PBD Podcast - "I Should Be Dead" - Ice Cube's Untold Stories: Impact of Hip Hop on Society, Surviving L.A. Gangs

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Starting point is 00:00:27 Benefits vary by card, other conditions apply. First of all, Hollywood Walk of Fame, groundbreaking song, Straight Outta Compton, Fuck the Police, Boys in a Hood, Players Club, Ride Along, Straight Outta Compton, 21 Jump Street, Three Kings. It is a pleasure to have you here, man. I'm trying to be like you when I grow up.

Starting point is 00:00:43 No, man. I never said I wanted to do movies. I was discovered. I really want to find out who took Pac out of, who took Big Yacht. Mind your own business and you live longer. Who has the most power in the entertainment industry? You know, you gotta have balance. You know what I mean?

Starting point is 00:01:00 You gotta have a little R&B with your hip hop. You gotta have a little funk with it. Mix it in a little bit. A little soul. Yeah, you know what I mean? I got you. How much they are invested in all these big labels and the prison industry.

Starting point is 00:01:11 I'm not saying that the CIA is sitting there writing rhymes. Talked about some things that I've never talked about in the interview, so. As a kid who grew up in LA, I follow his story very closely, Cube, and I've seen a lot of the podcasts. At the end of the podcast, he said, I shared certain stories today I've never shared before. The three close calls he had as a kid almost died. The story, I said, why did you leave the life and why did you not go become a gangster? He told a story about what happened to his stepsister and what her husband did to

Starting point is 00:01:48 his stepsister that was such a Life altering event that got him to say I'm not doing this anymore How he got recruited to boys in the hood for the movie which makes no sense I played him a clip of the time shook night called into the podcast and I said Here's what shook said about a story with EZE and Dre. Dre said this on speaker that got EZE to cry. Do you believe this story?

Starting point is 00:02:10 And I asked him who he trusted out of the three the most. He broke it down and kind of went through it. We talked so many different things. We talked Lakers. We talked politics a little bit. We talked politics. I brought up a couple names in Hollywood on who were the most powerful people and and seeing how he would Maneuver through some of these questions was just interesting to watch

Starting point is 00:02:29 I think you're gonna enjoy this interview just as much as I do so having said that here's cube All right, so we got a special guest in the house and I want to properly introduce this guest. And when he, you know, we first spoke, you know, they called, they said, look, all Cube wants to talk about is politics. I said, I don't like politics. They said, no, that's all he wants to talk about. I said, I want to talk about his career, his life, business, other things. So let me properly introduce you.

Starting point is 00:03:22 This may be one of the coolest resumes you could have. Here we go. So first of all, Hollywood Walk of Fame, he's earned. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. The amount of movies sold 10 million records. NWA's groundbreaking songs, Straight Outta Compton, Fuck the Police. What else we got here?

Starting point is 00:03:42 Movies he's been in. Boys in the Hood, over 40 films by the way, Higher Learning, All About the Benjamins, Barbershop, Next Friday, Players Club, Ride Along, Straight Outta Compton, 21 Jump Street, Three Kings. What else can I tell you? All those being there, we hear there's a possibility of another one coming out here which we're gonna talk about. You got the big three.

Starting point is 00:04:04 You got movies, music, you got so many things going on. It is a pleasure to have you here, man. I'm trying to be like you when I grow up. No, man. I was saying how busy you are. By the way, probably the most impressive one out of all of this. When I saw this, I said, there's no way this is true. And then I had to go have our team take a look at it.

Starting point is 00:04:22 So check this out. You probably already know this. So obviously we're going to talk about a lot of different things today, but I want to go have our team take a look at it. So check this out. You probably already know this. So obviously we're gonna talk about a lot of different things today, but I wanna share this with the audience. Here we go. So the longest lasting marriages in hip hop, okay? So Jay-Z and Beyonce since oh wait.

Starting point is 00:04:39 T.I. and Tomica 2010. Ice-T and Coco 2005. Ja Rule and Aisha 2001. Method Man and Tamika 2001. Snoop and Shantae 97. LL Cool J and Simone 95. Rev Run and Justin 94. The only one that's ahead of you and Kimberly because you guys are 1992 is E40 and Tracy 91. You've been married for 32 years? Yeah, yeah. You guys got what, five kids?

Starting point is 00:05:08 Four. Four kids? Yeah. How the hell do you make marriage work in hip hop, movies, the life, how do you make that work for 32 years? Well you make the marriage the most important out of all that.

Starting point is 00:05:21 You don't get distracted by the glitz and the glamour and the promises of the industries, but you focus on what's important and you do your work and then you make sure, you know, your most important priority is happy, healthy, and comfortable with the journey. Comfortable with the journey. Was there a certain agreement, were there certain values that you guys kind of speak about, where when you guys look at each other you kind of understand each other, anything that helped the two of you guys last for 32 years? each other, anything that helped the two of you guys last for 32 years? You know what I'm saying? Like if you argue, let's do this, if you anything like that. We just, you know, made a real commitment to each other. You know, people like us come out of

Starting point is 00:06:18 South Central Los Angeles and, you know, some of the odds are stacked against us. So when you find a like-minded person, soul, who want to, you know, want to beat the odds, you make a pact and you make a commitment to each other to win and not to lose out here. to win and not to lose out here. And so, you know, my wife, Kim, is amazing. She can care less about the business as far as being a part of Hollywood and the glitz and the glamour and this, that, and the other. You know, that don't turn her on.

Starting point is 00:07:02 You know, she's down to help me make it to the top and so I appreciate it for that and Like I said, I wouldn't be here without her. You know, how'd you guys mean? First time we met it was at a mall a Spot called the Fox Hill mall. He's to sell at Fox Hill Mall. Yeah, Fox Hill Mall. I saw her coming down the escalator, and something in my head,

Starting point is 00:07:31 this has never happened to me ever in my life, something in my head said, that can be a woman. So I didn't really approach her after that. She kinda was shopping, and I was shopping. We ran into each other in the foot lock, I had my friend T bone T bone talks a lot so he was like talking their head off and So I went to shoot my shot and she had a man. She had a boyfriend So she was like nah, it ain't happening. So

Starting point is 00:08:02 About three four months later driving down Crenshaw, me and T-Bone, and this car kept swooping on us. And it was my wife, Kim, she was riding with her cousin, and they pulled up on the side. And, you know, the cousin was trying to get at me But I saw Kim and I'm like yo Fox Hill mall, you know, I'm gonna try it again. See if she see if she Still with this dude and they had broke up. So that was my perfect opportunity. How old were you? 19 19 years old so I so you know the escalator coming down, right when you enter I think through Macy's

Starting point is 00:08:48 or whatever it was, I used to sell ballet memberships right next to the escalator. That was my spot when people would come down. I used to work at the ballets in Culver City. Used to be a Nautilus years ago. Right across from Sony with Dexter McClendon, Ruben Rimmer, Francisco Davis, all these guys. And they would send me to Fox Hills to sell memberships.

Starting point is 00:09:08 It's the place to go to. My mall was really the heartthrob mall. That was near my house. But whenever we wanted to go look at the cute girls, we would go to Fox Hills. So quality was better at Fox Hills. Yeah, the quality was better at Fox. Yeah, the quality was better. The quality was better at Fox too. Now, Cube, when I talked to Cuba Gunn Jr., we had him on and you guys did the movie, Boys in the Hood.

Starting point is 00:09:31 And he told me the story where he says, I keep calling him O'Shea and he says, listen man, don't call me O'Shea, you call me Cube. And he said, it's kind of complicated because he's Cuba and you're Cube, so you guys are doing a movie together. And he says, one of the scenes, you come up to him and you say, after the death,

Starting point is 00:09:49 and you kind of don't know how to handle the loss, loss of a loved one. And he says, you went up to him and you say, listen Cuba, I'm not the crying type, man. I come from the hood. You know, I'm not one that's gonna cry. What feedback can you tell me about this scene? And he says, just think about the brothers

Starting point is 00:10:03 you lost in the hood. And you said to him, I got it, I'm good from here. And then you went and did your thing. Growing up, for you to be able to tap into what you produce with music, with movies, who were you at 14 years old? Were you ever part of a gang? Were you a gangster?

Starting point is 00:10:20 And if yes, who were you with? Well, growing up in the neighborhood, you make choices. Now everybody in the neighborhood is affiliated. Like you can't not be, you can't be neutral. So the neighborhood I come from is called Neighborhood Crips.

Starting point is 00:10:44 And you know, we growing up,'re figuring out which direction we want to go. We 10, 12, 11. I start playing sports. I'm in the football, I'm in the basketball. And then I get into this rap stuff. Now not too many people in my neighborhood was into it. As far as doing it, they all loved it. You know, the pros run DMC and the Fat Boys and you know, LL Cool J. But only Sir Jinx, which is Dr. Dre's cousin that lived down the street,

Starting point is 00:11:22 he was the only one into the music. He did it all. He did breakdancing, graffiti, DJing. The only thing he really didn't do was rap. So at that point where it's go hard for the hood or explore this new music at 13, 14 years old and hang out with Dr. Dre, my choice was to go with music, hang out with Dr. Dre. So them years when banging would have took over my life, I had something to replace it with like great music and learning the music business and, DJing parties and just doing something way more interesting to gang banging. Now at the time, who was Dre? How was Dre seen in the streets? Not to the people that, you know, follow your music. He was a local DJ that was one of the best in LA.

Starting point is 00:12:19 That's it. He was known as, you know, it was a few DJs that were the best. Egyptian Lover, Bobcat, Joe Cooley. You know, these are, you know, some of the best. DJ Poole, Battlecat. And Dre was, you know, close to the top when it came to being a coveted DJ that everybody digged, loved, and wanted to do their parties. Did you, like, how could you differentiate him against Egyptian lover or others? Because they're all there. So you kind of pick in who you want your running mate to be. Why did you choose Dre over, you know, whatever the life may be or other talent out there?

