ICE CUBE (January
2008) | Interview By: Eddie Gurrola Dubcnn linked up with West Coast superstar Ice Cube for an
exclusive video interview. In this feature, you’ll hear all about The Don
Mega’s new film “First Sunday,” which co-stars Tracy Morgan and Katt Williams.
We also go into detail about Cube’s new single “Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It,”
and his highly-anticipated new album “Raw Footage.” We discuss the possibility
of a new “Friday” film, Cube’s production role on WC’s “Guilty By Affiliation”
record, and the status of Dr. Dre’s “Detox” as well.
As ever, you can watch or read this exclusive
interview below and we urge you to leave feedback on our forums or email them
to eddie@dubcnn.com
Dubcnn: We’re here with Ice Cube. How are
you doing?
What’s happenin’?
Dubcnn: We’re going to talk about the new movie “First Sunday.” Tell us a
little bit about the film…
You know, me and Tracy Morgan [are] crazy enough to rob a church! But it’s a
movie that’s kind of in the “Barbershop” vein because it deals with a social
commentary too. [It explores] what the church owes to the community, and what
the community owes to the church. It brings up all those topics, but we have a
whole lot of fun in-between.
Dubcnn: So it’s more of a comedy-drama film?
Yeah, “dramedy”!
Dubcnn: Do you think that the plotline of robbing a church will cause
controversy when the movie is released?
For people who take themselves too seriously, and for people who take this movie
too seriously, yeah, they might have a problem with that! But we’re calling it
“a comedy for a reason.” I think it has to have a little edge on it to bring in
people who are disenchanted with the church. You want them to come see this
movie because [there’s] a message in there for them too. [There’s] a lot of guys
out there like LeeJohn and Durell, and they’re sceptical of the church. This
will play to that crowd too and get them to understand why they’ve got to
respect the church.
Dubcnn: There are a lot of hilarious people in this movie like Tracy Morgan
and Katt Williams. Were there ever any times when you guys played pranks on each
other during the shoot?
Nah nah…we shot it in a church, so everybody was on their best behavior! Plus
we’ve got so many pros, people pretty much left all the laughs for the screen.
We just got in there and kind of did our thing. It wasn’t crazy like a “Friday”
set!
Dubcnn: You’re known for doing movies with an ensemble cast. Do you think
that’s the key to having a good comedy?
Yeah! I think you’ve got to try to get the best people for all of these
different roles. We’ve been fortunate to get a lot of great comedians [and]
actors. I’ve never had a movie where the chemistry was funky, and I guess I’m
lucky because of that.
Dubcnn: What do you hope that everyone who sees “First Sunday” will get out
of it at the end of the day?
Have a good time, laugh, have fun! I hope it meets and goes beyond people's
expectations. I just hope they enjoy it as much as they think they’re going to
enjoy it.
Dubcnn: You just dropped the video for your new single “Gangsta
Rap Made Me Do It.” I’m
sure everyone’s going to be talking about it. Tell us about the message you were
aiming for with this record and video…
Last year, everything was blamed on gangsta rap, from Don Imus, to the Virginia
Tech shooting, to Michael Vick. It seemed like everybody was blaming gangsta
rap, and that’s just like blaming the mirror because you’re ugly! You can’t kill
the messenger. A lot of people use gangsta rap in a comic book kind of form,
[but] a lot of people use it as USA Today. You’ve got to be down with rap to
even dissect the styles. So you’ve got people that are outside of rap attacking
what they don’t understand. They’re trying to make it an easy scapegoat for all
of the problems in the world. This song was basically saying that’s absurd!
What, [are] you going to blame global warming on gangsta rap, and Iraq on
gangsta rap? Are you going to blame JFK being shot on gangsta rap? How far do we
go?
Dubcnn: Why do you think the media portrays hip-hop as a negative thing in
general?
Well it’s easy to! It’s the voice from the youth, and nobody wants to hear the
youth speak. When you’re little they tell you, “Be quiet!” When it’s time for
something to be discussed, they send the little ones out [of] the room. Nobody
wants to hear what the youth has to say, and [hip-hop] is an avenue for the
youth to be heard, and to speak to other youth. [Youth can be] influenced by
each other and not influenced by what society tells [them] that [they] should be
[through hip-hop.] It’s a threat to the status quo. It’s a threat to the
establishment that people have their own way of thinking.
Dubcnn: Your new album “Raw Footage” will undoubtedly cover more of those
topics. What is the concept behind this album?
Yeah, I think that the title speaks for itself. I’m not gonna pull back any
punches. I’m not doing this record for any commercial success at all. It’s
basically done for the intelligent, mature, hardcore hip-hop fan, and that’s it.
It’s for Ice Cube fans, it’s for people who like street knowledge, who like
politics in their music, and that’s what I’m gonna give them.
Dubcnn: That sounds very exciting. When can we expect it to drop?
This summer. We haven’t pinpointed the date, but in a perfect world…we released
“Laugh Now, Cry Later” on June 6th of ’06, so hopefully we get another June
release.
Dubcnn: What else is going on with Lench Mob Records? Do you have anyone else
signed besides yourself and WC?
We’re working on Dub’s next record. We’ve got a couple of young cats [and] when
it’s time for the world to see them, we’ll bring them out! We’re developing a
couple cats.
Dubcnn: Tell us a little bit about working on WC’s record “Guilty By
Affiliation.” You did a lot of the producing on that…
It’s funny; people will be surprised [that] I’ve never worked on a full-length
WC record. Him and Crazy Toones always did their own records. This was a chance
for me to say, “Let me produce you man! Let me just add on to what you already
have to make the whole thing a little more consistent.” He was down for it! He
was the easiest artist I’ve ever worked with. He’s always [been] one of the
greatest MCs ever.
Dubcnn: Are you almost done recording “Raw Footage”?
We’ve got about 70% of it done. We’re just putting the icing on the cake,
starting to promote it and get it ready. “Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It” is just the
first glitch of what’s coming.
Dubcnn: Are you going to produce most of “Raw Footage” yourself?
Yeah. I always get producers to do the music, but as far as everything on top of
that, usually it’s my production.
Dubcnn: Is there going to be a fourth “Friday” film?
I think that’s really on Chris Tucker. I don’t want to do another one without
him. If he wants to do it, then I’ll consider it. I think that’s what the fans
want. So we’ll see.
Dubcnn: We’re going to do a throwback question too. What did the tracks that
you guys recorded for the N.W.A. reunion album, around the time of “Chin Check,”
sound like?
We didn’t really get through a lot of them…we didn’t really get to any of them
as a matter of fact! It was kind of like we [just] had beats. But at the time
that we decided to do that record, Dre ran into Eminem and that ball started
rolling, [as well as] 50 Cent. I think that Dre was kind of overwhelmed with the
success of those two artists, and he really didn’t have time to do a record that
people [would] expect. So it’s better not to do it then to do it half-assed.
When he calls, I’ll be there.
Dubcnn: Have you talked together about “Detox”?
No, but I’m expecting a call from Dre. I’ll be on it!
......................................................................................... Full Interview In Video For Download : Here
(Video: WMV) .........................................................................................
