Ice Cube
Ice Cube
O'Shea Jackson Sr., known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, record producer and filmmaker. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the seminal rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music and films. Additionally, he has served as one of the producers of the Showtime television series Barbershop and the TBS series Are We There Yet?, both...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionRapper
Date of Birth15 June 1969
CityLos Angeles, CA
CountryUnited States of America
I'm ready to run a studio. I'm ready to green light movies, and be in it to win it, you know? It's close. It'll happen.
Some comedians you work with, they only turn on when the camera turn on, and they're like sad-faced clowns when the camera's off. And then, they come alive when the camera come on. And you be like, "Oh, damn. You're not a depressed ball of depression, but you are actually funny."
Comedies in Hollywood is usually the path of least resistance when it comes to being black in Hollywood and putting movies together. They would rather make us laugh than cry, in some respect.
I like to tell the streets what the political climate is, and I like to tell any politicians that's listening what the streets think. And sometimes people get nicked up and bruised up, but I usually have a lot of good medicine for that.
I'm always open, and will criticize myself, too. And I just think being that honest with everybody puts you in a different space than somebody who's just shooting venom at a certain group or a certain amount of individuals.
We used to have MTV and all these ways we can show our videos, and it was these rap shows, and it was everything. And then it became not cool to be conscious; it became cool to just hang out. Escapism rap became the norm. And, when I say "escapism rap", I mean getting high, get your cars, get your money, get your jewelry, go to the club, have your women, and it just became all about escaping your reality and not making your reality better on a real tip; not just on the have fun tip.
People wanted to have fun more than they wanted to learn from their music, and that's where the shift started to happen.
I was trying to be the best rapper in the world. I wasn't thinking about acting.
I hear about people getting shot all the time. But most of the guys you hear about getting shot pulled through.
Anybody that really knew Tupac will tell you the same thing. That he was just a dude that was full of life, full of energy.
You really have to challenge yourself to come out of those parameters that they put you in, even if that's your job.
I like Obama, but I understand that his hands are tied, the way Congress is reacting. It's just partisan politics everywhere, and don't know how we going to get things done in the future without compromising a little bit.
My wife keeps me sharp. You know, she ain't going to let me get comfortable with this "Ice Cube" stuff.
A good movie is a movie that you could see over and over again, not a movie that wins a Oscar, or a movie that makes a lot of money. It's a movie that you personally can watch over and over again. That, to me, is a measure of a good movie.