September 2002 Barbershop : An Interview with Ice Cube

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Interviewed by Monikka Stallworth Barbershop : An Interview with Ice Cube You’d be hard-pressed to find a single hip-hop fan that would deny Ice Cube’s legendary status. I’ve been down with Cube since his jerry-curled days with NWA. And he’s certainly one of a handful of hip-hop pioneers who’s managed to remain viable in the recording industry. With talent, focus and determination, Cube has successfully parlayed his hip-hop status into a vital cinematic career as both an actor and director, proving himself a considerable creative force. Intense and handsome, Ice Cube’s courteous presence undermines his hip-hop persona, and like a shaken can of soda, it seem that this state of humble composure serves to mask the hidden currents of energy that must constantly course through Ice Cube’s veins. We chatted in Beverly Hills about his most recent film, Barbershop: MS: Do you remember what your first barbershop experience was like? IC: Yeah – I remember being very nervous. I was real young, about 4 or 5. Just the sound of the shears was like ‘man’, I figured I was gonna get my whole head cut off. He sat me in a booster seat, and I remember how rough the barber was with my hair. He wasn’t doing it like my moms and pops would do it. It wasn’t a good experience, my first visit, but I got used to it. MS: You’ve come a long way since Boys In The Hood, but there seemed to be similarities between Boys In The Hood and the dynamics of Barbershop. Could you talk a little about that? IC: Yeah, you know, that’s what attracted me to this movie. I think like Boys was a slice of life, Barbershop is a slice of life too. Without the movie being made, you’d never really get to feel this world and what it means to the community. It’s kind of overlooked at what the barbershop means to the community. This is our “tee-pee”, this is where the elders and youngsters talk about all subjects and it’s a good place to be. MS: As culturally specific as Barbershop is, wouldn’t you say that it’s appeal is also very universal? IC: Oh definitely, I think what’s so good about doing films is the fact that you can bring somebody into your world, like a fly on the wall. Even I can’t go into a barbershop and get a pure barbershop experience because it turns into an ‘Oh, Cube is here’ type of deal. So seeing it on the screen for me is good because I get to be a fly on the wall, so to speak. MS: In what ways are you similar to the character that you portray in Barbershop? IC: Just as a young, black man trying to do the right thing, very ambitious, not really satisfied with what he has, always trying to grasp the next ring. That’s a lot of what Calvin is. But like he’s learned to appreciate what he’s got, I’ve learned to appreciate what I’m doing and just try to do the best at what I’m doing instead of always looking for the next. MS: In what ways are you different? IC: (chuckling) I’m a little harder than he is. I wouldn’t have taken all that stuff he took from people like Mr. Lester. I wouldn’t have taken all that. MS: How do you strike a balance between your image in hip-hop with the persona that you’re creating in films? IC: Well, it’s all me, it’s all me. And I don’t have a problem at all with who I am. MS: I think it’s great because any of your hip-hop fans that venture out to one of your movies will see that Ice Cube is multi-dimensional. IC: I think that’s what’s good about it. The thing about acting –it’s all about you giving more of yourself. You can’t bottle up like you can in music and just be one way. In acting, you can dig a little deeper. And each role is gonna be different, some roles you’ll see me in and won’t believe it was the same guy that was in Barbershop. MS: I’m sure you’ve heard the comments that Sam Jackson made in regards to rappers acting… IC: I heard them. I think they’re a little bit unfair. We have a saying in hip-hop – “It ain’t where you’re from, it’s where you’re at.” Everybody comes from somewhere and just because I started off rapping doesn’t mean it’s all I can or will do. I don’t plan on being a 65-year-old rapper. That’s not fair, everybody’s coming from somewhere and just because the rappers didn’t go to these schools for acting – that don’t mean they can’t act. I mean, take Dr. Dre, he’s never been to no music school, could you imagine if he never did music, I wouldn’t be here. Things like that prove that you can come from anywhere and excel in any field. And sure there are some rappers that can’t act, but there are some rappers who can act. I think it’s all about what the screen says. MS: Sam noted your performance in Three Kings as an exception. IC: That’s cool - I would love to do a movie with Samuel. I think he’s one of the greats that we have out there, you know. MS: Do you take acting lessons? IC: I haven’t. It’s crossed my mind once or twice. Maybe one day I’ll do it, but for now, I don’t wanna lose what I got. MS: Any plans to direct again? IC: I want to direct again, it’s just so much of a commitment to direct, you have to be there for every single aspect of putting a movie together and I don’t want to take that long away from acting. There are a lot of roles and a lot of things in the air that are getting developed for me specifically and I want to do them and then I wanna go back and direct. But I want to direct a drama. MS: Do you have any dramatic pieces in the wings for you to direct? IC: I got a couple of projects in mind, but I don’t wanna give them away. MS: How’s all this acting affecting your music? IC: I love music. I’m gonna always do it. Right now, I’m in the process of changing labels. I’m getting out of Priority, I’ve been there my whole career and its time for me to step up to a major label and do it in a major way. It takes time to get that process to a point to where I can say ‘okay, lets make a record’. MS: How do you handle your celebrity and the trappings of fame? IC: It’s part of what I’ve asked for. I just take it as another extension of who I am, not all that I am, but part of it. MS: How have you managed to do so much at such a young age? IC: Just not being afraid. I have a philosophy that everything is hard until you learn how to do it. I just stick my nose in there and pay attention to what I need to pay attention to, hire experts and let them do what they do without getting in their way. MS: What’s next for you? IC: Friday After Next will be out November 22nd, I’m working on a movie for Warner Brothers - a big, action motorcycle movie – that’ll be out next summer. And I’m still developing projects at Cube Vision. MS: Is this one going to be the end of the Friday series? IC: I always say this is the last one – the first one was the last one, but it’s all about the fans. If they want more and we can come up with a good story and the movie can stand on its own – If you ask me, I think Friday After Next is funny, as funny, if not funnier than the first one and that’s saying a lot coming from me. I think it’s a hell of a movie.