What's cooler than bein' cool? Ice Cube, baby — the one, the only
Impersonation: It's rampant, these days. Some spammer recently raided my e-mail in-box and sent out "spoof" e-mails that looked like they came from me — open one, you get a virus. Devious stuff.
Imitation is nothing new to the music world, though, and particularly to hip-hop. Over the years, there have been many wannabees trying to sting like Ice Cube. Doesn't work. His combination of gangsta/hood reality laced with humor is hard to match, and when you throw in clever, politically charged writing skills, a supreme ear for slow-rolling dark beats and a wiseguy charm — well, no one can "spoof" the Cube.
Ice Cube might make goofy movies, but he is strictly business when he hits the recording studio. Witness "It Was a Good Day," which has to be one of the top-10 raps of all time.
A busy actor (and producer, of the TV show "Black/White"), Ice Cube has been away from the music game to flex his other show-business muscles. Now the former NWA leader is back, with the solo album "Laugh Now, Cry Later" coming in June. Released on his own label (Lench Records), this is his first major recording in a half-dozen years. The singles "We Thugs" and "Chrome and Paint" will probably be on the radio all summer, and the album will probably sell platinum, like most of Ice Cube's releases.
Seattle gets an early listen when the L.A. rapper busts out the new material 9 p.m. Saturday at the Showbox ($35).
O'Shea "Ice Cube" Jackson has always gone out of his way to cultivate as many haters as disciples, and the new record is no different. "We Thugs" plays the government-hates-blacks conspiracy ("they give us guns and drugs/then wonder why you don't [mess] with thugs") and concludes that Bush and Saddam Hussein are interchangeable.
Even on the party anthem "Chrome and Paint," Ice Cube tosses off lyrical grenades, calling himself "the D.C. sniper/you got the wrong killer." If you like girls and cars, check out the video, linked from myspace.com/icecube.
• The brilliant, erratic, minimalist singer Cat Power scratches her guitar at 9 p.m. Monday at the Showbox ($28). On this tour, the Memphis Rhythm Band will back Chan Marshall, who usually flies solo as Cat Power; having a band might settle her notoriously jittery nerves.
• The Seattle Weekly floods Ballard with 50 bands and 10 DJs playing 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday at the Tractor, the Sunset Tavern, Conor Byrne's, Lock & Keel, Paradox, Balmar and Mr. Spot's Chai House. Admission is $7 for this mini-Bumbershoot, a showcase for the Weekly's annual music awards/popularity contest.
While each venue will have some attractive acts, the place to be is the outdoor stage/beer garden, set up in a parking lot at 5410 Ballard Ave. N.W. The Buttersprites, the Emergency, the Ruby Doe, the Cops and Kinski will rock out at this venue.
• The Helio Sequence is a sensational rock duo — shades of the Beatles and the Who — from the suburbs of Portland. Crystal Skulls are among Seattle's hottest new indie rockers and were recently spin.com's "Band of the Day." The two are on the bill at 8 tonight at the Ballard all-ages spot the Paradox ($10).
Looking for a terrific band flying under the radar? Check out House on a Hill, one of Seattle's most underappreciated indie bands, with some terrific, dark-edged songs, like "Gypsy." This band deserves better than a Monday night gig — 9 p.m. at the Rendezvous ($5).
• The freaky, hilarious and talented quirk-pop band Huh-Uh is on a bill at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Funhouse ($5). The Weapons get neo-grungy at 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Funhouse ($5), and the Buttersprites play Japanese-American pop-punk at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday at the same club ($5).
• Chop Suey hosts an Indian groove night dubbed "Bollywood Massive" at 9:30 p.m. Saturday ($10, ladies $5 before 11:30).
The eclectic Capitol Hill club flips the hip-hop switch the next night, with the slick, smart local acts Common Market and Cancer Rising performing at 7 p.m. Sunday ($8), followed at 10 by a Massive Monkees b-boy/b-girl dance show ($6).
• The Triple Door catches the blues this week, as the downtown club hosts the Washington Blues Society Awards show at 7 p.m. Sunday ($25). Performers include Becki Sue and Her Big Rockin' Daddies, Blues Alliance and Red Hot Blues Sisters.
Tom Scanlon: tscanlon@seattletimes.com