"Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It" is the first

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from

Ice Cube O'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1989 album '' Straight Outta Compton'' contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popu ...

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, ''

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 and EMI. The album features guest appearances from The Game, Butch Cassidy, Musiq Soulchild, Youn ...

''. It was released with a music video directed by Jonathan Silver. In the song, Ice Cube comments on the exploitation of

gangsta rap Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, is a subgenre of rap music that conveys the culture, values, and experiences of urban gangs and street hustlers, frequently discussing unpleasant realities of the world in general th ...

as a

scapegoat In the Bible, a scapegoat is one of a pair of kid goats that is released into the wilderness, taking with it all sins and impurities, while the other is sacrificed. The concept first appears in the Book of Leviticus, in which a goat is designate ...

for society's problems. A remix to the song was made featuring

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air (S ...

and

Scarface Scarface may refer to: Gangster-related * Scarface, nickname for Al Capone (1899–1947), an American gangster and a businessman. * ''Scarface'' (novel), a novel by Armitage Trail, loosely based on Capone's rise to power ** ''Scarface'' (1932 ...

. It is featured on the soundtrack to the video game '' Midnight Club: Los Angeles''.

Music video

The video was directed by Jonathan Silver and begins in a classroom set in the year 2020 (12 years after the song's release). A teacher wearing a uniform, flanked by two American flags, condemns

for the vices of society,

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

, etcetera. When a child asks if Compton was dangerous before the emergence of gangsta rap, the teacher yells, "Wrong! Compton was a

nature preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geolog ...

for bunny

rabbits Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated form ...

! When gangsta rap came along they tore down the

country clubs A country club is a privately-owned club, often with a membership quota and admittance by invitation or sponsorship, that generally offers both a variety of recreational sports and facilities for dining and entertaining. Typical athletic offer ...

and put up

housing projects Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a combination thereof ...

!" The room darkens and Ice Cube's face is

projected Projected is an American rock supergroup consisting of Sevendust members John Connolly and Vinnie Hornsby, Alter Bridge and Creed drummer Scott Phillips, and former Submersed and current Tremonti guitarist Eric Friedman. The band released the ...

on a screen

smoking Smoking is a practice in which a substance is combusted, and the resulting smoke is typically inhaled to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream of a person. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, whi ...

cigar A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and Fermentation, fermented tobacco leaves made to be Tobacco smoking, smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct comp ...

, rapping that gangsta rap is allegedly the root of all crimes. Several video clips of actual shootings in the U.S. and

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

are shown, as well as the

Virginia Tech Massacre The Virginia Tech shooting was a spree shooting that occurred on Monday, April 16, 2007, comprising two attacks on the campus of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

including the infamous image of

Seung-Hui Cho Cho Seung-hui (; ; ; January 18, 1984 – April 16, 2007), anglicized as Seung-Hui Cho, was a South Korean mass murderer who perpetrated the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007. Cho killed 32 people and wounded 17 others with two semi-automatic pi ...

pointing a

gun A gun is a device that Propulsion, propels a projectile using pressure or explosive force. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns or water cannon, cannons), or gas (e.g. light-gas gun). So ...

at the aforementioned

massacre A massacre is an event of killing people who are not engaged in hostilities or are defenseless. It is generally used to describe a targeted killing of civilians Glossary of French words and expressions in English#En masse, en masse by an armed ...

. It also features footage of the Michael Richards Laugh Factory incident (during the lyric "If I call you a nigga"),

Don Imus John Donald Imus Jr. ( ; July 23, 1940 – December 27, 2019), also known as Imus, was an American radio personality, television show host, recording artist, and author. His radio show '' Imus in the Morning'' was aired on various stations and di ...

("If I call you a nappy-headed ho") and

Chris Benoit Christopher Michael Benoit ( ; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career, but is notorious for Chris Benoit double-murd ...

(referring to the Benoit murder/suicide). The video features cameo appearances by WC and

DJ Crazy Toones Lamar Dupré Calhoun (November 18, 1971 – January 9, 2017), better known as DJ Crazy Toones, was an American hip hop producer and deejay. He was a member of the rap group WC and the Maad Circle and was later signed to Ice Cube's Lench Mob Recor ...

List of video clip images

* The 1997

North Hollywood Shootout The North Hollywood shootout, also known as the Battle of North Hollywood, was a confrontation between two heavily armed and armored bank robbers, Larry Phillips Jr. and Emil Mătăsăreanu, and police officers in the North Hollywood neighborho ...

(when Cube is talking about not needing to steal money) (1:12) *

1992 Los Angeles riots The 1992 Los Angeles riots were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, United States, during April and May 1992. Unrest began in South Los Angeles, South Central Los Angeles on April 29, after ...

(1:20) * "Arson in the Southland" fire clip (when Cube is talking about how "hot" he is) (1:35) * "False prophecy" clip with the image of

Warren Jeffs Warren Steed Jeffs (born December 3, 1955) is an American cult leader who is serving a life sentence in Texas for child sexual assault following two convictions in 2011. He is the president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter ...

