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Ice Cube Reunites LL Cool J and Chuck D on “Before Hip Hop (Premix)”
The Premix doesn't try to sound modern or follow trends. Instead, the track relies on a minimalist production, focused on lyrics and diction.
Ice Cube has just released a new version of his song Before Hip Hop, this time accompanied by LL Cool J and Chuck D.
Baptized Before Hip Hop (Premix), the title has been available on YouTube for a few hours, via his channel Cubevision, and will be officially released on all platforms on October 9, 2025.
A collaboration between three historical figures
This version brings together three major voices of American rap: Ice Cube (NWA, West Coast), LL Cool J (Def Jam, Queens) And Chuck D (Public Enemy). Each marked a different period in the history of Hip-Hop, but all share the same vision of rap carrying a message.
The Premix doesn't try to sound modern or follow trends. Instead, the track relies on a minimalist production, focused on lyrics and diction.
The three MCs recall what life was like in black communities. before the arrival of Hip-Hop, and how this culture served as a response to already well-established social realities.
A return to the foundations
The words, noted by The Hip Hop Democrat, show that the theme of the song goes beyond nostalgia.
Chuck D sums up this idea in one sentence:
“Before Hip Hop cops, we still got choked.”
The verse evokes the fact that racial injustices and tensions existed long before rap put them into words. LL Cool J, for its part, links this collective memory to historical figures, while the MC Ice Cube keeps its direct tone, faithful to its frontal narration style.
A piece of historical value
This Premix is not a commercial attempt: it is a discussion between three veterans who recall where the movement comes from. The title acts as a reminder that Hip-hop didn't just document the street, it was born from it.
Even if the mixing of the song makes people react (the voice of Cube dominates a little over the others), the interest of the title remains in its content and its symbolic scope.
With this project Ice Cube continue to use Cubevision as an independent platform, both to publish music and to preserve a certain artistic freedom.
The song will be available on all platforms on October 9th, and could well become an important document for those interested in the evolution of rap and its social role.
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