ventures than rap music, the new faces of the genre are left to jump out there to vocally pop that rebellious shit.

When asked if there were any breakout rappers that he’d see himself working with, Cube says, “I just kind of do my thing, and to me, the universe brings it together if it’s supposed to happen. I just kind of do it a different way, you know, so, who knows?” He did, however, show love to Anderson .Paak: “He’s a genius. I mean, his music is next level. I would love to do something with him because I know it’s going to be unique. So yeah, I’m a fan.”

After 40 years in the game, Ice Cube’s fans still show up for him.

“If they’re not rocking the merch, they got on something Raider, everybody in black or gray. It’s just that vibe, you know. We all West Sider Riders,” he says. “You feel like you with family. All walks of life are at the show, all ages. It’s just a big west side party.”