On Friday, September 12, 2025, legendary rapper Ice Cube released his 12th studio album, “Man Up.” The 14-track record arrived less than a year after its Previous album, Man Down, which was released in November 2024. Ice Cube puts it, “It’s a call to action for accountability and resilience.” He also tells people to” Remember where the problems come from and to stand up for yourself.”

Ice Cube’s first song, “Man Power,” is practically a call for men to be more accountable and resilient. His second song, “What are you gonna do about it?” Challenges people to confront and take responsibility for social issues, a very pressing thing in this time and place. Thirdly, his song “Freedumb” expresses the limitations of free speech through social media, while also discussing constant surveillance through cell phones.

His next song, “Guess What?” tries to get people to recognize real issues throughout the U.S. and focus on those instead of minor things. Ice Cube’s fifth song, “Forget me if you ain’t wit me,” is practically a declaration of independence, and why being able to be independent is very important. His next song, “Before Hip Hop,” explores violence and societal issues that predate the genre.

Ice Cube’s Seventh song, “Act My Age,” which features ScarFace, practically demands respect for them and people their age, and discusses why seniority should be respected in the world. His eighth song, “Rachet Ass Mouth,” is a diss track to people who speak and don’t act on their words. His ninth song, titled “Respect My Space,” asks listeners to respect him for being an “elder statesman of hip-hop” and to respect what he has been through.

Ice Cube’s tenth song, “California Dreamin’,” is a song talking about how California should be a peaceful place and how it hurts him to see it torn up, like how it is between the riots and all the crazy things happening across the state of California. The eleventh song of the album, titled “That Salt and Pepper,” in which Ice Cube reflects on his life as a rapper and how he has grown throughout it.

Ice Cube’s twelfth song, “Bring Everybody,” is a call on how everyone should have responsibility and resilience and be true to themselves and everyone around them. The thirteenth song of the album, named “It’s My Ego,” featuring Scarface and Quake Matthews, explains why it’s good to have unapologetic confidence and why not to back down when you’re getting criticized or while facing adversity. Ice Cube’s final song, titled “All Work No Play,” conveys that real life his very hard and fast-paced, but as long as you don’t give up, you’ll be fine. This album, to me personally, is an album that is packed with meaning and stuff to contemplate. In the end, this is a great album, and I recommend listening to it

Official song list:

1. Man Power
2. What You Gonna Do About It?
3. Freedumb
4. Guess What?
5. Forget Me If You Ain’t Wit Me
6. Before Hip Hop
7. Act My Age (feat. Scarface)
8. Ratchet Ass Mouth
9. Respect My Space
10. California Dreamin’
11. That Salt and Pepper
12. Bring Everybody
13. It’s My Ego (feat. Scarface & Quake Matthews)
14. All Work No Play