It's a long way from Compton, the beleaguered Los Angeles neighbourhood championed by the seminal hip-hop group N.W.A., to Red Deer, Alta., where that combo's founder Ice Cube is due onstage in less than 30 minutes.

It's arguably an even longer trip from being N.W.A.'s forceful, articulate voice-of-the-people to preparing to play the role of Mr. Kot-tare in an upcoming feature film based on the hokey 1970s TV series Welcome Back, Kotter.

But as Cube, born O'Shea Jackson, takes a few minutes out of his schedule for a brief phone conversation, it's clear he sees it all as merely fulfilling the book. He has, after all, been known as an actor almost as long as he has been known as a rapper, having appeared in Boyz N the Hood shortly after leaving N.W.A.

Film roles, in fact, became so prolific for Cube in the '90s that following the release of his companion War & Peace albums, in 2000, Cube quietly put a halt to his musical endeavours, finally resurfacing last year with the return to form Laugh Now, Cry Later.

"It seemed like every time I would start an album I would be pulled away to go and do a movie," says Cube, who plays the Civic Centre tonight with Snoop Dogg. "So I decided not to do another record until I had the time to dedicate to it. I had to wait until all my movie obligations were over. I think that's the reason why this is the most complete record I've done in a while."

The record features the gangsta pioneer still challenging the system, and calling out those not fit to do the same. It's six years worth of pent-up aggression, compressed into a full-on aural assault. And it proves Cube still has much to say, for those willing to listen. Hip-hop, Cube notes, is a young man's game, but sometimes it's helpful to listen to a voice of experience.

"I enjoy making records," Cube says of his motivation. "At this point, I'm not doing it for the money or the fame or anything like that, I do it because I enjoy making hip-hop records.

"I think that keeps the fire going. So many people are doing records for alternative reasons, especially once they make it. They start to do records because they want another advancement cheque or they've got a lot of bills they need to pay, and the music is coming out of a different place.

"With me, I'm doing music for Ice Cube fans -- not necessarily for new ones, but for the ones that have been there from Day 1."

Day 1 was 1987, when Cube and producer Dr. Dre unleashed a mix tape called My Posse. Joining forces with rapper Eazy-E, Cube and Dre gave birth to N.W.A., creating the West Coast hip-hop mission statement Straight Outta Compton before imploding. Cube hit the ground running with his solo debut before allowing the acting bug to distract him from his hip-hop duty.

Today, the controversial figure continues to speak out. And, 20 years into a distinguished career, continues to draw resistance for his efforts.

"I'm not surprised," Cube says of the mainstream's continuing wariness towards the power of the word, "because the part of society that does rap music is the part of society that's never heard. Our voices have been suppressed in so many ways, just by not being represented in all forms of media.

"You know, a lot of corners really don't want to hear what the youth have to say anyway, so a music that's geared to the youth and not geared for them at all, I can see why they would give it a lot of resistance."

And, of course, why the media prefer to paint the hip-hop community in a negative light.

"Rap deals with the good, the bad, the ugly. There have always been ... beefs in our community. And it seems like there's always been violence, due to just the situation -- people feel hopeless in a lot of ways. You mix all that in with a way to make some money, legitimately, and to become a star, and you might have a crabs-in-a-bucket syndrome going on. But the problems ain't the crabs, the problem is the bucket. That's what people have got to keep in perspective."

And that, Cube still firmly believes, is where hip-hop can make a difference.

"I still believe that whenever you can get your point of view across and somebody hears it and is receptive to it, it will change them," he insists. "Can it change the world? The world ain't buying the records, but the people that do listen to the records get a better understanding of what's going on."

That, again, is what keeps the man, the legend, going.

Welcome back, Cube.