Ice Cube – Laugh Now Cry Later *

Cube’s getting old. He hasn’t put out a solo album in a few years. Hard to say whether the Fork will recognize him for his contributions to hip-hop (aka rap, apparently) but ultimately declare his attempts old skool, or feel he has kept up with the times and returned to the scene large and, subsequently, in charge. I don’t follow hip-hop closely anymore, but this must be one of the biggest West Coast albums to come out of late. Isn’t all hip-hop from New York or Detroit these days? Either way, I’m going to take the easy way out and predict a 7.5 on the PF Scale. Actual rating: 3.8. Point differential: 3.7.