True to the Game

This article is about the 1992 song. For the 2017 film, see True to the Game (film).

The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guideline for music. Please help to demonstrate the notability of the topic by citing reliable secondary sources that are independent of the topic and provide significant coverage of it beyond a mere trivial mention. If notability cannot be shown, the article is likely to be merged, redirected, or deleted.
Find sources: "True to the Game" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

1992 single by Ice Cube

"True to the Game"

Single by Ice Cube
from the album  Death Certificate
B-side|

* "Givin' Up the Nappy Dug Out" ("R" rated edit)
* "Givin' Up the Nappy Dug Out" (album version)

Released| September 14, 1992
Recorded| 1991
Genre|

* Gangsta rap
* West Coast hip hop
* political hip hop

Length| 4:16
Label| Priority
Songwriter(s)| O'Shea Jackson
Producer(s)|

* Ice Cube
* Sir Jinx

Ice Cube singles chronology
| "Steady Mobbin'"
(1991)  | "True to the Game"
(1992)  | "Wicked"
(1992)

|
|

"True to the Game" is the final single from Ice Cube's Death Certificate album.

## Video content

[edit]

In the video, Ice Cube kidnaps various rappers (some resembling his former bandmates) who are portrayed as "record sellers" and not "true to the game". The video's outdoor scenes are set on Crenshaw Boulevard, which in the aftermath of the 1992 Los Angeles riots featured many burned-out buildings.[1] Another scene in a photo studio shows a rapper (apparently intended to be MC Hammer) clad in hardcore-style clothing who later changes into a red sequined outfit, symbolizing and parodying his transition into mainstream pop music.[2] The video features appearances by DJ Pooh and actress and Friends star Lisa Kudrow.[citation needed]

## Meaning of lyrics

[edit]

This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (May 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

"True to the Game" laments the trend of hip hop artists and other celebrities crossing over into mainstream music.[2] More broadly, the song's lyrics criticize African American assimilation into the middle class.[3]

The song is a condemnation of Uncle Toms who sell out themselves to white communities and audiences: "Stop selling out your race, and wipe that stupid-ass smile off your face."

In particular, he calls out rappers who switch from hardcore in an attempt to cater to overwhelmingly white audiences at the expense of integrity, those who fail to be in touch with their roots, and especially blacks who snobbishly align themselves with a white clique at the expense of fidelity to their own:

You put on your suit and tie and your big clothes, You don't associate with the NEGROES
You wanna be just like Jack, But Jack is calling you a nigger behind your back.
So back off genius, I don't need you to correct my broken English.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Forman, M.; Neal, M.A. (2004). That's the Joint!: The Hip-Hop Studies Reader. Taylor & Francis. p. 382\. ISBN 9780203642191. Retrieved 2014-11-30.
2. ^ a b Hess, M. (2007). Icons of Hip Hop: An Encyclopedia of the Movement, Music, and Culture. Vol. 2\. Greenwood Press. p. 313\. ISBN 9780313339042. Retrieved 2014-11-30.
3. ^ Forman, M.; Neal, M.A. (2004). That's the Joint!: The Hip-Hop Studies Reader. Taylor & Francis. p. 386\. ISBN 9780203642191. Retrieved 2014-11-30.

## External links

[edit]

* Ice Cube - "True to the Game"

* v
* t
* e

Ice Cube

Discography

Studio albums|

* AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted
* Death Certificate
* The Predator
* Lethal Injection
* War & Peace Vol. 1 (The War Disc)
* War & Peace Vol. 2 (The Peace Disc)
* Laugh Now, Cry Later
* Raw Footage
* I Am the West
* Everythang's Corrupt

Extended plays|

* Kill at Will

Compilations|

* Bootlegs & B-Sides
* Featuring...Ice Cube
* Greatest Hits
* In the Movies
* The Essentials
* Icon

Singles|

* "Steady Mobbin'"
* "True to the Game"
* "Wicked"
* "It Was a Good Day"
* "Check Yo Self"
* "Really Doe"
* "You Know How We Do It"
* "Bop Gun (One Nation)"
* "The World Is Mine"
* "We Be Clubbin'"
* "Men of Steel"
* "Pushin' Weight"
* "Hello"
* "You Can Do It"
* "Until We Rich"
* "Why We Thugs"
* "Go to Church"
* "Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It"
* "Do Ya Thang"
* "I Rep That West"
* "Good Cop, Bad Cop"
* "Arrest the President"

Featured singles|

* "Connected for Life"

Other songs|

* "No Vaseline"

Related articles|

* N.W.A
* Westside Connection
* C.I.A.
* Da Lench Mob
* Lench Mob Records
* Cube Vision
* O'Shea Jackson Jr.

This 1990s American single-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

|

* v
* t
* e

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template