New Ice Cube Interview with HHNLive.com

[Lazar]

Here´s the full interview HHNLive.com did with Cube 


HHNLive.com writer sits down with rap legend Ice Cube to discuss N.W.A. changing the game, Barack Obama, immigration, Michael Vick, being independent and much more.

Ice Cube on Mike Vick: "As far as Michael Vick, you can only keep it so hood...It’s a perfect of example of when keeping it hood goes wrong."

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St. James: How you feeling?

Ice Cube: I’m feeling good!

SJ: I just want to say I’m honored and I appreciate the opportunity to talk to you. I saw the new video for “Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It” yesterday. There are a lot of graphic images with revolutionary power. The song speaks for itself. Why was it so important to place the visuals with it?

IC: First of all I want to say thanks. I appreciate you being down all this time. Doing this song, last year so much went down, as far as gangsta rap being the cause of…you know from Don Imus to the Virginia Tech shooting to Michael Vick and the dogs. Everything was blamed on the music and I just wanted to do the song and show some visuals and show how crazy that sounds and how crazy that looks. Just blaming the whole worlds problems on gangsta rap and it got under my skin so I decided to take it there.

SJ: Everyone knows your legendary status as a member of N.W.A. and you have been widely regarded as one of the greatest ever; to Ice Cube becoming the movie mogul. What makes you continually drop albums even though you have strayed into other business ventures that have kind of taken you away from the scene?

IC: It’s fun now. Before it was all about the grind and getting everything I thought I deserved as far as, you know respect and money. Being able to do movies allowed me to be more comfortable in hip hop and not worry about the money; it ain’t all about the money. I have an album coming out named Raw Footage. It’s got songs on it like “Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It” and I’m not really expecting it to be a large commercial success. But what I am expecting is for the hard core, intelligent, true hip hop fan to have something to listen to and bang and bump. They can feel like I am speaking for the community which is what rap used to be. That’s what I ‘m getting out of it now. It’s just fun and I’m independent. I’m just doing my own thing and I’ve never felt better making records.

SJ: You’ve always maintained a political edge in your music. Do you think it’s particularly important that you speak up now with so much political and social turmoil going on in this country?

IC: You know I felt like, you don’t want to speak and people turn a deaf ear. And through the late 90s people were tired of being so politically informed and they wanted to have fun. Now people are realizing that the party’s over. It’s serious because the people we are fighting against don’t sleep and they don’t stop. They don’t party. They just keep at it. We need to get back on it and understand the power we have in this country and start using it instead of whining about how we don’t have power. If one hand don’t try to bring back the view, one hand will touch the other and break it up. That’s how we have to be.

SJ: You are set to release your new album Raw Footage. What can fans expect from the new album? Who are some of the producers you’ve been working with? Any other artists you collaborated with?

IC: I didn’t really want to collab with too many artists. I can't find too many who are thinking what I am thinking at the same time I’m thinking it. I don’t want to just do records with people because it’s easier. I think the title “Raw Footage” stands for itself. I’ll just be talking about things that need to be said more than trying to have a hit song or video or whatever.

SJ: As a pioneer in the game, I see that you are releasing this album independently. Can you give some insight to these cats out here as to why you are doing this? Why you can tell Jerry Heller and the rest to give you your paper.

IC: Doing it independently, everybody can’t do it because it takes a lot of money up front. You are basically gambling that you will get the money back that you put up. I just got to the point where with records companies, the executives that they had were not smarter than what I would come up with to promote myself. They go get these college kids and people that don’t know what they are doing and put them in power positions in the game. I had to school most of them on what to do so I hooked up with Tony Draper, CEO of Suave House records that’s been in the independent game for 18 years. So I told him “let’s do it independently”. It was the best move of my career because it gave me that fire. It gave me that extra incentive to go and have fun with it. To know that it was all on me.

SJ: Any plans to work with Dre on Detox or at all?

IC: If he calls me I’ll definitely go work on it. But I don’t have any plans.

St. James: Have you ever talked to someone like Scarface about doing an album together?

Ice Cube: Yeah you know…as a matter of fact we have been talking. Me and Scarface…and I think with Nas doing his release this year, we definitely can come up with something. Whether it’s touring, doing a track together or…Scarface, Ice Cube and Nas album would be (sighs). These are things that are definitely in the air right now and I guess you picked up on it.