Starting point is 00:13:05 I knew Dre. I didn't know them other cats. I got you. Not to the point where I can hang with him and be a part of it. I could go to Uncle Jam's Army. They was the biggest crew, Uncle Jam's Army. They had Egyptian Lover, they had Arabian Prince, they had a bunch of DJs, they would do big concerts at the sports arena.

Starting point is 00:13:30 And so out in Compton, you had Lonzo Williams who ran the Wrecking Crew. And they did parties mostly in Compton, Lingwood, Carson, you know, them areas in that way. And so that's who I was hanging with. You know, I would leave South Central and go to Compton and hang with Lanzo and the Wrecking Crew, Trey, DJ Yella, Clientel, the unknown DJ, DJ Unknown, sorry about that. And you know, just learning, you know, the Compton side of hip hop, you know, where they had Tidy T and they had Mix Master Spade and you know, they was starting to bubble, you know,

Starting point is 00:14:16 as far as making a name for Compton in the music industry. So, you know, it's just circumstances, you know. Were you a guy that, Cube, I mean, when you see the way you rap, you see you in the movies, you see reading about you, there's different sides to you. There's a side that you can play a serious role like you did in Boys in a Hood, then there's a side to you where, you know, side to you where you know ride along or you know some of the other funny comedy stuff they're all about the Benjamins you know you see these things and still a serious side but there's

Starting point is 00:14:52 also a comedian side to you. If we had ten guys here right now that knew you at 13, 14, 15, how would they profile you? Would they say he was feared, he was respected, he was respected, he was liked, he was cool? What's the first thing they would say about you at that age? I hope they say I was respected. You know, for my age group, you know, not too many people can handle me in anything, you know, sports, you know, fighting, you know, I was able to clean out my age group. So you had to be able to do that, or you would really get, you know, bullied and picked on a lot. So, you know, you had to thump when it was time to thump. So I was always down to thump. And so,

Starting point is 00:15:47 had to thump when it was time to thump. So I was always down to thump. And so, you know, a few of them, you know, I don't, I don't want my fair share. I don't lost a few too, but I was a little out of my weight class. But for the most part, you know, you just got to be down. It ain't really about, you know, a lot of people that bang, they scared. They gotta bang, because it's protection. You know, I always felt like I didn't have to bang because wasn't nobody gonna do nothing to me to make me bang. And they knew I was down to jump off my bike and thump. And so that's a must.

Starting point is 00:16:22 You have to be down to get down. You might win some, might lose some, but to be down to get down. You might win some, might lose some, but always be down to get some. And so that was my attitude. Most of my friends' attitudes as well. So, you know, I hope it's respect. Did you witness friends and, you know, peers dying? Did you witness close friends?

Starting point is 00:16:40 Yeah, shot, some, you know, losing. You know, losing friends when you in the eighth grade Is just Something you don't really think you're gonna have to go through, you know losing friends at a young young age Is just crazy but hearing about you know Some of the big homies getting getting downed, you know You know, some of the big homies getting downed, you know, writing rest in peace on my notebooks and stuff like that. It just was just part of the life, part of growing up.

Starting point is 00:17:19 I remember when one of my homies got shot, we was my brother's friends, got shot on our block. And I was real young, so it was always like, yo, it can happen right out this door, right? Soon as you step out the door, it can happen. So, you know, it changed me, changed how I looked at the neighborhood. When I think about guys that make it to different

Starting point is 00:17:45 levels in life, right, you win. You typically have one of three formulas. You have the experience unconditional love from somebody. Typically it's a mom, right? You experience unconditional pain. It could be you could never please somebody or a life-changing pain where you're like, this is gonna force force me to change. And then you chose your enemies wisely, the right enemy that brings out the best in you, not the worst in you, right? What was the single most significant event at that age, eighth grade, ninth grade, maybe even earlier or later, where you said, now I'm not doing this anymore, I'm out. Was there something that truly impacted, maybe it brought rage in you, controlled rage, or fear of maybe this could happen to me,

Starting point is 00:18:30 whichever one of those could be, for you to say, I'm out of here. You know, dodging a few situations that could have went south. You know, my step-sister was killed by her husband when I was 12 years old. So that changed my outlook on the world. You know, before that, everything was stuff you heard about, you know, a few things you've seen. Stuff you heard about, you know, a few things you've seen, but here it was right, you know,

Starting point is 00:19:08 deaf at your doorstep. And it was really, you know, a family member that did it. So it was odd and it was crazy to try to process and I just knew the world was different for me. And you know when I was about 14, I was a little older, you know it was a situation where a guy guy had taken some money from my mom's and just on a lie. You know, I'm a Moshe friend from school and I need some money, blah, blah, blah. I don't have no money.

Starting point is 00:20:01 I'm trying to get here, trying to get there and just beat her out some money and we found out that He was smoking you know so We went over to kill him like my friend He had a shotgun We put the shotgun in the car. We rolled over there knocked on the dude door they his pops came to the door and we asked for him and he wasn't there.

Starting point is 00:20:25 And if he was there and came out the door, we'd have shot him. And so, whole life would have changed that day. And when it didn't happen, I went from being mad to being relieved. I can leave right here, I'll leave right here. I went from being mad to being relieved, I can leave right here, I'll leave right here, I went from being mad to being relieved that I didn't do that because I was irrational and we was hot and we was about to go to jail.

Starting point is 00:20:57 You know what I mean? And so, pure luck. Yeah, I just was like, yo, I need to change my way of thinking, you know on stuff like this You know it is it really worth was it really worth it? you know and I was caught up on principle and and It could have went bad I'm 15 years old. I'm in Vegas in the car with another guy who was driving a Cadillac and his brother is now

Starting point is 00:21:28 dead. They're with Burbank Tressey. This was a gang in LA, Burbank, because I lived in Glendale. And then we pull up and these guys from New York are to our left. The guy had no clue how to come with him, our guy. Pulls out a gun, they pull out a gun, we run out. I'm with my dad in Vegas. I go to the hotel and I'm breathing hard. You know, you're in that kind of a gun, we run out. I'm with my dad in Vegas, I go to the hotel

Starting point is 00:21:45 and I'm breathing hard, you know, you're in that kind of a situation, you're like, this is it, it's about to, something's gonna happen right now. And then we go in there and he says, you good, you good? I said, no, I'm totally fine. He said, why are you breathing this way? I said, it's totally fine, go to sleep.

Starting point is 00:21:57 And from that moment, I'm like, I gotta change some of the friends. I'm living in LA, I'm living in, my parents got a divorce, so you're not liking a, you know, environment that's stable. That one situation, I'm living in, parents got a divorce, so you're not liking an environment that's stable. That one situation, I wouldn't be sitting here right now talking to you. It's pretty wild that you're telling me this situation

Starting point is 00:22:11 that if that guy would have opened the door, the father says the son is here, we don't know Cube. Yeah, it's all over right there, and wasn't worth it at all. wasn't worth it at all, you know, and it's those situations that I think back and I thank God that I was, you know, plucked out of these situations at the kind of in the nicotine. What do you think that is? You think that is God? You think that's pure, you know, accidental? You think someone's looking over you? you think it's... Just got lucky. There's a book that was written called David and Goliath, and in the book it talks about,

Starting point is 00:22:51 not David versus Goliath, he called it David and Goliath, if you can look up this book. And the author in the book talks about people who had flirted with death and made it they had this feeling of I'm gonna do something special with my life Right and whether they thought it was faith whether they what is I'm chosen. I'm called to do something Did you walk away at 15 16 years? Are you like I think I'm protected someone's watching over me or not. Not really As a very young kid I I didn't understand it. I got hit by a car when I was five years old. I went to the ice cream first, giving it to me and then ordering hers.

Starting point is 00:23:52 So I get mine. I want to go back across the street. You know, I got what I needed. So she said, I said, I want to go back home. She said, go ahead. So I took off running around the ice cream truck. Oh my God. I took off running and when I look,

Starting point is 00:24:14 I just heard a car screeching and the grill of the car looked about this big. You're five. I'm five. So I'm about to die. I mean, I just see the grill of the car. And it hit me. And I flew and I landed on the curb. And I remember my father, somebody And I remember my father, somebody came and scooped me up and they took me to the doctor and I didn't have a bruise. I wasn't no bones broke.

Starting point is 00:24:57 Nothing was wrong with me. And the doctor kept saying, this kid got hit by a car today? And it was like, yeah. And there was nothing wrong with me. So I was one time. I remember when I was young, my grandmother worked for these people in Bel Air. And I'd never seen a pool.

Starting point is 00:25:23 So I took off running as a little kid and ran and jumped in the pool. And I was drowning. And my uncle reached down and grabbed me and pulled me up out of there. How old were you at the time? Had to be three or four. Oh wow.

Starting point is 00:25:41 Real young. So that's another situation. And when I was about 11 My friend's father had a truck and For a few days Whenever he pulled out we would run Jump on the back of the truck and kind of duck down and ride for a house or two and then jump

Starting point is 00:26:06 off with him saying, get off this truck, get off this truck. So we went to do it one day and I jumped, we all jumped on the truck. So he pulling off and when it was time to jump off, he had a trailer hitch and it caught my leg, it caught my pants leg. Oh, get out of here. It fell flat on my back and he's dragging me down the street. Oh my God. And the kids is yelling, wait, and I'm hollering, wait, wait, stop, stop. He's dragging me, he's about to pull off into Van Ness, which is a busy street and he ended

Starting point is 00:26:42 up stopping and and um And it was you know, it was another situation where If he didn't see us, yeah, you know, he was kind of looking for us to do it. So he But he thought we all had jumped off and so he was Pulling off because he didn't see nobody back and i'm being drugged by the car. So These are like three situations where, you know, I pretty much should have been dead. And for some reason I wasn't, and I wasn't hurt.

