Raw Footage

Raw Footage is the eighth studio album by American rapper Ice Cube. It was released on August 19, 2008, by his record label Lench Mob Records [12][13] and EMI. The album features guest appearances from The Game, Butch Cassidy, Musiq Soulchild, Young Jeezy and WC. The album is his most political effort, since over a decade earlier with the release of his album The Predator (1992).

Raw Footage
Studio album by Ice Cube
Released	August 19, 2008
Recorded	2007–08
Genre	West Coast hip hop Gangsta rap political hip hop
Length	64:34
Label	Lench Mob EMI
Producer	Ice Cube (exec.) DizMIX DJ Crazy Toones P-No DJ Felli Fel DJay Cas Emile EmBeatz Maestro Palumbo Beats Scott Storch Swizz Beatz Tha Bizness Warren "Baby Dubb" Campbell Symphony Hallway Productionz Young Fokus John Murphy
Ice Cube chronology
Laugh Now, Cry Later (2006) Raw Footage (2008) I Am the West (2010)
Singles from Raw Footage
"Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It" Released: January 3, 2008 "Do Ya Thang" Released: July 1, 2008 "Why Me?" Released: September 24, 2008

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	67/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
About	[2]
AllHipHop	(8/10)[3]
Allmusic	[4]
ChartAttack	[5]
HipHopDX	[6]
RapReviews	(8.5/10)[7]
Robert Christgau	[8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
The Source	[10]
XXL	(favorable)[11]

Preceding the release, supported by three singles; "Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It", "Do Ya Thang", and "Why Me?" featuring Musiq Soulchild.

Singles

The lead single from the album, called "Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It" was released January 3, 2008. The song was produced by Maestro. In this single, Ice Cube addresses society's view of gangsta rap music, which has sometimes been blamed for criminality in America. On February 12, 2008, the single became available via iTunes. The music video[14] features cameo appearances by WC and DJ Crazy Toones.

The album's second single, called "Do Ya Thang" was released through the iTunes on June 24, 2008. The song was produced by Palumbo Beats.

The music video for the third single, "Why Me?" featuring Musiq Soulchild,[15] premiered on BET's 106 & Park on September 24, 2008.

Other songs

The song "It Takes a Nation" was released via iTunes Store on May 27, 2008. It was never officially released as a single.

Commercial performance

Raw Footage debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200, selling 70,000 copies in its first week.[16] This became Ice Cube's seventh US top-ten album.[16]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"What Is a Pyroclastic Flow?"		John Murphy	0:54
2.	"I Got My Locs On" (featuring Young Jeezy)	O'Shea Jackson Jay Jenkins Delarmon "P-No" Harold	P-No	3:43
3.	"It Takes a Nation"	Jackson Emile Haynie	Emile	3:26
4.	"Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It"	Jackson Vaushaun Brooks	Maestro	4:41
5.	"Hood Mentality"	Jackson Deejon Underdue Teak Underdue Hal Davis Herman Griffith	Hallway Productionz	5:11
6.	"Why Me?" (featuring Musiq Soulchild)	Jackson Talib Johnson D. Underdue T. Underdue	Hallway Productionz	4:00
7.	"Cold Places"	Jackson D. Underdue T. Underdue	Hallway Productionz	4:12
8.	"Jack N the Box"	Jackson Chris Whitacre Justin Henderson	Tha Bizness	4:22
9.	"Do Ya Thang"	Jackson M. Palumbo	Palumbo Beats	4:04
10.	"Thank God"	Jackson D. Underdue T. Underdue Barry White Bob Relf Tom Brocker	Hallway Productionz	5:28
11.	"Here He Come" (featuring Doughboy)	Jackson Darrell Finister II Gene Griffin	Symphony	4:32
12.	"Get Money, Spend Money, No Money"	Jackson Haynie	Emile	4:07
13.	"Get Used to It" (featuring WC and The Game)	Jackson William Calhoun Jayceon Taylor Augustine "EmBeatz" Sumo/BeatMafia	EmBeatz	4:25
14.	"Tomorrow"	Jackson Warryn "Baby Dubb" Campbell	Campbell	3:40
15.	"Stand Tall"	Jackson Lamar Calhoun David "DizMIX" Lopez William DeVaughn	DJ Crazy Toones DizMIX	3:46
16.	"Take Me Away" (featuring Butch Cassidy)	Jackson Butch Cassidy	Young Fokus, DJay Cas	4:03

iTunes bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
17.	"Believe It or Not"	Jackson Haynie	Emile	3:11
18.	"Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It (Remix)" (featuring Scarface and Nas)	Jackson Brad Jordan Nasir Jones Brooks	Maestro	4:52

Best Buy pre-order bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
17.	"Don't Make Me Hurt Ya Feelings"	Jackson Kasseem Dean	Swizz Beatz	2:47
18.	"Crack Baby?"	Jackson James Reigart	DJ Felli Fel	2:59
19.	"Why We Thugs" (Live)(featuring WC)	Jackson W. Calhoun Scott Storch	Storch	3:37

Notes

• "What Is a Pyroclastic Flow?", "Hood Mentality", "Jack N the Box", "Get Used to It" and "Take Me Away" feature voice over by Keith David.
• "Cold Places" also featured on Ice Cube's greatest hits album The Essentials.

Sample credits

• "Hood Mentality" contains a sample of "Can I" performed by Eddie Kendricks.
• "Thank God" contains a samples of "If We Don't Make It, Nobody Can" performed by Tom Brocker (witten by Barry White, Bob Relf and Tom Brocker).
• "Stand Tall" contains a sample of "Be Thankful for What You Got", written and performed by William DeVaughn.

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2008) Peak position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[17] 96 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[18] 14 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 53 US Billboard 200[20] 5 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[21] 1 US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[22] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2008) Position US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[23] 62

References

1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2015-09-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. "About review". Archived from the original on 2009-06-25. Retrieved 2010-01-14.
3. "AllHipHop review". Archived from the original on 2008-08-26. Retrieved 2008-08-25.
4. Allmusic review
5. ChartAttack review Archived 2009-01-09 at the Wayback Machine
6. "HipHopDX review". Archived from the original on 2017-05-21. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
7. "RapReviews review". Archived from the original on 2008-08-26. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
8. "Robert Christgau review". Archived from the original on 2012-02-18. Retrieved 2012-03-22.
9. "Rolling Stone review". Archived from the original on August 19, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-15.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
10. Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). 2004. ISBN 9780743201698. Archived from the original on 2017-02-16. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
11. "XXL review". Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2011-01-30.
12. "Ice Cube interview". April 4, 2007. Archived from the original on October 23, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-28.
13. "Suntimes interview". Chicago Sun-Times. April 1, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-10-14. Retrieved 2007-09-28.
14. Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It. Archived 2008-08-30 at the Wayback Machine BallerStatus. Accessed January 13, 2008.
15. Ice Cube Gets Political with ‘Why Me?’ Video. Archived 2008-09-14 at the Wayback Machine Rap-up.com. Accessed September 3, 2008.
16. Jonathan Cohan (August 27, 2008). "Jonas Brothers Begin Second Week At No. 1". Billboard. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
17. "Ultratop.be – Ice Cube – Raw Footage" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
18. "Ice Cube Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard.
19. "Swisscharts.com – Ice Cube – Raw Footage". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
20. "Ice Cube Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
21. "Ice Cube Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
22. "Ice Cube Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
23. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2008". Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2020.

External links

• Raw Footage at Metacritic