SJ: Any comments on the Michael Vick situation?

IC: As far as Michael Vick, you can only keep it so hood. He would’ve been better giving them the money. Instead of going into business with them, break them off. Here you go homey; we don’t need to go into business for this. What I’m on is a whole notha level. The NFL ain’t hood. What I’m on is not what you’re on so let me just break you off and you do what you want with it. So that way he’s clean of any of that. They over there fighting dogs? I don’t know and go about your business. It’s just a perfect of example of when keeping it hood goes wrong.

SJ: What were your motivations back in the early days and how have they changed now in regards to making music and being in this business?

IC: When you are in the game and I feel like I’m in the game but doing my own thing. When you are in the game you have investors that want to push things their way. You don’t get all of the things you think you should get. Sometimes they act like the way you want to spend the money is not the right way and they do it their way and the sh*t doesn’t work. That had me sour on the game, because when I give them a record, 9 times out of 10 it doesn’t reach its full potential. So that makes the product…you know they come asking “where’s the single”, “where’s the single” and you hear that so much you have singles coming out of your ears. You have nothing but singles on your mind. So they are fu*king with you. Now I can take it back to the essence and just do what I feel. I’m going to make my money back, it would be hard not to. Everything else is just gravy. I am focusing on the fans and giving them what they want and not the program director and what he wants. It just feels better. You feel like you are taking it back.

SJ: How do you feel about the west coast music scene and who do you feel has next?

IC: Hey we are on the island out here. The west coast is pushing the rock up hill. We have to do so much to get noticed and seen.

SJ: I’m in Indianapolis, IN. I KNOW what you mean!

IC: WE are not really recognized nationally unless the record is produced by Dre. That’s frustrating for a lot of artists. You are in Indianapolis and yawl get less than that so you know what I mean. So you know the kind of records that you need to do to get seen. You have to come with some astronomical sh*t or start a movement. Because in the industry you don’t know what makes it tick. Whether it’s money or whatever because nothing works. As far as next I don’t really see anything ready to pop.

SJ: You’ve made a song about it. How do you feel about the whole Hip Hop vs. America feud that seems to be taking shape?

IC: We are a threat. Because hip hop speaks its own mind. We don’t adhere to nothing but realness. We try not to mess with anything that doesn’t feel real. And it’s a threat to those who want to program you. While they are trying to program you, there is someone telling you the truth and that‘s no good. So that’s why they are trying to stamp it out. Once little white kids started to put rappers up in their room, America knew it was a problem. They did it to their own music. Stomp it out or discredit it, or over expose it and say that it’s dead. Stop paying attention to it. Where can you see rap videos besides 106 & Park? One place really that’s owned by Viacom and they can shut it down at any time. Then when it’s no longer on TV young people won’t think it’s hot anymore. If it’s not on TV it’s not hot. That’s the real war that’s going down. And then the other people like the hip hop police and all of these people that really set traps for rappers.

SJ: Let’s get into it. You have stated “you started this gangsta sh*t”. Do you feel you created a monster or a vehicle for young black men to express themselves honestly?

IC: I think it was both. It’s freedom. What we did was say to any artist, do it how you feel it. Don’t think you have to come a certain way to be a star or get money or get your point across. Now some people took it and just ran with it. Like a comic book. It’s just a different thing now. When you first do something and it turns out to be kind of crazy…if you just think about how people used to view cops. They would go to court and be on TV and get off. If they said you did it, you did it. After we did “F*ck the Police”, people started to look at them differently and say, “they do f*ck up” yeah they do f*ck over people. Now if police do something and it doesn’t get caught on tape you have more of a fair shot than you used to have. Because people say yeah I know police are dirty. Think about the world before that song where police got away with everything and could do no wrong. Then that song comes out. So when Rodney King happened people were like f*ck yeah, see. I told you. That’s what N.W.A. was talking about. The real. Put cats up on real life. In that sense gangsta rap is good. It’s one of the only places you can really hear the real, if that person knows what they are talking about.

SJ: I was speaking to Rick Ross a couple of weeks ago and he said when he was coming up he considered you the “God of Rap” and rode with you during that long standing feud with N.W.A. How does it make you feel to know you've basically raised and influenced a whole generation of kids without fathers?