Starting point is 00:27:17 And so, you know, I look back and say, well, it's because I had a bigger purpose to do to some of the things that I've done and, you know, hopefully change some of the lives of some of the people that I've come across and, you know, I just had more to do here. Was it God or was it just kind of like it's just, you know, it is what it is? I think it's God. I think it's God. I think it's divine intervention. It happens when you, when it's just not your time to go. You will not go a minute before your time. And you will not stay a minute when it's time to go. It's like night. You know, when night

Starting point is 00:28:01 come, you know, the day, give me a few more minutes, it's sunlight. No, it's night. You're done. You know, so. You don't have a choice. Yeah, you don't have no choice. So that's what I believe. Your sister, the day you were getting that ice cream, five years old, is that the same

Starting point is 00:28:17 sister that got shot up? No, no. That's a different. No, that's my sister, Sophie. That's not the stepsister, that's not. No, no. Okay, I got you. Stepsister was named Beverly. Beverly. Okay. Well, may she rest in peace

Starting point is 00:28:27 so You're sitting there your Let's go to 19 mid 80s, right? What's going on? And you know, is this colors? It's colors, right? Yeah, I think colors Well, I don't know what your colors came out, but I want say mid-80s, somewhere around there were colors. 85. 85, yeah. So what your, does it say, okay, 88. Okay, so colors is 88.

Starting point is 00:28:49 Pretty interesting that it's later. I thought it was earlier. Me too. Yeah, so 88, 88 is when you come out, you're 20 years old, I think you're a June, but you just had a baby, right? You just had a birthday. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:29:01 And August of 88, you come out with, you know, NWA's first album which you wrote most of it, right? That's what I read about. I wrote a lot of it. You got Trey, you got, you know, other guys that, but a lot of it was written by you. So Fuck the Police, right? Straight out of Compton, but let's go to Fuck the Police. Did you write that truly believing fuck the police

Starting point is 00:29:26 or did you write that saying, I think there is so much anger towards the police, I think we're gonna disrupt and I think the market's gonna react to this? Why did you write that song? We didn't know nothing about market and react. This is how we felt. We felt that this was our only weapon against what was happening,

Starting point is 00:29:49 getting Jack as a youngster. You know, back then, that's the crack era. So, you know, everybody that looked like they got a little something is getting Jack by the by the police. You know, everybody that got a baseball hat or chain on, beeper, you know, anything, you're getting jacked. And so nice cars pulling you over. And so it was just overkill. And this was our only line of defense. Like our only weapon is our music. And fence, like our only weapon is our music. And this is how we felt because even making the record,

Starting point is 00:30:28 we was getting jacked even in Torrance, because the studio was in Torrance, a place called Audio Achievements. And we'd be getting jacked just going to get something to eat, pulling up. And they didn't want us there and so you know the song came out of a real place but before that we did songs you know like Dope Man and 8 Ball Rollin', Boys in the Hood, just kind of just talking about the

Starting point is 00:30:59 environment that we all was living in and trying to You know maneuver through without without getting killed or thrown in jail Boys in the hood 91 right let me see yeah, July 2nd 91 Obviously you were shooting it before that a couple years whenever the time you know movie comes out How much of boys in the hood was acting? How much of it was just you being yourself? I could have played any of those roles because all those roles is a piece of how I grew up. You know I grew up, my father was there in my

Starting point is 00:31:40 life. I did play football you know and I could have been a damn good gangbanger if I put my mind to it, you know, a boss in it. So, but I didn't want to go that route, but I could have played any of those roles, you know, I knew all those guys and what life was like. and what life was like. Maneuvering, you know, you have to maneuver. It's like being in a hot zone. You know, you can get shot anytime. So at this point, when did you say you wanted to do movies?

Starting point is 00:32:21 Because the album comes out private. I never said I wanted to do movies. So then how did they? I was discovered. How did they find you? John Singleton. He came to you. He discovered me. I was backstage at Arsenio Hall show. I wanted to talk to Arsenio because he had the two live crew on his show and he wouldn't have Eazy EE and NWA. And I was like, man, you're going to have Luke up there. You know, what he's doing is, you know, you might as well have us. But I never got a chance to talk to him because this intern kept, you know, talking to me about like, you Ice Cube, you're in NWA, huh?

Starting point is 00:33:03 And I'm like, yeah. You know, back then, it wasn't a lot of videos,WA huh and I'm like yeah you know back then wasn't a lot of videos wasn't a lot of you know every all the focus was on easy eat so I talked to the dude and he was saying he was a junior at USC and he is in film class and he's gonna do a movie and he's gonna put me in it and he's gonna do a movie and he's gonna put me in it and He's gonna put all of NWA in the movie. That's his that was what he said at the time so, you know, I'm kind of like You know Okay, dude. I'm you know, I'm thinking at the time you have to like go to Juilliard or something

Starting point is 00:33:40 I'm not totally not qualified for this. So you've never gone to act in school? Never, never. And he, he comes and, and you know, he disappears. So it was just a conversation. And I see him a year or two later, at a public enemy concert, it was a year later. And he runs up to me. And he's like remember me remember me I sit in a hall show I'm gonna put you on a movie like yeah right man he's like yeah I'm a I'm a I'm a senior now USC and we gonna do it I'm like okay man whatever you know and he's telling me trying to tell me about the movie the The concert lets out and his ride leaves him. And he's like, Q, man, it's two in the morning. We out there in Hollywood at the Palladium, no, the Palace.

Starting point is 00:34:37 And he's like, man, my ride left me. Can you give me a ride home? I'm like, ah, shit, man. This is the second time you've ever met him. Yeah, yeah. Like, I don't even know you, dude. But he was cool, you know, cool dude, you know, and I didn't want to leave him out there. So I gave him a ride to his dorm. And he's telling me about the movie the whole time. And I'm barely listening. It's two in the morning. I'm trying to get this dude home so I can go home

Starting point is 00:35:06 my damn self. So another year go by, or some time went by, my manager at the time, Pat Charbonne, she says, somebody wanna put you in a movie. I'm like, huh, huh? By then I had broke up with NWA, there was drama going on, it was like I was trying to be the best rapper in the world,

Starting point is 00:35:31 had just done my first solo album. Movie, huh, what? Yeah. So I forgot all about the dude. So she gives me the script, I take the script, I throw it in my back seat Never look at it. She give me sides sides are

Starting point is 00:35:50 The scene you have to audition. So they just give you a few pages to see what you got. And so I Fold that up and put it in my pocket and it stayed in my pocket till it was time for me to audition So she told me on Monday. I audition on Thursday. So I didn't look at nothing. I pull up to the audition. I pull out the paper out my pocket. I'm trying to read the scene, see what they want me to do, whatever. I go in. I'm thinking it's going to be a room full of white people making a movie. And it's not. It's's John Singleton the same dude from the from the From the Arsenio Hall show. He's like Told you I told you did I tell you put you in a movie and I'm like I'm looking around

Starting point is 00:36:35 I'm like damn they are making a movie around here. I'm seeing cast members on this wall and a lot of activities pre-production and I on this wall and a lot of activities, pre-production. And I go to audition and I'm terrible. I mean, I suck. I can't act the lick. And he's looking at me, he was like, Cube, did you read my story? Did you read my script?

Starting point is 00:36:56 Because you suck. And I was like, Yeah, he's like, man, I'm gonna have to get another actor, man. How old is he? He's 22 at the time. Maybe a little older than me, little younger one or two, but he's like

Starting point is 00:37:12 Yo, you know you You're not good and I was like, yeah, man. I didn't know what I was saying or reading You know, I just I just picked it up On the parking lot. He said, Q, dude, go home, read my whole script, read the whole script and come back tomorrow. Give you one more shot at it. But if you're not better, then we're going to have to find an actor to play this part.

Starting point is 00:37:43 You know, I'm going to have to change my mind on you. And I was like, okay. I said, okay, now I'm taking this serious because now I've had some conversations with this guy. So you're not offended. You're not offended at his telling you serious. No, no, he right. He totally right.

Starting point is 00:37:57 I'm glad he gave me another shot. So I go right home and I read the script and I couldn't believe it. I was like, what what they're making a movie about how we grew up like a movie about our neighborhood Like is this movie worthy got it. I'm asking Kim. She like they making a movie. So I guess it's movie worthy. So I Get it. So next time I go audition, I'm pretty good and And I'm boom. I just looked him up, by the way. He's born January 668. Obviously he passed away five years ago,

Starting point is 00:38:31 but he's January 668. He's a year older than you. Yeah. So you do the movie. What's the difference between the album that took off with NWA versus Boys in a Hood? The level of fame and success. I mean, how much did they pay you for the movie, Boys in a Hood, the level of fame and success. I mean, how much did they pay you for the movie,

Starting point is 00:38:47 Boys in a Hood? Because Cuba said he didn't get paid a lot of money, like $36,000 or something like that. I got a hundred grand. You got a hundred grand. I got a hundred grand. So at that time, you're a bigger draw than Cuba is at the time, right?

Starting point is 00:38:58 Most definitely. Right. So you got a- I think the only bigger draw in the movie was Lawrence Fishburne at the time because he was a established pops actor yet, right So, okay. So which which of the two? Puts you like out in the limelight like this the skyrocket of overnight movie sensation or album sensation

Starting point is 00:39:21 Which one had a bigger vertical leap? sensation or album sensation, which one had a bigger vertical leap? You know, I would say NWA because it was like Adam Bond went off. It was just you know, so radical for the time that everybody had it, everybody was talking about it, everybody had an opinion on it. Boys in the Hood, it took me to new heights, you know,

Starting point is 00:39:56 just as an actor, you know, it was like, I was getting respected for my acting ability. And so it opened up the door for a new career. Roger Ebert, I think Chicago sometimes, said I should have won an Academy Award for my performance. So by him doing that and recognizing me at his award show it really set me up because you know the thumbs up guys were you know Roger and Siskel, Roger Ebert, Gene Siskel I think they used to you know do the movies and

Starting point is 00:40:37 give it a thumbs up or thumbs down so by him kind of giving me a stamp of approval, it opened up a lot of doors in Hollywood as an actor. Was that like an itch for you? Or were you like, I'm really enjoying this? Actually watching yourself on a big screen? You know, the first time I seen the movie, John, we got real cool doing the movie because he was young and he loved NWA, he loved my solo stuff and we was just same age, same interest so we got real cool.

