Skip to main content

Ice Cube: N.W.A. may reunite at Coachella this year

n w a may reunite coachella ice cube
Tristan Scholze/Shutterstock
Legendary hip-hop act N.W.A. may reunite at Coachella in April. Last week, Ice Cube hinted at the reunion on The Talk while promoting his new film Ride Along 2.

“I got some tricks up my sleeve. I can’t reveal it all,” said Ice Cube in an appearance on The Talk.  “But I’m trying to bring the members of N.W.A. together. Come with me on the stage. Give everybody a little history lesson on Ice Cube and N.W.A. Westside Connection. Everything I’ve been doing over the years.”

The Compton, CA-originated group brought gangsta rap to the mainstream in the mid ‘80s with controversial songs that were often anti-police and pro-crime. N.W.A. members Ice Cube, MC Ren, and DJ Yella last performed together in June at the BET Experience for the first time in over 25 years, but were missing founding member Dr. Dre.

Also in April, N.W.A. will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “This means that the group’s mark is solidified,” said Ice Cube to Rolling Stone. “We got some of the most creative, talented people in N.W.A that’s ever been compiled in one group. It’s just exciting that the group as a whole gets recognized by the whole industry as Hall of Fame-worthy.”

Last year, the group received the biopic treatment in the Oscar-nominated film Straight Outta Compton. The title comes from N.W.A.’s critically-acclaimed 1988 debut record featuring the songs Straight Outta Compton, Gangsta Gangsta, and Express Yourself.

Regardless of whether Ice Cube can rile the troops together for a full-on N.W.A. reunion, we do know that the rapper is confirmed to perform at Coachella on April 16 and April 23. Guns ‘N Roses and LCD Soundsystem are also slated to reunite at this year’s event.

Chris Leo Palermino
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Chris Leo Palermino is a music, tech, business, and culture journalist based between New York and Boston. He also contributes…
What is hi-res audio, and how can you experience it right now?
Dlyan Wireless Headphones

High-resolution audio, hi-res audio, or even HD audio -- whatever you decide to call it (for the record, the industry prefers "hi-res audio"), it's a catch-all term that describes digital audio that goes above and beyond the level of sound quality you can expect from a garden-variety MP3 file and even CDs. It was once strictly the domain of audiophiles, but now that major streaming music services like Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, Deezer, and Qobuz have embraced it, almost everyone can take advantage of what hi-res has to offer.

But what exactly is hi-res audio? What equipment do you need to listen to it? Where can you download or stream it? And does it actually sound better? We've got the answers.
What does the term 'hi-res audio' mean?

Read more
How to download music from Spotify for offline listening
How to download music and podcasts from Spotify: The downloads folder.

If you're a Spotify Premium user paying that premium Spotify fee, chances are you've taken at least some time curating playlists, liking songs, and using the platform's easy-to-use (and recently revamped) user interface to discover new and old music.

But sometimes all that music or your favorite podcasts aren't available if you find yourself without an internet connection to stream them from — like on a long plane ride or weekend camping trip in the sticks. That's where Spotify's offline listening feature comes in handy, allowing you to download playlists, albums, and podcasts through its desktop and mobile apps so you can still rock out while you're off the grid.

Read more
How to switch from Spotify to Apple Music
Spotify and Apple Music transfer on a smartphone.

Spotify is the world's most popular music streaming service for a reason. It has a massive catalog of music and podcasts, is full of cool music discovery and sharing features, and is really easy to use.
However, with its recent price increase and the fact that it still hasn't joined most of its peers in offering a hi-res audio quality option, you may be considering jumping ship for its closest competitor, Apple Music, which counts lossless hi-res tracks, mind-bending spatial audio, Dolby Atmos Music tracks, and a catalog that rivals Spotify's among the many attractive reasons to switch.

But there's one problem: you’ve spent a lot of time creating playlists and marking songs and albums as your favorites in Spotify. Is it worth the switch? Will all that hard work be lost in translation?

Read more