Abstract
Lobalzo Wright explores Ice Cube’s transition from controversial gangster rapper to Hollywood mogul through an investigation of his industrial position in contemporary Hollywood, as an actor, writer, director, and producer. His longevity, a feat mostly unmatched by many of his rap contemporaries, can be linked to the conglomerate nature of contemporary Hollywood. His success, however, is limited by the same industry through the ideology of black male stardom and the critical reception of many of his films, although the box office success of some of his more recent films may signal a turning point in his film career.
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Notes
- 1.
As Todd Boyd has argued, Compton became synonymous with gangster rap even though few knew the specifics of the area (p. 68).
- 2.
Jodi Brooks (2001) notes the importance of time in many ‘gangsta’ films, including Friday, which, through the marijuana consumption of Craig and Smokey, oscillates between ‘real time’ and ‘dope time’ (p. 370).
- 3.
See Jonathan Munby (2007) for an analysis of the connection between gangster rap and the gangster film genre.
- 4.
- 5.
See also Guerrero (1993), who wrote about the $30 million dollar budget ceiling for black films in Hollywood in the early 1990s (pp. 166–168). This budgetary limit appears to have not altered in over twenty-five years.
- 6.
All budget and box office figures are from boxofficemojo.com.
- 7.
Criticisms have also been leveled against the Barbershop franchise for its promotion of middle-class values and conspicuous commodity consumption. See Mukherjee (2006).
- 8.
See Aftab (2008) for an example of a review that focuses on the social and political context one of Ice Cube’s comedies, First Sunday.
- 9.
The only project Cube did not have full control over was Janky Promoters, released straight-to-DVD in 2010 by the Weinstein brothers. Due to the Weinsteins’ financial problems, Cube was offered the chance to sell the film elsewhere, but, according to Cube, before he finalised an alternative deal, the unfinished film was released (Rabin).
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Wright, J.L. (2016). From Boy N the Hood to Hollywood Mogul: Ice Cube’s Lasting Stardom in Contemporary Hollywood. In: Bolton, L., Wright, J. (eds) Lasting Screen Stars. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-40733-7_5
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