Starting point is 00:41:14 So he showed me, he was like, you want to see the movie? Before he finished it, bad move. Never show a new actor a movie before it's finished. Because when he showed me the movie, it was flat. It was not the sound. You know, it wasn't no sound mix. It was temporary music. You know, things were raw, unfinished, edited. You know, need some more.

Starting point is 00:41:41 It was just an unfinished movie. And I didn't understand what I was looking at really. So it just looked like not a good movie because it wasn't like I was seeing cups being put down. I wasn't hearing the sound. And I was like, what the hell is going on? Why don't feel like a real movie? And so I called my manager, Pat Charbonneau,

Starting point is 00:42:10 and I was like, yo, I shouldn't have did this. This was the wrong move. This is about to be a disaster. And why you let me do this movie? You know what I mean? I'm not no damn actor. I was just beside myself about it. And then I called John and I was just, I just wanted the movie to go away.

Starting point is 00:42:32 I was just like, I don't want to hear about this movie no more. And then he said, man, just let me finish it. I'm not going to show you nothing else. Just let me finish it and then I'll show you. So the screening I went to, I was like, man, I'm like, oh man, I gotta sit through this, through this thing again, you know what I mean? And then- Night and day.

Starting point is 00:42:54 It was night and day, you know, he put the polish on it. You know, he put the whoop on it, as we say. And it was great, you know, amazing. And I was like so happy that we did it. And then he said, yo, we're going to go to the Cannes Film Festival in south of France. And I'm like, why? What? What? He's like, yo, we're showing a movie in the south of France. I'm like, what, subtitles?

Starting point is 00:43:21 You know, I'm like, it's already a LA, you know, basically gangbang story on how to survive LA, but how are the French gonna take this with subtitles? They're not gonna understand what the hell's going on. So I was, you know, kind of like reserved, but then, you know, we got a standing ovation at the end of the movie and I look over as Quincy Jones as Eddie Murphy.

Starting point is 00:43:50 Oh shit. Yeah and these dudes were it was Jeffrey I mean dang I forget his name Jeffrey Hines or Gregory Hines, they all, you know, man, just praising the movie and I was like, damn, if the French love this and in subtitles, then when we play this in America, they gonna love it. Overnight blew up, was it Kim outlying? So my guy this morning, my trainer, I'm with him, I'm like, so today, he's got,

Starting point is 00:44:23 who you have on the podcast today? I said, Cube. He says, really? He says, yes. He says, man, let me tell you, he's 55 years old. So think about what age she is, right? He says, when Boys in the Hood came out in Miami, he says, Pat, I went to the night it came out. He says, there was a line all the way down. He says, friends weren't sitting with friends because the place is jam-packed. He says, moment he, give me a visual, the moment the guy opened the door we broke the door to go in to see him. He's telling me the story. And so I mean obviously there was a, the market was waiting for this. Yes, you know wasn't a lot of movies out that catered to you know the the core audience, you know as far as a

Starting point is 00:45:09 Hip-hop audience or audience that you know now we were seeing our lives You know portrayed on the screen like we had seen with you know movies like Greece and American Graffiti and You know seeing everybody else life basically. Now we were, this movie was showing us our lives back to us. And so it was exciting, you know, a lot of people were looking forward to it. In these uncertain times, if there's anything we need is we need people to believe the future looks bright.

Starting point is 00:45:45 So you, if you've heard about me saying this mission to you, we're on a mission to get a million people to wear this gear. And this is what we're doing. If you buy one of these hats, there's a category of buying one hat, getting the second one free. If you haven't yet worn this gear publicly, go ahead and test it out. Buy some of the gear, wear it in public, and see how how many people stop by and say, you also watch a value timing? You also follow PBD Podcast?

Starting point is 00:46:08 I do, too. Place your order. Go to vtmerch.com. Click on the link above or below. Place your order and represent the VT and the PBD Podcast gear. So Tupac's two years younger than you, right? You're 69, he's 68. You're 69, he's 68. You're 69, he's 71. So at this moment, when was the first time you met Pac?

Starting point is 00:46:29 When I met Pac, he was like a background dancer for the Digital Underground. Digital Underground was a group out of the Bay in California. Actually, their role manager, a guy named Atron, was their, our role manager was their manager. He was like, we got a new group called Digital Underground, you should hear it.

Starting point is 00:46:58 They first song was a song called Do What You Like. And so we ended up meeting them once we went to the Bay and you know, just checked out their show. They did some shows with us and they used to have Digital Underground used to have the most entertaining show in hip hop. Yeah, it was like a parliament funkadelic feel to it. a lot of characters, a lot of unique routines, and real, real entertaining show. And not non-gang related. This is the Humpty, right? The Humpty, yeah, just straight.

Starting point is 00:47:37 I've seen a video with Tupac dancing on stage. So that was his role, and he would rap every now and then. his role and you know he would he would rap every now and then him and Money B would do raps every now and then and we just became real cool you know I fell in love with his energy he was he was the kind who stayed up all night never went to sleep always coming to your room trying to get you to come out you know just that you know ball of, you know, just that, you know, ball of energy, you know, so. You were opposites, would you say he's a complete opposite of you or there were some similarities?

Starting point is 00:48:11 A lot of similarities, you know, we both Geminis, so. A lot of Geminis, man. You know, do you know the famous Geminis? Yes, I'm, yeah, it's a lot of them. Elvis, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, John F. Kennedy, Biggie, Tupac, Prince, I mean yes a lot of them Elvis Brad Pitt Angelina Jolie John F Kennedy Biggie print to Pac Prince I mean, it's a Kanye. Yeah, a ton of you guys. Yes everybody. So both of you are gemini's Okay, so you and him are similar and you're hanging out. Hey, he always wants to go out so the experience is good, but at this point Pac is not a

Starting point is 00:48:41 You know, he's not a gangster. He's not a tough guy. He's an artist. He's a talent Well, you know what he what he used to tell me man, he's not a tough guy. He's an artist, he's a talent. Well, you know what he used to tell me, man, he would be like, man, I don't wanna do the kind of music y'all do. I don't or I do. I do. I do.

Starting point is 00:48:55 I wanna do the kind of music y'all do. Got it. Because he said, where I'm from, I think it was Richmond, I said, man, it's raw over there, you know what I mean? They get down over there and I wanna talk was Richmond. I said, man, it's raw over there, you know what I mean? They get down over there and I want to talk about it. But he was under Shock G, who was like, yo, that ain't really the route. That's NWA and Ice-T and King-T, that's their lane.

Starting point is 00:49:22 You know what I mean? Let's stick with the Mor party, upbeat. And then he started doing songs like I Get Around and they was real cool and upbeat. But when he was able to get a solo deal, that's when he started doing the music that he wanted to do. And that's when he started to change

Starting point is 00:49:43 and go into the Pac we know. Too short says, you know, whenever I was with Pac, I never knew who was going to show up on any given day. One day he's the revolutionary guy. One day he wants to go party with the girls. One day he's a gangster. One day he's an artist. One day he's a historian philosopher.

Starting point is 00:50:01 Did you kind of experience that as well? Were you never knew who was going to show up or Pac was just a super creative guy? Well he was always the same with me. You know it was always love, respect, you know we was the same similar ages and we were all in a similar situation. Like are you a class ahead of him? Are you like if we're like in high school hip-hop, are you like a graduating class of 88, he's like class of 90 where he kind of looks up to you? Yeah. Okay, I got you.

Starting point is 00:50:32 Well, it was mutual love because we looked up to them because what they were doing was creatively advanced. And so we appreciate what they was doing, they appreciated what we were doing. And we were both youngsters around, you know, with, you know, Eazy-E was the head of our crew, Shock-G was the head of their crew. And so we were trying to find our voice

Starting point is 00:51:03 within the structure that was in place. So we would, you know, conversate about how do we maneuver and do that. Um, so we were, we were close in that way, you know, in a more, uh, you know, confident way, you know, we would, we would just build and kind of, you know, bounce ideas off each other like, man, I want to do this, you know, because I was waiting for my solo project at the time too. So then I became solo and started doing my thing. And then he was solo too.

Starting point is 00:51:39 So now he was in LA a little more and we were, you know, we were running to each other at the studio and just really running to each other at the studio and just really enjoy seeing each other. You guys ever do anything together or no? We did one song together with Ice T. I think it's on the Trespass soundtrack. I forgot what the name of the song is. Yeah. Trespass soundtrack, you and you, Ice-T and... Yeah, Last Words. Got it. Yeah, got it. Was there ever any talks of doing something else together, like, hey, what if we did this and what if we did that or those types of conversation wasn't really

Starting point is 00:52:19 being had with the two of you? Not really being had. On his first few albums, he was really trying to find his way. I was doing movies and I was trying to build that career. Then I think he really put it together with the, I think it's Me Against the World album, and it really started to come together production-wise. Always, with his first music, he would triple-rap his vocals, like rap it once, then rap it right on top, and then rap it again. And I always thought it was a little mucky.

Starting point is 00:53:06 So when he stopped doing that and just clean, clean one track, that's when. Tupac emerged as, you know, one hell of a. Artists and, you know, songs like Dear Mama, Power, you know, it's like to life goes on. Yeah, it's starting to put it together. Then he starts to do movies with John Singleton. I was supposed to do Poetic Justice. Sick movie.