(when Cube talks about him being Utah and having multiple bitches) (1:37) *

Oklahoma City bomber Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

Timothy McVeigh Timothy James McVeigh (April 23, 1968 – June 11, 2001) was an American domestic terrorist who masterminded and perpetrated the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995. The bombing itself killed 167 people (including 19 children), injured ...

being led away by police (1:50) * Michael Richards incident at the

Laugh Factory Laugh Factory is a chain of comedy clubs in the United States. The chain is owned by Laugh Factory Inc., and the founder and current chief executive is Jamie Masada. Endurance record The Laugh Factory keeps track of an endurance record for ...

(when Cube is rapping the chorus) (1:53) *

after his offensive statement. (1:55) *

Michael Vick Michael Dwayne Vick (born June 26, 1980) is an American college football coach and former player who is the Head coach, head football coach at Norfolk State Spartans football, Norfolk State University. He played quarterback in the National F ...

prior to the dogfighting clip (1:59) * Dogs fighting (when Cube is talking about acting like an animal) (2:01) * Police brutality (2:15) * Newspaper headline, " 'Crack' Epidemic Linked to Contras" (2:45) *

Columbine High School Columbine High School (CHS) is a public high school in Columbine, Colorado, United States, in the Denver metropolitan area. It is part of the Jefferson County Public Schools district. In 1999, it became the scene of an infamous mass shooti ...

cafeteria surveillance tape and sign (3:05) * The

Virginia Tech massacre The Virginia Tech shooting was a spree shooting that occurred on Monday, April 16, 2007, comprising two attacks on the campus of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

(3:09) *

Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse During the early stages of the Iraq War, members of the United States Army and the Central Intelligence Agency were accused of a series of human rights violations and war crimes against detainees in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. These abuses ...

(3:17) *

R. Budd Dwyer Robert Budd Dwyer (November 21, 1939 – January 22, 1987) was an American politician who served as the 70th Treasurer of Pennsylvania from January 20, 1981 until his suicide on January 22, 1987. He previously served from 1965 to 1971 as a Re ...

's televised suicide (3:29) * Televised suicide of

Daniel V. Jones Daniel Victor Jones (April 15, 1958 – April 30, 1998) was an American man who died by suicide on a Los Angeles freeway in 1998. The incident was broadcast on live television by news helicopters. Jones took his own life as a form of protest tow ...

(3:30) * A video of the welcome sign to

Jena, Louisiana Jena () is a town in, and the parish seat of, La Salle Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,155 at the 2020 census. History The site where Jena stands today began to attract settlers in 1802. The Hemphills family entered a c ...

, home of the

Jena Six The Jena Six were six African Americans, black teenagers in Jena, Louisiana, convicted in the 2006 beating of Justin Barker, a White Americans, white student at the local Jena High School, which they also attended. Barker was injured on December ...

(3:34) * Scenes from the music video of

It Was a Good Day "It Was a Good Day" is a song by American rapper Ice Cube, released on February 23, 1993, by Lench Mob Records, Lench Mob and Priority Records, Priority as the second single from his third solo album, ''The Predator (album), The Predator'' (1992 ...

(3:47) * NBA player

Ron Artest Metta Sandiford-Artest (born Ronald William Artest Jr., November 13, 1979), previously legally named Metta World Peace, is an American former professional basketball player who played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Un ...

punching a Pistons' fan in 2004. (3:50) *

Oliver North Oliver Laurence North (born October 7, 1943) is an American political commentator, television host, military historian, author, and retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. A veteran of the Vietnam War, North was a National Sec ...

testifying before the Iran-Contra hearings * Polar ice caps melting (When saying "If I fuck up the planet.") (4:19) *

vs.

Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler, rock musician, and actor. As a wrestler, he has been signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) , where he ...

in a

ladder match A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself become ...

for the

WWF Intercontinental Championship The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a men's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the Raw brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main roster, along ...

at the 2001 Royal Rumble

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

event. (4:33) * Gameplay of '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' (which has Ice Cube on its soundtrack), ''

Grand Theft Auto III ''Grand Theft Auto III'' is a 2001 action-adventure game developed by DMA Design and published by Rockstar Games. It was the first 3D game in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series. Set in Liberty City, loosely based on New York City, the story follo ...

'' and ''

Halo HALO, halo, halos or haloes may refer to: Most common meanings * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head * ''Halo'' (franchise), a sci-fi video game series (2001–2021) Arts and en ...

'' (4:35) *The infamous

O. J. Simpson Orenthal James Simpson (July 9, 1947 – April 10, 2024), also known by his nickname "the Juice", was an American professional American football, football player, actor, and media personality who played in the National Football League (NFL) ...

L.A Wide pursuit.(4:37) *

United Airlines Flight 175 United Airlines Flight 175 was a domestic passenger flight from Logan International Airport in Boston to Los Angeles International Airport in California that was hijacked by five al-Qaeda terrorists on the morning of September 11, 2001, as ...

crashing into the second tower of the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are the hundreds of sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may also refer to: Buildings * World Trade Center (1973–2001), a building complex that was destroyed during the September 11 at ...

(4:39) *

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...

(4:54)

References

{{Ice Cube 2008 singles Ice Cube songs Songs written by Ice Cube Gangsta rap songs Political rap songs