Freeze Frame

With all his success in music, movies and television, Ice Cube still remembers his days as a boy ’n the hood

Remember the days when rappers just . . . rapped? That’s so old school. Nowadays they are also practically required to produce movies, act, write screenplays, direct and run record labels. Some of them even design clothes or headphones or star in reality TV shows. Chris Brown recently came up with the brilliant idea of selling Pit Bull Terriers online for a $1,000 a pup (He should probably stick to music).

And, like so many other successful artists who started in hip-hop, Ice Cube has diversified his repertoire.

The nation was introduced to a young artist calling himself Ice Cube (along with future household names Dr. Dre and Eazy-E) with the advent of N.W.A.—the outfit that practically invented gangster rap. In 1986, N.W.A. detonated Straight Outta Compton on an unsuspecting populace and managed to piss off all the right demographics—endearing them to millions. After months of ferocious infighting, N.W.A. expired from largely self-inflicted wounds in 1991, the same year Ice Cube impressed the hell out of everyone with a brilliantly understated performance in John Singleton’s Academy Award-winning Boyz N The Hood.

Since then Cube’s boomeranged back and forth from the screen to the studio, appearing in a slew of movies and television shows, releasing nine studio albums and making guest appearances on tracks by dozens of fellow artists. His first attempt at screenwriting spawned the Friday franchise and—yes—he’s even got his own line of clothing. The man gets around. Usually in a convertible with hydraulics.

I recently discovered that we have something in common. We are both big fans of architecture and cities.

Yeah, I mean, you know it can make or break a city to me.

Exactly. When you’re in a city, the architecture is your whole environment. I saw a video online where you gave a really cool tour of the Eames House for the Pacific Standard Time project.

I thought it was perfect because I could talk about something I knew about other than music or movies. And I’m not going to say I’m an expert on it, but I pay attention.

You broke it down in a really simple, powerful way—talking about how they used all sorts of different materials to construct the house.

Yeah, it’s like taking something that people disregard or think is old and [making] it new. That’s something that we call sampling. What the Eames did is just like sampling to me.

I wanted to talk about your acting career because since your debut as Doughboy in Boyz N the Hood, acting has become a major part of your career. Is acting something you enjoy?

Yeah, I do. I like it. For a creative person like [me], it’s a great way to create on a three-dimensional level. Music is kind of straight audio. You get to do a few videos, but nothing like painting on the canvas of a movie screen.

I gotta say I thought you really killed it in Three Kings—which I had no expectations going in, and has really become one of my favorite films.

Yeah, Three Kings was real cool in a lot of aspects. You know we see these kinds of shots all the time. You watch CSI or whatever and you see these shots of the camera going inside the body. But Three Kings was the first time you really seen stuff like this.

You’ve spent some time behind the camera yourself. You’ve written screenplays and directed. Is that something you want to do more of?

Yeah, eventually. One thing I learned about directing is that you have to be totally committed to one project for the duration. That’s one thing that kind of slid me more towards the producing route. And writing and acting. Because then I get a chance to be involved in more than one project. But I definitely will get back behind the camera at some point because when you see something in your head nobody else can really deliver it for you.

I hear that you like to read a lot. What have you been reading lately?

You know, I’ve been writing so much . . .

Tell me about what you’re writing.

I’m writing the fourth Friday movie, which is funny as hell, and then I’m helping to put together this N.W.A. movie.

You’ve been working on that for a while, haven’t you?

Yeah, we’ve been working on it for about a year . . . and some change. Because we [are] trying to tell everybody’s story and be as accurate as possible and as entertaining as possible, so it’s taking a little more time—which is cool because I want to get it right. So that’s been occupying my time. But as far as reading . . . Quincy Jones’ autobiography [Q: The Autobiography of Quincy Jones]. Stuff like that.

Any idea what the new album is going to be called?

I’m thinking about calling it Everything’s Corrupt.

Tell me about how you work in the studio.

I don’t like nobody in the studio with me.

All by yourself?