Starting point is 00:53:37 With Janet Jackson. Lucky. But I had an issue with the script, so he cast Pop. And it was a great move. He's a great actor. Then he did Juice. Well, it might have been the other way around.

Starting point is 00:53:56 Maybe Juice first. But he started merging as an actor. And then he gets shot, goes to jail and then Death Row, you know, they get him out and you know he just explodes after that. What was your impression of Eazy-E versus Shook? Both of these guys are alphas. What was different about easy versus shook? Easy You know Didn't use intimidation

Starting point is 00:54:40 He didn't use any intimidation He just was a businessman straight up. So it was never any, you know, at least when I was around, never any like, yo, this gotta go down or, you know, it's gonna be consequences to pay. So what was his leverage though? What was his leverage to keep people around? Having the best ideas, being smart, being innovative, being able to see around the corner, being a visionary, having a plan,

Starting point is 00:55:16 having the resources to execute his plan, letting us be who we wanted to be and not who he wanted us to be. You know, he just, to me, he built a better mousetrap, you know what I mean? So everybody was gonna roll with that. Was he a feared, loved, or respected guy? All three. He was. So he's a trifecta.

Starting point is 00:55:45 Yeah. How about Shug? Just feared? Respected? I think Shug is all three, but it might be different degrees of, you know, I think, you know, definitely feared, definitely respected, and got a lot of people who loved Shud because he pulled them out the mud. He pulled them out the dirt.

Starting point is 00:56:13 And he helped orchestrate one of the greatest eras in hip hop with Def Ro. Errors and hip-hop with death row so You know got a lot of people Made a lot of people famous and and they eating to this day. So you it's interesting you say that Kevin Garnett said about three months ago he says listen every NBA player should be thanking Michael because You know the whole movie air when he negotiates the contract and the mom says 10% of whatever you guys do and feel nice, like what are you talking about? And Sonny's like, listen, this he wants, I know you're not gonna do it, walks away,

Starting point is 00:56:49 said let's do it. He said, we're probably gonna change the game because a lot of people are gonna be all happy with us, but if this shit works, boom, we're taking off. And so Kevin Garnett, so Shug probably set up a lot of people as well where they are today, but Yeezy, I remember one story, him talking about that, when when he was a gangster he was a saver and he had $30,000 which is what financed the music and the record business that he got into

Starting point is 00:57:13 because he had that kind of money and then eventually he did end up getting he he was on Arsenio Hall where he put his feet up right that one interview how much of an influence did you have at getting EZ to sit with Arsenio? None. Really? So how did that happen? I don't know. I had left the group by then. Okay, got it. So I don't know how it went down. Did you ever hear, one day, it's like three months ago, I get a call. They said, Pat, Shug wants to talk to you. I said, what Shug? I only know one Shug. He said, Shug wants to talk to you. Like, these Shug not... Yeah, it's a collect call.

Starting point is 00:57:49 He's on the other line. I'm like, hey, Shug, how you doing? Yo, what up, PBD, you know, hey, you need to... Who the fuck's with you? He's talking to me a lot. I'm like, what's up, Shug? I watch a lot of your stuff. He said, I want to talk to you.

Starting point is 00:58:00 I want to do a podcast with you. I said, do I come to you? Do you... He said, no, let's just do a collect call. do a podcast with you. I said, do I come to you? Do you come? He said, no, let's just do a collect call. So it's six collect calls he makes, 15 minutes, right? And we do the podcast. I don't know if you had a chance to see any of it. And it goes, boom, millions of views.

Starting point is 00:58:15 It's been all over the place. One of the things he said when I asked him about EZE and Dre, Rob, do you have the clip on what he says? Is it have the clip on what he says? Is it on that spot on what he says? Yes, this is where he talks about being with EZE and receiving a phone call from Dre. So here's, I'm curious to know what your thoughts is on this. Go ahead and play this. So I'll say man, I call. So, when Dre asked for a phone, I'm talking to him.

Starting point is 00:58:42 I say, you're ready to come up here now. What you want done again? He was like, man, shoot that motherfucker in the head, I'm talking to him. I say, you ready to come up here now? What you want done again? He was like, man, shoot that motherfucker in the head, blow his head off, shoot him in the eye, take pictures of it, you don't got one of those things, you know, blah, blah, blah, like before phone shit, you know. You want to put the cameras and let me see it,

Starting point is 00:58:57 I want to see it, you know, blah, blah, blah. When I'm up there phone, I see one of the saddest things I've seen in a minute. I'm looking at phone, I seen one of the saddest things I ever seen in a man. I'm looking at it easy, and it's like, he said I bought a car, I think all this phone is one for me, it can be done, and it's like he trying to hold back the tears,

Starting point is 00:59:16 because he don't want to be impaired by me seeing him crying, because he crying because he scared, or he crying because he hurt, before another man, crying in front of another man, never let you get a reversal of hurt before another man and crying in front of another man is never a good thing. You know, getting a birth on a hair snub or an illustration. But back to the story, he looked so sad. You know, one tear started coming down a little bit. Dead few tears started coming down. Let's check this out here.

Starting point is 00:59:39 I ain't gonna never do that to you. You know that trick. I see you in the guy's side, you the time. This one lady is for all of them. This one for the ones I tell you. I'll keep her. Me and you always been straight. We hung out together. We did all kinds of shit together, you know? So, I don't know if you heard a full thing where he's saying he's on a call speaker with Dre. Yeah. Can you see something like this happening? I don't know, you know. It's hard to say. A lot of time that went by, you know, this is my first time hearing this story. I'm lost, I don't know.

Starting point is 01:00:17 Whether something, whether Dre would throw easy under the bus or not. I mean, not severe for contracts. of whether Dre would throw easy under the bus or not. I mean, that's severe for contracts. No, it's hard to believe, but who am I to say? Well, let me ask you this, because I've had Sammy the Bull on, and when the FBI brought him in and they said this is what you know your boss Gotti said about you and they played a recording yeah and that's when he flips yeah he's like this this is crazy there's no way you're

Starting point is 01:00:55 gonna do something like this man and boom what do you need obviously the Gotti family is not happy about that whole conversation but you've seen the story you've read about it maybe you haven haven't, but it's out there. From your personal experience in life, we have folks that, you know, we can say, I like that guy, but I trust him more. I don't like that guy, but I trust this guy more than I like this guy. I trust him, but I like that I trust this guy more, right? And you kind of this guy more than I like this guy. I trust him but I like that I trust this guy more right and you kind of score people on who you trust more. Yeah. Out of these three people that you've had in your life these specific three which one would you say my experience with them I trust him the most and I can't see

Starting point is 01:01:36 something like that happening? With Dre Eazy and Shud? Yes. Well I mean of course I treat I trust Dre the most he the one brought me in the game he's never done anything to me as far as contract wise or business wise foul neither has shook you know so I mean I would trust Dre the most And you know out of Easy and should you know, I know I'm been knowing them probably both the same amount of time and You know, I trust him, you know, I never felt any issues with With easy or sure, you know with easy We actually had a chance to hug and

Starting point is 01:02:27 make up you know when was this this was right before he passed away maybe that February in 94 how long before he's at the hospital is it I think he's at the hospital in April oh wow so this is two months. Yes, a few months. And so, and Shug, you know, we've always been cool, always been able to have a dialogue and talk and done, you know, business together. You know, he's flown me in to do, you know, videos with Dre, you know, we did Natural Born Kill on on the murder was the case soundtrack So it's always been a cool relationship

Starting point is 01:03:11 You know, I hear the stories but you know All I know my eyes the stories Who did you have beef with anybody or no It depends on when you know, I'm talking in that era in that specific man, I had beef with, anybody or no? It depends on when. I'm talking in that era, in that specific era. I had beef with NWA in that era. We had beef above the law. We had beef.

Starting point is 01:03:37 Theirs was stemmed because they was loyal to Roofless and I had left Roofless. We had a beef with Cypress Hill. More of a misunderstanding, but it still went down. In common, we had a it was a real misunderstanding, you know, I felt like he did a record that dissed the whole West Coast.

Starting point is 01:04:03 So, you know, I felt like I needed to take up for the West Coast. But we got past that too. Was it a combo? Was it a reaction? Was it a face-to-face? It was a face-to-face. Minister Farrakhan had like a conference. We brought in a lot of the rappers to try to work out some of these beefs. Is this post Spiggy or post Tupac? This is uh, this is post Spiggy right? No, no this is this is before. Before both? Before both, yeah. Wow, because I thought there was another one you know the whole when at the award ceremony when Diddy and Snoop

Starting point is 01:04:43 are talking and you can tell the look on their face they're both a little bit worried that you know pressure could come back to them and then someone tried to bring everybody together. No it wasn't it was I believe it was it was before that. Got it. Yeah. Got it and that's where Common and all that stuff was squashed. Yeah yeah it was squashed. You know, I promised that I wouldn't make another diss, right? You know, I had made a diss song, he made a diss song. I was ready to come back and then we had the meeting.

Starting point is 01:05:17 And, you know, I was like, you know, it's better to drop it. Having a beef in public is very dangerous. It's very dangerous. Why is that? Because a third party can come in and take one of y'all out and it's gonna be blamed on the guy you beefing with and not on the real person or party.

Starting point is 01:05:45 Makes sense. You know, so you beef with somebody in public and the whole world know now somebody who don't like you or don't like them can come in and do something and really you already know who's gonna get the blame. I've seen you say and what happened at Tupac and Biggie, you said there was an assassination attempt on them too. I don't know what the word you used,

Starting point is 01:06:12 but it may be that specific word that I'm using. You said on Tupac, it could have been something about what happened earlier in Vegas that those guys just came back and took him out where it's not like somebody did it. But on Biggie, somebody may have taken him out, right? I think you said, correct me on anything I'm saying. We know of a big incident before Tupac being killed.

