Ice Cube ft. Snoop Dogg You Gotta Lotta That Video

Clearly, Ice Cube`s six-year sabbatical has placed him in a judicious position to observe the rap game from the sideline, and predictably, he pulls no punches while scoffing at imitators on "Child Support." But, it`s not just clones that get kicked in the groin by the former N.W.A. chief.

After firing off some political missives at George Bush on "The N***a Trap," Cube then adds an unsuspecting victim to his sh*t-list: "Flava Flav with a white girl, that`s whack/Gotta put that n***a in the back of my Cadillac//Take him to the `hood where it`s action packed/Let him know that the target`s still on his back." Really makes you wonder what channel this rapper-turned-actor has been tuned in to for the past few years.

Evidently, Ice Cube is still fluent in the edgy rhetoric of hip-hop on the Scott Storch-laced "Why We Thugs," where he questions America`s muddled sociological system. But, the single is almost ruined by formulaic handclaps and left-over piano loops. Scott Storch mishaps aside, Laugh Now, Cry Later is lacerated by second-rate production for the most part.

Lil` Jon`s crunk juice fails to deliver the mojo on the Snoop Dogg-featured "You Gotta Lotta" and "Go to Church," while "Stop Snitchin`" suffers from a clumsy Swizz Beatz concoction.

Like most Ice Cube albums, however, the music is never as important as his scathing tirades. Once you get past the embarassing production, you`ll be greeted with the soothing fact that Laugh Now... divulges an exciting new shift in Cube`s thought process. Take the gangsta fairy tale, "Growin` Up" for instance, where the O.G. recounts his early N.W.A days: Oh sh*t, it`s N.W.A.! "Them n***as on tour and they comin our way/Lil` Eminem is still tucked away//In that trailer park just bumpin our tape/Jerry Heller tried to make his escape//I had to bounce, while other n***az got raped."

Those who still envision Ice Cube as a grouchy gangsta running around with an oozy on every track are way behind the curve. It`s not that the topics he eschews on Laugh Now, Cry Later are less pertinent than the ones he now espouses; it`s just that he`s found a more convincing way to say the same things. Westsiiide!