The world came to a standstill in 2020 amid the pandemic. Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, E-40, and Too Short have paved the way for hip hop genre. In Los Angeles, Ice Cube sparked the rise of gangsta rap as part of N.W.A in the late ‘80s, before Snoop Dogg broke out of Long Beach to introduce G-Funk to the masses through his landmark 1993 album “Doggystyle.” With colorful lingo and slick-talking raps, E-40 and Too Short have steered the sound of the Bay Area since first emerging in the 1980s. They gathered on Zoom shortly after Thanksgiving and they were just as excited to talk about their families as their music.
Snoop Dogg uses racial slur
They had joined forces to create Mount Westmore, a bona fide super-group connecting the Bay to L.A. On their debut album, titled “Snoop, 40, Cube and Short,” they were quick to remind about their founding father status, advising one to follow their footsteps on “Lace You Up” before flipping culture vultures the bird on “Have a Nice Day.”
Here is what happened during the conversation:
How did the idea for Mount Westmore come about?
Ice Cube: I think everybody saw an opportunity to do something bigger than just us. Something fun. Hip-hop can be so serious … but ain’t nobody having more fun than us. We all love each other, it’s like being in a group with your cousins.Snoop Dogg: If I’m the baby of the bunch, these are my OGs. These are the guys that I looked up to before I had a chance to do it. And once I got in the industry, we became brothers.
What was everybody’s role in the project?
Too Short: We didn’t utilize personal assistants, managers or label execs. Nobody got involved. We A&R’ed this ourselves.Snoop Dogg: You was the A&R, Short. N— you lying. [Laughs]
