Ice Cube

I received a comment from a reader who sounded a bit frustrated with this column's choice of subject matter. "I can't wait for the next article on some earth-shattering topic like the history of the ice cube," he wrote. I always have wondered about the history of the ice cube. After a bit of poking around on the Internet, I came across Jeff Hendler, an executive at Arctic Glacier Inc., a national ice distributor. Hendler's father, Richard, founded one of the New York area's leading ice manufacturers (now part of Arctic Glacier)

If Ice Cube's career is any indication, the life cycle of a rapper is highly unpredictable. One day you're protesting police brutality, and 20 years later you're playing cute for the "Ramona and Beezus" set. Still, his legacy as one of the pioneers of gangsta rap is cemented, and he's sold millions of albums, including several certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. On Monday, he'll perform at Bourbon Street. Ice Cube, whose real name is O'Shea Jackson, first came to prominence in the late 1980s as part of controversial group N.W.A.

Inspired by the true-life tale of 11-year-old Jasmine Plummer, the first female quarterback to compete in the Pop Warner Super Bowl, The Longshots is a gentle, audience-friendly drama that's sometimes too safe for its own good. Given the edgy pedigrees of its chief architects - star-producer Ice Cube, director (and Limp Bizkit frontman) Fred Durst and writer Nick Santora (The Sopranos, Prison Break) - it's surprising the movie, despite its goal as family entertainment, doesn't exude more tension and pizazz (let's start with that generic score)

Inspired by the true-life tale of 11-year-old Jasmine Plummer, the first female quarterback to compete in the Pop Warner Super Bowl, The Longshots is a gentle, audience-friendly drama that's sometimes too safe for its own good. Given the edgy pedigrees of its chief architects - star-producer Ice Cube, director (and Limp Bizkit frontman) Fred Durst and writer Nick Santora (The Sopranos, Prison Break) - it's surprising the movie, despite its goal as family entertainment, doesn't exude more tension and pizazz (let's start with that generic score)

I've been following the debate over Ice Cube's newest rap release, "Death Certificate."In case you missed it, this is the infamous album in which the rap artist chants, "Nowadays, a gat [automatic weapon] is a man's best friend."This is the album where he boasts to a father, "Your daughter was a nice girl, now she's a slut. . . . I'm gonna do my thing with your daughter."And where he warns, "You can burn your cross, I'm gonna burn your flag . . . the ultimate drive-by. . . . I wanna kill [Uncle]

Controversial rap singer-actor Ice Cube and his manager have donated $21,751 to fund a summer camp for boys at a Baltimore elementary school that has done extensive work with young black males.But the gift, to Robert W. Coleman Elementary School in West Baltimore, drew little notice at last night's school board meeting, where it was one in a string of routine gifts and donations.The 23-year-old Ice Cube, whose real name is O'Shea Jackson, is one of a group of young rap artists who mix music with often-angry politicalcommentary on subjects that include racism, police brutality and black empowerment.

To 'G' or not to 'G' is the question."When Ice Cube makes that statement early on in his new album, "Lethal Injection" (Priority 53876, arriving in stores today), he cuts to the heart of the problem facing gangsta rap. "To 'G' " means to act like a gangsta, and it's easy to see the appeal in playing that role. Particularly if you've made your living at gangsta rap, a style that owes its reputation and popularity to gat-packin' brutality and f-tha-police attitude -- a combination Cube helped perfect in N.W.A.

Had Elmore Leonard written "Showgirls," the result could very well have been "The Players Club," an uneasy mix of raunch and redemption that's far from a great film, but sure is entertaining.Filled with oddball characters and enough street attitude to land a contract with Death Row Records, "The Players Club" ultimately fails because its characters are too stereotyped to be fresh and its heroine gets off way too easy. The result is a film not far removed from the blaxploitation flicks of the '70s, films that reveled in their badness (that applies to whichever meaning of "bad" you use)

Howard Community College is giving new meaning to the words "chill out" with a 54-foot long, 10-foot wide, 7 -foot high ice cube.The giant ice cube is the centerpiece of an innovative cooling system added during the summer to increase the community college's air-conditioning capacity and reduce energy costs.Contractors, engineers and commercial building owners attended seminars at HCC last week to learn about the technology and potential cost savings in what engineers call "cool storage" or "thermal storage."