Starting point is 01:06:39 You said we know or we don't? We do, we saw the tape in Vegas where they were fighting. or we don't? We do. We saw the tape in Vegas where they were fighting. So, you know, when that happens, you have to think about retaliation and that's always a possibility. And so, with the biggie, he was just out in LA, you know, wasn't no big scuffle before. So, you know, he was targeted. He was targeted. I have a feeling why you're going to answer this, but I'm going to ask it anyways. You know, you look at Rogan.

Starting point is 01:07:19 Rogan's fascinated with the John F. Kennedy assassination, right? So you're going around, you're doing interviews, and hey, let me see how this happened. I've interviewed a bunch of guys that were part of the John F. Kennedy assassination, just curious. Curious with what happened with Iran, why I'm here. Certain events with Jimmy Carter, because it affects my personal life. So I'm curious.

Starting point is 01:07:40 Hey, certain things happened with my life, and marriage, my mother's side, they were communists, my dad's side, they're imperialist, I'm kind of curious on, I spoke to a pretty higher up person from Iran on Sunday because I'm curious what's going on. I want to know what happened. It's part of my life. If somebody says cube, I mean, you're on the, you're on the, in that phase, you're one of the faces, you're one of the biggest names from that, you know, influential names. Did you, did it ever, was the event that big enough

Starting point is 01:08:15 where you're like, I really wanna find out who took Pac out or who took Diddy out, or Big Yacht, or not at all. You're like, no, listen, life happens, I gotta move on, you know, if it's a choice between me finding out Other things when I was a kid versus this I I'm gonna let you know God handle this. This is not my doing Yeah, I mean this is You know, it's events outside of my control It's not my crew

Starting point is 01:08:50 And outside of my control. It's not my crew. And you know, I'm a spectator like everybody else. You know, it's not my job or my mission to find this stuff out. You know, my friend, Kibo, tells me and tells the world, and I believe it's some great advice. Mind your own business and you live longer. So I've been taking that advice to hopefully stretch out a few more years in your life. You remind me of somebody, and you're going to see where I'm going to go with this in a minute, but Diddy. You're hearing Diddy everywhere, okay? Yeah, so did you ever have any kind of running with Diddy? Did you ever do anything with Diddy? Any projects you worked out with him?

Starting point is 01:09:32 He produced a few records or had his producers do a few records on my One piece album, the piece disc. Yeah. How was he to work with? It was cool, you know, he You know Gave us great music we flew out to New York and I was mainly in in the in the studio with the producer, you know, he had a stable of producers So I was in a studio with his stable of producers and I think we did some great music And Studio with his stable of producers, and I think we did some great music And You know really

Starting point is 01:10:13 You know really Kind of you know Lost contact with him and and and really stopped, you know dealing with puffy around 94 really stop you know dealing with Puffy around 94. Any specific reason? Yeah I mean you know they was doing their thing I was doing mine and you know I'm not the party in type you know I mean I ain't never been to a Diddy party ain't never really wanted to go but I don't go to a lot of people parties you know that's just saying what I'm in it for. I don't go to a lot of people parties, you know, that's just saying what I'm any foe

Starting point is 01:10:46 You know You've been the one you've been to them all Are you surprised at what things are coming out with Diddy at all or you like you have no idea It's none of my business. You live long. I kind of like the mindset. I'm I mean surprised How could you be surprised with anything that happens in hip-hop? You know, it's, hip-hop is the Wild West, so you're gonna have the good, you're gonna have the bad, you're gonna have the ugly. You think he's being targeted or some of the stuff he's got, you know, there's credibility on what they're coming after him with the tapes and the feds and rating his Miami home, his LA home? I believe he's being targeted. You believe he's being targeted? coming after him with the tapes and the feds and rating is Miami home is LA home?

Starting point is 01:11:31 I believe he's being targeted. You believe he's being targeted? Yeah, I believe, you know somebody you know has the power to pull the trigger think, you know, Shook said, you can say what you want about Diddy, but Diddy didn't learn to like young boys. He learned it from a man named Clive Davis. He threw Clive Davis in there. It doesn't sound like you're part of that camp. You're part of the camp that you think he's being targeted You know, I don't I don't know enough to even be able to To be specific on any of this stuff. It's just all speculation. I just know It's just all speculation. I just know

Starting point is 01:12:31 He was cool up until a point and then this stuff start happening so I believe somebody You know Like I said said y'all He's our new guy we aren't this year or whatever maybe let me let me go in a different direction with this I'm curious because for my own curious nature that I have. So I think it's about a little less than a year ago. You make a video and I watched a video.

Starting point is 01:12:58 I don't even know where you were sitting. Just seemed like you're sitting at a place and you're kind of sharing your frustration And you posted it on Instagram. Yeah, and it goes tens of millions of views, right? And then afterwards you go and you're like if mainstream media doesn't want to have me on I'm gonna go and do my own thing Right. Yeah, and then you go on Rogan you go on Tucker you go on you go all over the place Yeah, all right You go all over the place.

Starting point is 01:13:25 You go all over the place and you're kinda talking and you're doing what you're doing. Hit Bill Maher. You hit Bill Maher, which was kinda interesting. You've had a Bill Maher situation before where you called him out directly. It wasn't this one. That was the Bill Maher of, I think, eight years ago,

Starting point is 01:13:37 seven years ago, you guys had a moment, you know which one I'm talking about, the one that you were very cool and just kinda put him in your place, put him in his place, but in a very respectful way. Yeah, I called it a teachable moment. Yeah. Teachable moment.

Starting point is 01:13:51 Rob, have you seen this or not? If you've not seen this, see if you can find it. It's actually very entertaining. It's six minutes, so we don't need to go through it. I think it's worth for the audience to watch for themselves. But anyways, and I don't know if it's Tucker you're talking to or whoever you're talking to. You said, the view didn't want to have me on.

Starting point is 01:14:11 Then you said, even Oprah Winfrey didn't want to have me on. When you're trying to promote your big three, you're trying to build your business and all this other stuff. And at that time, some people are like, well, why don't they want to talk to this guy? Why wouldn't they want to talk to this guy? Why wouldn't they want to talk to him? And then you say, you give him the, you know, maybe it's not, if you were to maybe put a new song a year ago, my visualization would have been instead of saying fuck the police,

Starting point is 01:14:34 maybe the title would have been fuck the mainstream media. Let's just say, if you chose to make a comeback. So, at this point of being in this business this long, Hall of Fame, Walk of Fame, you name it, you got all of them, right? Who has the most power in the entertainment industry? Wow, I mean it's really hard to say who has the most power. There's some very powerful entities out here. I mean, it's really hard to say who has the most power. It's some very powerful entities out here.

Starting point is 01:15:08 Maybe Black Rock has the most power in Hollywood, who knows? You say Black Rock, I wouldn't disagree with you, they're on Black Rock. Vanguard. State Street, those guys. Maybe they have the most power in the entertainment industry. You think more than like Aleutian Grange? Yeah, yeah, he's just, he could than like a Lucian Grange. Yeah. Yeah, he's just

Starting point is 01:15:26 He could be fired. He could be fired. Yeah, Leo or even these guys these guys could be fired. Yes Okay, got it. So you're you're going straight to the top who has the most power So you think you think there's so much power that if they wanted to not have a guy like you be heard they would do Their best to not have a guy like you be heard not have a guy like you be heard they would do their best to not have a guy like you be heard? Yeah I mean it's a little too late I got a lot of records out there I'm hurt. Right right so do you know who Sonny Francis is? No who's that? So Sonny Francis is Google Sonny Francis. Mm-hmm. You're familiar with the Colombo family?

Starting point is 01:16:06 Yeah, I've heard of them. You ever seen the movie Mobster with Christian Slater, with, you know, you hear the story about Meyer Lansky, Frank Costello, all those guys? Okay. So Sonny Francis is probably one of the most feared mobsters of the last hundred years. And he did 55 years in jail.

Starting point is 01:16:27 He died, I think, Rob, at 103 or 104 years old. If you can go down and see what age he is when he died, 103. So he and I met three times in the last two years before he died. I was trying to do an interview with him. And I'm in New York, and I take him out to lunch, and we're sitting down, we're talking, and I'm asking about his experience with Meyer Lansky.

Starting point is 01:16:48 I'm asking about experience with all these other guys. And he was very comfortable throwing, you know, the people of power, the government, or the money people under the bus, but he was no way gonna throw any of his peers under the bus, at all. no way gonna throw any of his peers under the bus, at all. Even if you said to him, so Sonny, what do you think about Bugsy?

Starting point is 01:17:10 He'd said, you'd never call him Bugsy to his face. To you, you can call him Mr. Segal. That's how he was. That's this guy. Oh, if you ever read about this man, he is as legit as they get. Some stories about one guy at their house flirts with his wife, you can read what he did

Starting point is 01:17:24 to that guy afterwards, okay? So he's one of those heavyweights. Cube, do you think it's necessary for the people of power who abuse their power to be exposed or is it not a fight worth having? I mean the truth is always good. The truth is always good for the soul. You know what's done in the dark will come to light. And you know if it's the truth then it's probably necessary. You think the entertainment industry is going through major disruption or not yet? Yeah, I mean, because we, you know, the entertainment industry has to deal with artificial intelligence, you know, artificial art, artificial influence, artificial inspiration, artificial pictures, movies, music.

Starting point is 01:18:34 And we're gonna have artificial fun with it. Yeah, that's definitely gonna be here. If it isn't already, right? There's artificial porn, wives, women. There was a movie done called Her. I don't know if you ever saw this movie Her. Yeah, I remember Her. With Joaquin Phoenix. Yeah, it was a great movie.

