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Ice Cube goes out with 'Raw Footage'

Gangsta-rap godfather Ice Cube has assembled a late-summer US tour to coincide with the Aug. 19 release of his new album, "Raw Footage."

The club-and-theater outing will take the rapper/actor across the country, starting Aug. 21 in Seattle and wrapping Sept. 21 in New York City. The itinerary is included below. Ice Cube also has a two-week European jaunt on his calendar next month; those dates can be found at his website.

"Raw Footage," Ice Cube's ninth solo effort, will be released on his own Lench Mob Records label. The set is expected to include guest spots by artists including Musiq Soulchild, Nas, Scarface and Dub C, according to Cube's website. A couple of songs from the album--"It Takes a Nation" and "Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It"--are being previewed at his MySpace page.

The new record follows 2006's "Laugh Now, Cry Later," which debuted at No. 4 on The Billboard 200 chart, making it the year's highest-selling independent release in hip-hop, according to Ice Cube's bio. He also released "In the Movies," a compilation of soundtrack cuts, last year.

The rapper began his career two decades ago with notorious West Coast gangsta rap group N.W.A. At the height of the group's success, Ice Cube broke away to launch a solo career and has since sold more than 10 million albums, according to his bio.

The performer has also made a name for himself as a movie star, with a lengthy list of films under his belt including "Are We There Yet?" "Barbershop," "Friday," "Three Kings" and "Boyz in the Hood." His next big-screen adventure is a comedy titled "Janky Promoters," which he wrote and will produce. Ice Cube is also set to star in the flick alongside "Friday After Next" alumni Mike Epps and Terry Crews.