LET'S GIVE DAVID DUKE a rest for a moment and consider the ravings of another prominent bigot.I'm not sure what his real name is but he is known to his many fans as Ice Cube.Mr. Cube is described by his publicists as a "rap artist." I'll take their word for it, although I think that's stretching the word "artist" a bit.His publicists also say that Mr. Ice Cube likes to use his music, if it can be called that, to make social statements.One of his recent social statements has to do with the strained relationship that exists between black customers and Korean merchants in Los Angeles.

There's a funny premise at the core of Are We Done Yet? Too bad the movie doesn't do much with it. A remake of the 1948 Cary Grant comedy Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, the film stars Ice Cube as Nick Persons, a newlywed father of two and would-be magazine publisher who moves his family to a big fixer-upper house in the country. The plot gets them away from the dangers of the city and gives everyone space to breathe, but gives short shrift to all manner of comic possibilities. Are We Done Yet?

I received a comment from a reader who sounded a bit frustrated with this column's choice of subject matter. "I can't wait for the next article on some earth-shattering topic like the history of the ice cube," he wrote. I always have wondered about the history of the ice cube. After a bit of poking around on the Internet, I came across Jeff Hendler, an executive at Arctic Glacier Inc., a national ice distributor. Hendler's father, Richard, founded one of the New York area's leading ice manufacturers (now part of Arctic Glacier)

Ice Cube Ice Cube, along with openers the Dogg Pound and Clipse, rolls into Washington's 9:30 Club, 815 V St. N.W., on Sunday. Since 1990, the rapper and movie star has released 10 albums, including a greatest hits compilation. Cube is also recognized for his roles in the Barbershop and Friday films. His 11th album, Laugh Now, Cry Later, will hit stores June 6. The show starts at 7:30 p.m., and tickets cost $35. Call 703-218-6500 or go to tickets.com.

Did ya get your race card? I didn't get my race card. Hell no, I didn't get my race card. Homeboy, when ya get your race card? White boy, what is a race card? - from the theme song for the FX reality show, Black.White., Lyrics by Ice Cube A black family and a white family trade lives. Hispanic high school students protest inequities in the Los Angeles public education system. A thief grapples with racial tensions in post-Katrina New Orleans. Although prime-time television may seem an unlikely venue for frank explorations of race, scenarios like these - in which ethnic differences influence story lines or inform character descriptions - increasingly are being played out onscreen.

Dance Cambodian Stories The work of the Japanese-born dance duo Eiko and Koma has been described as "enacting mysterious rituals, set in desolate dreamscapes." The couple, who met while studying the ancient Japanese movement art called butoh, seem to create works about time, or silence, or nature, or the struggle to survive. Often their dances are so gradual that the performers seem to be not moving at all. Many works are performed in the nude. While their work may not be to everyone's taste, it has been acclaimed by reviewers and audiences across the United States and Europe.

Will audiences flock to the pitiful Derailed to see how Jennifer Aniston was handling her split from Brad Pitt when she was filming it a year ago? Has Robert Downey Jr. overcome the notoriety of his drug busts so that audiences can see what's evident in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - that he is the most gifted actor of his generation? Pundits blame the fiasco of Gigli on the over-covered affair of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez - just as they ascribe the box-office success of Mr. and Mrs. Smith to the over-covered affair of Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

With Barbershop and Barbershop 2, Ice Cube has shown that his production company, Cube Vision, can create an "urban" franchise that's grittier and fresher than pink-and-white comedy series like, say, Legally Blonde. But Are We There Yet? gives off a stale odor. You can smell it from the trailer. Ice Cube stars as a Portland bachelor who loathes kids - too many tykes shoplift from his sports-collectible store. So naturally he falls for a fetching upscale party-planner who also happens to be a divorcee and single mom (Nia Long)

There's a funny premise at the core of Are We Done Yet? Too bad the movie doesn't do much with it. A remake of the 1948 Cary Grant comedy Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, the film stars Ice Cube as Nick Persons, a newlywed father of two and would-be magazine publisher who moves his family to a big fixer-upper house in the country. The plot gets them away from the dangers of the city and gives everyone space to breathe, but gives short shrift to all manner of comic possibilities. Are We Done Yet?

Barbershop, which premieres tonight at 10, is Showtime's sitcomization of the film franchise of the same name. It's an obvious move - the films on which it's based are half-sitcom already, taking place mostly on a single set full of colorful characters who talk a lot. But though the TV version catches some of the tone, replicates the topicality and shares executive producers of the big-screen originals, it lacks their grounded reality, as well as their...