Starting point is 01:18:51 Weird, weird. Weird, but here we are. Right, exactly. Ahead of time, right? Kind of like where we're eventually gonna be at, that time was gonna be coming. Q, what's been your experience this last year of going around talking to

Starting point is 01:19:05 guys and you've spoken openly about a lot of different issues. You don't go on Tucker Carlson and not get people to say, why would you talk to Tucker? I even think you did a live one time with Alex Jones or maybe you were on like a Twitter X or an X-ray. I don't know what it was. Maybe one was reacting to the other but I recall seeing something there So what's what's been your experience is your experience? I want to double down and keep going or is your experience now. I'm gonna back off a little bit and just go about my business well, you know, I just want to You know at a certain point

Starting point is 01:19:48 You know you speak your mind And you're heard and then you know what's what would need to be said has been said and If you need to keep repeating it The people obviously is not listening so the people obviously is not listening. So politics and all that kind of stuff used to be personal. Religion, people didn't talk about that stuff. Now, you know, people want to know what you are before they even know who you are. So it's become, you know, whack to talk about politics. It's whack. Everybody, especially this time around, everybody know what's at stake. Everybody know who

Starting point is 01:20:36 is who. You know both guys back and forth. What's to talk about? You know, for me, when I made my first round of money You make a million. You don't have a few money. You know you make 10 million You still don't have a few money you make a few hundred million you officially have a few money, right? It was kind of like all right. You know I don't need to worry about you know And then you don't go to the parties like you don't I'm a married guy for kids, you know this In what is today's date that Rob I go to the parties when I'm getting paid That's a different story

Starting point is 01:21:11 Like you said you can call me or shave your pain me if not my name is cube right in two days It's gonna be my 15 year anniversary. I've been married right sweet and we take it one year at a time Yeah, it's a lot of work that you do it right and I And we take it one year at a time. It's a lot of work that you do it, right? And I used to, I was the guy you didn't know who was my girlfriend, and then if you knew, it's because I wanted you to know. I don't need to, you know, me and my girl have a relationship, it's our business.

Starting point is 01:21:37 But my wife and I were dating, when all of a sudden they found out, they're like, you guys are together? Yes, for how long? No shit. Yeah, why don't you tell us? It's not your business. It's a wife. It's who I'm choosing to be with, and the people that I have double dates

Starting point is 01:21:49 with, we do what we do. And then plays the role of faith, plays the role of all these other things. And what's your politics, Pat? None of your business where my politics is, where I'm at, right? And I'm kinda going through that phase. And then you get kids, and you have four of them, 12, 10, eight, she's gonna turn two, three, because our youngest is born on our anniversary date, same day, and then I read one quote that leveled me. Remember, your friend told you one quote, if you mind your own business, you're gonna live a longer life than if you don't I read this quote that said if you think

Starting point is 01:22:31 It's foolish To study politics. You'll be governed by fools who do So I read that I'm like side the Socrates or Aristotle played a one of these guys. I'm like, man, I don't want to do this. So we're creating content. Every time we're creating content, my guy Mario has been with me 19 years.

Starting point is 01:22:53 I'd say, I'm going to make content around business. If I even say anything about politics, stop the video. So we're shooting video at 11 o'clock at night in our audience, mainly as business. We run consulting. We consult for 5,000 businesses, 60 plus countries, but David Consulting, we're doing all this stuff and there's a lot of businesses we run.

Starting point is 01:23:11 And, hey Pat, you're talking politics again. Why'd you stop me? Pat, it's politics. Damn, you're right. Stay away from it. So I'm staying away from it, going back to business. Boom, boom, boom, going back to business. Boom, boom, boom, going back to business.

Starting point is 01:23:24 You're flirting, right? It's kind of like what's drawn you in. And eventually I'm like, from it, going back to business. Boom, boom, boom, going back to business. Boom, boom, boom, going back to business. You're flirting, right? It's kind of like what's drawing you in. And eventually I'm like, you know what? I'm not gonna let the fear of them trying to ruin your life prevent me from speaking about common sense, because if I don't, my future grandkids are gonna look back and say, Grandpa, how come you didn't do anything about it?

Starting point is 01:23:44 Look at what happened over here right now. What's this all about? I'm an LA kid, it was to live and die in LA. I'm an RBL posse, don't give me no bammer weed, we don't smoke that shit. I'm a rapin forte, I'm a master ace, it's the INC ride, I'm a kid frost, right? I'm that guy, I'm a 1.8 GPA regular guy that's not supposed to do anything in his life.

Starting point is 01:24:09 There's nothing special about me that I'm supposed to do. So you give me this life and then I don't want to use all this you gave me for good. What am I afraid? Am I worried about walking on stage? And that's what I grapple with, right, as an individual myself. Do you ever find yourself grappling with that or not really? Um, you know, I look at the different ways to connect with the public, right? You can do a podcast like this. I can do my own daily podcast and tell everybody what I'm thinking.

Starting point is 01:24:49 Or I can do music, I can do movies. Something I enjoy doing a lot more and say what I feel in the art and let the art do what it do. People interpret it the way they want it. To me, that's a better place. I don't want to be a politician. I just want to give people good information if I got it. I use the art to do that, just like a painter. You know, you paint it, you put it on the wall, and whether people like it or not is their problem. You know, you're gone painting the next painting. Like, you know, every picture you walk by,

Starting point is 01:25:41 the artist is not sitting there saying, did you like it? Did you like it? I did this. Did you like it? I did it. The artist is long gone. You don't even know who he is, where he is. All you know is you got to deal with what he put on the wall. You can look at it and not look at it. You can love it. You can hate it. But that's your problem. That's something you have to deal with. His job is done. And that's how I like to express myself through my art. And you either like the song, you don't, you like the movie, you don't. And I'm going to the next. Yeah, I think it's validated that you're loved, bro.

Starting point is 01:26:19 You're not a liked guy. You're a loved guy. We love you. We don't like you. You know what I'm saying? And I'm talking from a standpoint of a fan. You're a loved guy. We love you. We don't like you You know I'm saying and I'm talking from a standpoint of a fan. I'm a fan. I mean, we're not we're not buddies We've never broke bread. This is not like hey Cuban our friends. We've never had dinner together it's the first time you and I are even interacting so I'm coming from a place of you know, We were both we've had both a good life with what we've done and you know, we're still in the game.

Starting point is 01:26:47 You're doing big three. You're doing a bunch of other things that you're working on, which is impressive. We'll get to that in a minute. But I think the difference is with the artist is imagine if they took the brush away from the artist. That's the problem, right? What if we get to a point where the artist can't have the brush anymore? And that's what a lot of artists feel like, you know the entertainment industry Has flirted with and and that's the frustrating part when I talk to different people I'm in LA last week. I only go to LA two weeks ago two weeks ago, Rob

Starting point is 01:27:17 I'm in LA two weeks ago, and I'm speaking at the annual chases small business owner symposium I'm there with Christina Yamaguchi, I don't know if you remember the figure skater, and then there's Sean White and Sofia Vergara speaking at the C-Band. So then we go and meet with a director of a couple movies you're familiar with. I'm like, so what's happened with Hollywood?

Starting point is 01:27:40 How much has changed? Man, it's a very different life today in California, right? It's a very different life in LA. I pulled up numbers to see what homelessness was in 88, mid 80s, late 80s in LA, versus where it's at today, okay? And you look at crime versus today, you look at the streets, you know, I used to go to Denny's at Baldwin,

Starting point is 01:28:06 is it Baldwin Park? The one with the movie theater where there was a Denny's Sizzler. There was a Sizzler there right there and I used to speak there all the time. And so that was, my dad had a 99 cent store down the street from Great Western Forum. He worked there 15 years.

Starting point is 01:28:20 They knew him as David, you know, and right next to Video 2020. If you remember Video 2020, my dad's store is right next to it, wall to wall, right? So, you know, I mean, you go from that to now today with California, you look at the homelessness today in California, you see the mess in California, and I thought I was going to live and die in LA. It's the place I've lived the longest, 24 years, minus my time. Even in Iran, I lived there 10 years. Year and a half in Germany, refugee camp, 24 years in LA time and even in Iran I lived there 10 years year and a half in Germany refugee camp 24 years in LA

Starting point is 01:28:48 Two and a half years in Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee when I was in the army five years Dallas three years, Florida But it's 24 years LA you tell me the freeway. I know you said Linwood I know Linwood you tell me all I know these places right I left, went to Dallas and then I'm eventually here. Do you think you're gonna live and die in LA? I hope to. You know, I love Los Angeles. I can't imagine living anywhere else. So, I'm gonna ride and die.

Starting point is 01:29:20 Hopefully it won't fall into the ocean. You know what I mean? But if it do, I'm gonna be riding it on down to the bottom You know me I'm riding on down to the bottom and so, you know, that's my favorite place in the world and so I'm always want to be in California. What do you love most about California? Everything, you know the weather, you, in California you can go from the snow to the ocean in two hours. You know, so it's maybe 90 minutes, you know, yeah.

Starting point is 01:29:53 So it's a great place. Got everything in between, the scenery. It's just beautiful. Obviously, I think you're a die-hard Laker fan. You almost talk like you own the Lakers. Well, I'm a lifetime Laker. Them other guys can get you. By the way, I looked at the list of things that, you know, favorite musician, Michael Jackson, right? Jaws favorite movie, right? All all these things I'm kind of like

Starting point is 01:30:25 you know what I was my favorite singer Prince is my favorite musician interesting perspective favorite song of Michael man favorite song of Michael oh my god he's got a lot of them he's not like I'm gonna be so many hits it's hard to say but I guess I would go with, it's hard to beat Billie Jean, man. It is hard to beat Billie Jean. Top five Lakers all time, ranking. Think you've done this before. I think, I don't know if you've done this before I think I don't know if

Starting point is 01:31:06 you've done this before but I'm assuming you're probably gonna have it I think I know who your number one is but I'm actually curious to two three and four I mean my number one is magic right my number two is Kobe Bryant my number My number three It would be Shaquille O'Neal Number four Michael Cooper Michael Cooper Michael Cooper Wow Michael Cooper was no Cooper no rings Yeah, who's your five? number five I would put on, I would say James Worthy.

