“No Vaseline” by Ice Cube
“No Vaseline”, written after Ice Cube left N.W.A. was specifically aimed at his former group (N.W.A.) and former manager Heller for his shady contracts.
Ice Cube uses a lot of harsh words while exposing his former team and label. He constantly reminds them of the fact that he wrote most of the songs on their classic “Straight Outta Compton” album, and even wrote rhymes for Eazy-E. He then mocks them for starting out as a hardcore group but later becoming soft and dressing up for videos after he left them.
The rapper throughout the song exposes the financial exploitation that went on in the group leading to his departure while claiming that he is better off without them. He calls his former mates out for succumbing to Heller’s manipulations and being controlled by him; a decision he believes is the reason for the crew’s collapse.
“No Vaseline” Facts
Writing: Ice Cube
Production: Cube in partnership with Sir Jinx
Album/EP: Ice Cube’s gangsta rap album “Death Certificate”
Year of Release: 1991
Ice Cube vs. N.W.A.
Before Ice Cube became a Hollywood superstar, he was actually a rapper. In fact he was such a gifted lyricist that it is said he wrote 50% of N.W.A.’s first album, even though they were a six-man crew. So as the situation developed he decided to go solo since he felt he wasn’t being paid fairly for his input. This decision did not sit well with the rest of the group. So they began to dis Ice Cube on record.
The highlight of this beef however was this particular diss track which Cube dropped against the entire group. He proceeded to not only attack his former bandmates but also N.W.A.’s manager, Jerry Heller. In fact in the song he referred to Heller as a “Jew”, which caused Ice to get in trouble with some activists. Indeed he considered Heller to be at the center of what drove him away from the group. And interesting to note is that even though Dre did decide to attack Ice at first, ultimately he too left N.W.A. due to issues with Heller.
Eazy-E, the leader of the group, made peace with Cube shortly before he passed away in 1995. Later Ice Cube also buried the hatchet with the other members of N.W.A.
Moreover N.W.A. had disbanded altogether by the time Dr. Dre left in 1991, two years after Cube. But when the group got back together over 20 years later, Ice Cube also participated.
Who is “Toby,” whom Ice Cube sings about in the song? Thank you.
I think “Toby” is a reference used to demean someone by likening them to the enslaved character Kunta Kinte from the novel and TV series “Roots”. In “Roots,” Kunta Kinte is brutally forced to accept the slave name Toby by his enslavers. By using this reference, Ice Cube is essentially accusing someone of losing their self-respect and submitting to oppression and exploitation. He might be using it as a derogatory term within the context of the song to criticize his former group mates from N.W.A and their manager, Jerry Heller.