Yup. Just me and my engineer. And I’ll bring people in as I need them, but I don’t need a crew. I think about all that stuff when I’m at home at my [in-house] studio. I know all my ideas before I get in there. Then I go in and do it how I feel it.

I imagine in the beginning it was probably harder to tell how long it was gonna take to make an album, but now that you’ve been doing this for a while you probably have a much better idea how long you’re going to need.

Not really. In fact I think it’s the other way around. When I had to really stick to the budget, I was forced to do it and get it done as fast as possible.

Because the label was on your ass to finish the album?

Yeah. I think at this point artists should hopefully have the freedom to do it how they feel it. They shouldn’t be pressed to a timeline or date or none of that. You should just go in there and do the music—do the records—and when you feel it’s done, put it out.

Do you ever feel like you put out an album before it was ready? Did you ever feel rushed in the early days?

Um. Nah. No, I always felt finished.

I think sometimes a having little pressure on you is a good thing. It kind of makes you bring your A-game.

Yeah, it does really help you stay in the moment . . . stay focused—where if you have a lot of time you may jump in and out of the record.

It sounds like you have a lot of different stuff going on with the writing, producing, acting and making tunes.

But I wouldn’t do them all at the same time. If I’m acting, the record has to wait until I’m done. And if I’m doing music, then the acting has to wait. I’m in the process of doing music and writing this movie so I don’t wanna do nothing but that. I don’t want to be a jack-of-all-trades, master of none.

I hear that. [Both laugh] So, do you keep up with current events? Are you a political person?

I’m as political as I need to be, I guess.

What do you mean?

Just what I said.

OK, so when would you need to be political?

If it has to do with my family or, you know, civil rights.

Alright, so civil rights is important to you?

Yeah. Hell yeah.

Because you know some people don’t give a crap about politics no matter what. They think they can just ignore it and it won’t affect them.

I know it does so I’m not going to pretend I’m in a bubble.

Have you been following the never-ending presidential race?

Yep.

What do you think about the whole clown show anyway?

Exactly what you said. You know you can elect, but you never can select.

How did you feel about Barack Obama when he got elected?

I thought it was a great step for the country.

And what about now? Are you disappointed? Pleased? Hopeful?

Pleased and hopeful. I’m not disappointed. Under the circumstances, he’s done a great job.

I’m sure you know all about the recent federal crackdown on medical marijuana. I’m pretty sure I know the answer to this question, but I’m gonna ask it anyway: Where do you stand on the question of legalization?

They’ll legalize it once they’ve figured out how to make all the money on it.

So you think it’s just a question of economics? Because keeping it illegal makes a lot of people rich too—like the corporations that run private prisons, for example.

That’s what I’m saying. Since the criminalization of it makes more money for the government than the legalization of it—at this point—it’ll stay a criminal thing. But these vending machine [that dispense medical marijuana to medical marijuana patients] things might be a good idea.

What vending machines?

They came out with a vending machine where they can get their tax on it.

Really? I didn’t know about that.

Come on, man. You gotta be up on it!

Do you use the medicine yourself?

I plead the Fifth.

So, I guess it would be a waste of time asking if you have any favorite strains or if you like any of the baked goods?

Nah, I don’t have favorites. They’re like my children.

Hey, here’s an interesting fact I discovered when I was looking you up online. Did you know the biggest neutrino particle detector in the world is located at the South Pole and they call it IceCube?

I don’t doubt it.

I think it’s kinda cool you got name-checked in a cutting-edge science experiment.

I am science.

www.icecube.com

Smoke Signals

When Ice Cube took on the role of Craig in 1995’s Friday, it was a dramatic departure from the Doughboy character he previously embodied in Boyz N The Hood. In Boyz, Doughboy is a high school dropout, ex-con, pistol-packing misanthrope with no redeeming qualities . . . until the very end. Craig, while definitely a layabout, also spends most of his time trying to stay out of trouble and avoid the ghetto pitfalls of his friends and neighbors. But only one flick had Smokey. And you know this!