IC: It makes me feel good. It makes me feel like me taking a little time and not just rapping about a gang of bullsh*t but about the real, that people were listening. That it influenced them to open a door in their mind that they would have let pass. Like “yeah they do, do that”. I heard Cube say that hell yeah. And as long as it starts to open up minds we become sharper on what we are up against. Because the condition we are in is not a coincidence and it’s not by chance. It’s not because we are bad people. It’s a design and a plan that’s working. It’s working. Every pyramid has to have a base. And the base is bigger than the top. And we are the base of the pyramid in America. And they want to keep us there. They don’t want an upside down pyramid.

SJ: How do you feel about the immigration issue and how it affects all minorities?

IC: I think it’s funny because they want to use immigration to their benefit. When they feel like they’ve benefited enough they want to start trying to send people back and get hard on it. If you spend more than 10 years in this country, you are a citizen. Even less. It’s a tough issue because I’m like muthaf*ckas that’s here, let’em stay! That’s how I feel about. Let muthaf*cka’s stay. It’s functioning. It’s working and we need those that are here so what the f*ck is the problem. It’ll function better if you let them stay because those in hiding will come out in the system and want to be a part of the system. So those people come out the wood works and make things stronger. So you don’t feel resources are being over used. They don’t want to come out and tell you who they are because they don’t want to be deported. It’s a** backwards!

SJ: Is Barack Obama your choice?

Ice Cube: I want to see him win. Just because I want to see if it’s better for minorities. For that I want to see him win. But no matter who wins we still have to get up and go to work in the morning. No one is going to tell us to stay home so in that sense we all still have to get the f*ck up and go to work in the morning no matter who’s in there. No one is going to pay your bills for you. Life moves on.

SJ: I was listening to the Honorable Louis Farrakhan speak and he spoke of “Justifiable Homicide” and how our actions towards each other, perpetuate the perception that the “others” can treat us this way a la Don Imus. Care to comment?

IC: In some ways that’s true. Why would I want to respect someone that doesn’t respect they self? You have to earn it. You can’t just ask for it. We haven’t earned it yet. But I can’t leave it out like that. We also are forced to live like crabs in a bucket. See crabs in a bucket will pull each other down and want to get up. But the problem is not the crabs. It’s the bucket. So you have to address that. We are in the bucket so you can’t blame the crabs for wanting to get the f*ck out the bucket. It’s a catch 22.

SJ: How do you feel about the blogs/myspace/youtube reporting that goes on in hip hop? Do you feel it offers a fair and informed judgment on the artists and culture?

IC: You know who knows? Because everybody has an opinion and everybody is heard. You can’t say the people that are reporting good about hip hop are doing good and vice versa. Everybody has their opinion and I don’t know if you can take it to the good or bad side too much. Look at it as an opinion. But I don’t mind everybody being heard. That doesn’t bother me that everybody gets to get heard instead of people programming you. The only thing I don’t like is that people feel like they don’t have to pay for music anymore. That’s going to kill the music in the future.

SJ: What’s coming next from Ice Cube?

IC: I have First Sunday out with Tracey Morgan and Katt Williams. Go check it. I have the album Raw Footage coming out this summer. I just did an internet network named UVNTV.com. I did that with DJ Pooh, who I wrote Friday together with and he produced Death Certificate.

SJ: How is Pooh doing?

IC: Yeah Pooh is good…he’s chilling. We have this thing called hip hop 24/7 and hopefully in the future it’ll be like the ESPN of hip hop so definitely go check that out when you get a chance.

SJ: No Friday part 4? Tell Chris Tucker to quit playing with Jackie Chan and get it in!!!!

IC: Yeah you know how that goes. He’s doing his thing but when he calls I’ll be ready for him.

SJ: Who do you admire in the game right now?

Ice Cube: I don’t know man all of the people I admire is old school. I still respect people like Chuck D. People who really had an influence on not only me and the kind of person I am but also the kind of music I do. So I definitely consider him one of the greatest to ever pick up a mic.

SJ: Any final words?

IC: Tell’em I’m not going anywhere! I’m going to keep dropping dimes on them!