For our 15th Anniversary JUICE issue, VIBE sat down with some of the most influential artists in our space. Each one was anointed an original for not only what they have accomplished, but also for the work they continue to put in.
Ice Cube was one such original, and if you had a chance to read Donnell Alexander’s interview with Cube in the September issue, you know why. But Ice Cube had a lot more to say than what was printed, which is why we’re bringing you the leftovers from the interview. Here, Ice Cube talks about moving on from N.W.A, the truth behind why he stopped working with Dr. Dre, and why money affects everything you do as an MC.
VIBE.com: Who’s the most original person you’ve known in your entire career — records, films, concerts, whatever?
Ice Cube: The most original person I ever worked with has got to be George Clinton,
because to me he’s one of a kind. He’s unmatched to this day with his arrangements. To me, he was taking a band to the highest level you could take it. I think Earth, Wind & Fire, you know, is in that category, but for the most part… for the most part, [he] was the standard for what we started doin’.
When you left N.W.A, what was your impact on Dre and how he worked?
I really don’t know.
I was talking to someone who said that his not being able to depend on the lyrics put a different kind of emphasis on the music. Did you detect anything?
A lot of people… The D.O.C was around when I left. When I left, it was kind of just shit-talkin’ rap, you know what I mean? It didn’t have no political weight to it. But I don’t know if that affected Dre or it was more the street influence, because Eazy-E never cared about political rap, period. He just wanted to keep it street. I think his influence, his persona, is what the group absorbed.
Is it true that he had work set to be on Death Certificate, but he was upset that “No Vaseline” was on the album, so you didn’t use it?
Nah, that’s not true. I wanted him to work on Amerikkka’s Most Wanted. But Jerry Heller vetoed that, and that was the last I thought about working with Dre until we ended up doing “Natural Born Killaz”.
Nobody had real money around that time, right? How did that affect how you went about the craft of making records?
I don’t know. Money does affect the MC and havin’ the pressure of making that money does affect an MC. Not just us, but every MC that’s under a contract.
One more question about that era: You were evolving, and obviously the people you had been working with were going different ways, but could you tell what was going on with with those guys? Could you tell Eazy was changing or that Dre was changing from the product that they were making?
No. They were just artists. They were just partying and partying and partying until they fell out. That’s all I heard, just the pool parties and the legendary shit they used to do. That’s kinda all I knew until they fell out. I ain’t gonna lie, I kinda had a little smile on my face. I kinda rode out into the sunset. I came to the sad realization that this is how every group break up, every group that you love. I’m a part of one of them.
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