Starting point is 01:31:52 Big game James. Big game James. He always played better in the playoffs than the regular season. You know, I had James on at one of our events 12 years ago and I asked him a question. I said, so what was the dynamic with you and Magic when you guys were kind of, maybe even 13 years ago. He says, you know when he said when I came to the Lakers, I was a number one draft pick

Starting point is 01:32:10 Like I was better than Michael in college. I'm the guy that's coming in right, you know You better treat me as that and he says I'm about to be traded and he says one day magic comes in and magic says Hey, I just want to tell you James. I want you here But this is my team. And if you can understand that, we're gonna do very well together. Some dynamic right there. And he says, James walked away and he says,

Starting point is 01:32:31 you know what, he's right, this is his team. After that, they had zero problems. I mean, Magic bowed to Kareem. Not bowed, but just said, hey, I'm coming in to help Kareem win, and it's not about me. But at that point, it was about him. About Kareem? About Magic.

Starting point is 01:32:52 At the point when Worthy came in, it was about Magic. So it was only right that Magic told Worthy what it is. Makes sense? Yeah. Hip-hop. Would you think hip-hop, when you, we had this professor here from Harvard. What was his name? James Fryer, I want to say, maybe I'm not saying his name properly.

Starting point is 01:33:14 Dr. James Fryer. Can you type in, I think, Dr. James Fryer? I don't know if you've heard of him or not. Cube, he's fantastic. Okay, if I get his name right. Is it? Cube he's fantastic. Okay, if I get his name, right is it Put in fry rob and you should be able to pull it up You're taking a long ways Rob. No. Oh, he's gonna take you a while to find him. Okay, so hip-hop Okay, if we go through hip-hop from day one till today, would you say hips hip-hop's? Been a net positive to society Would you say hip-hop's been a net positive to society? Roland, Roland G. Fryer.

Starting point is 01:33:48 And he's a professor that wrote a couple different things, papers, and got a lot of controversy behind it. Rob, what was the paper that he wrote that he got heat from clotting gay? It was regarding statistics regarding police violence when it comes to police using violence against black people as opposed to police using violence against people of not yet, non-people of color. And this is a guy that he says, I went back in multiple times and this almost cost me my job.

Starting point is 01:34:14 He saw there's more police violence towards whites than blacks based on statistics and he broke it down. Why? Because the cops are afraid because they're going to get more scrutinized if they do do something to anyways. So this article goes and he gets a bunch of heat for it, right? Yeah, and he's right now working on the effects of hip-hop on Society okay, and he hasn't done the paper yet. The paper is gonna come out in the next three to six months Yeah, and you read different things you think hip-hop's had a net positive or a net negative impact on young boys' lives?

Starting point is 01:34:50 I think in a lot of ways it's had a net positive. It's given a lot of youngsters hope. If you think about the world before hip-hop, it was pretty corny and it was it was really no outlets for the young youth to express themselves you know everything was being done by you know grown grown men and grown grown women and there were very few outlets for the youth to express themselves you themselves on a mass level or on a major level, put it that way. And then hip hop changed that. Hip hop has created an industry where there was none.

Starting point is 01:35:36 It's created more jobs than I can even speak on. It's created industries, created talent, cameramen, editors, engineers. It's created superstars, you know, from people who can't sing. Probably can't sing a lick, you know, but they can still, you know, sell out stadiums and arenas. It's given hope to kids, just like sports have, to change their situation and change their dynamic, you know, almost overnight. And look, it's like saying has movies helped people become better. You know, there's all kind of movies, you know, there's horror movies, there's pornos, there's all kind of stuff.

Starting point is 01:36:39 But overall in general, if you don't count all the bad stuff, movies have done a lot to bring the world together. And so I think hip hop has done more to bring people together, especially of all different races. Where else can you go and see kids of all different races getting into one thing, one style of music. So, of course there's the hardcore music and everything bad in the hood is blamed on hip hop.

Starting point is 01:37:17 A bad kid doing something in a baseball hat, it has to be, or a hoodie, he has to be hip hop, or it has had to have something to do with hip hop. And it's not true because those things were happening before hip hop. Now, of course, the weapons and all the things that's on the street now wasn't there before, but they're there now. Hip-hop don't make weapons. Hip-hop don't make drugs. You know, hip-hop might talk about it, might speak about it, may glorify it, but at the end of the day, these things are manufactured by conglomerates and corporations. Hip-hop don't leave train cars open full of weapons in the hood or U-Hauls. That has nothing to do with hip-hop.

Starting point is 01:38:19 That has something to do with a power structure that want to keep the status quo. So overall I believe hip-hop has helped the world be a little more honest with itself. Almost like a form of comedy I think but maybe the better comparison would be a comedy right where comedy allows you to like you know sometimes Dave Chappelle gets up and he tells some jokes you're like you got across the line right there but you know what maybe it's a form of being honest with the market and you decide if you don't like this look you know I'm for this thing when he got up one of the jokes he said he said uh you know ladies I'm kind of with you it should be on you

Starting point is 01:39:00 to decide your body your choice if you want to keep the baby or not I agree with you it should be your body your choice, if you want to keep the baby or not. I agree with you. It should be your body, your choice. Now, if it's your body, your choice, I should also have the choice whether to pay child support or not. That should be on me as well, right? And you see the ladies at first, they're all like screaming with them and they're like, oh, you know, and he's going, wait a minute, why are you pissed now?

Starting point is 01:39:21 You know, and he gets into his old thing that he does. I get that. You know, I think about when I was a kid and I'm listening to hit him up my my Workout playlist you hit him up right? You know and then you listen to easy real mother you know and then you listen to more murder You know more murder more and you remember that one song with What was it? We're not against rap. We're not against rappers, but we are against those thugs Thugs remember that hole, you know, who was a bone thugs right that came out with that song

Starting point is 01:39:49 so, you know, that's my playlist and as a kid I To me it was rage. I had on why am I living this life and this was My way of connecting right was kind of like man. There's a there's an outlet to it, right? So you know, I was internally friends with these, you know, these rappers. I was hanging out with you guys, you know, it was a good day. I'm one of the greatest hip hop songs of all time. Some say top five, top ten. That's you, right? Hey, today was a good day. All right. So, but then, you know, fast forward, and this guy said something very interesting. I'm not done with the research,

Starting point is 01:40:27 but let me tell you what I did find. I said, what's that? He said, in the projects and in the hood, hip hop did well because it helped spring people out. He said, but hip hop, and again, he's not done with it. I don't wanna quote him on this. He needs to come out and tell us what it is. He says, in the areas it hurt is communities that they don't have a tough life.

Starting point is 01:40:51 They're living an okay life. And now they're thinking they're gangsters. You're going to private school. You're not a gangster. Now you're going to school. I got a gun. Let me tell you what I got. So it made some of those kids act like they're tough, and you're not really tough. So it helped the ones here,

Starting point is 01:41:07 but it kind of hurt some of the other communities that maybe weren't exposed to this life. I mean, when you listen to Brenda's Got a Baby, Brenda's Got a Baby, and then the Dumpster, and you're like, remember that whole scene in the movie you guys did, I think, did you do it in Europe? Was it straight out of Compton? What movie was, it wasn't straight out of Compton

Starting point is 01:41:28 when he's, maybe no, it wasn't a straight out of Compton. I don't know what movie this is with Tupac where he's negotiating with the producer, could have been a documentary where he's like, I want Brenda's Got a Baby in the album. No, we're not gonna do it. No, it's gotta be in the album. I'm telling you, we can't put this in the album.

Starting point is 01:41:44 They're not gonna let us play this on the radio. You're not, what are you doing, Paul? I'm not doing this if it's not. You know what I'm talking about. I don't know which movie it is. But guess what? Brenda's got a baby. It's telling a story. He's not making, you said Richmond earlier, right? And this is some of the things that he's seen. What do you think about that argument? That it hurt some sects, you know some communities But it hurt some other because it brought in you know mindsets to safer communities that are not dealing with these issues Well, my thing is well what issues are they dealing with in those communities? Because it might not be gangbanging but it could be other issues that they're dealing with.

Starting point is 01:42:26 You know this has always happened with art. You know sometimes life imitates art and art imitates life. You know when I think about people that do what they do, like a Stephen King of the world who usually makes horror movies or sometimes very violent stories. he's allowed to be that type of artist without somebody doing a psych op on what is done to the world. Sometimes guys paint a beautiful picture, sometimes they paint an ugly picture. But the key is you've listened to the music You've you've named some of the most hardcore records ever and you've turned out fine It's mindset and it's individuals

Starting point is 01:43:36 and You know some people don't know how to take it but that don't mean you should stop doing it because a few people don't know how to accept the music and look at it as music and art and continue to live their lives. Everybody walked out the movie wanting to be Bruce Lee. Everybody walks out the movie thinking they Bruce Lee. And so that happens with good art. People are going to want to, when, you know, Bob Marino was on TV, on Welcome Back Carter, being basically a thug in the classroom, with a red rag hanging out his pocket and portraying that, you had a lot of people

Starting point is 01:44:28 that wanted to be Bob Marino. Fonz, he come in, he cool, got the leather jacket. Lot of people going, hey, I'm the Fonz. Nobody wanna kill Happy Days, because now they friend out here in the suburbs got a leather jacket on and he's saying, hey, all the time. So this happens when you do great art.

Starting point is 01:44:51 People want to imitate it. That don't mean you kill the art for it. Yeah. Do you still listen to hip hop? Yeah. What do you listen to? Do you have like workout playlists or what's your playlist? Not on that tip. You know, I listen to what's hot

Starting point is 01:45:06 and I'm doing music myself, so I'm mainly listening to what I need to do better on my own stuff. You listen to any old school stuff or? Yeah, everything. What do you listen to? You know, I can go back and run DMC, you know, some of the great albums. It takes a nation of millions to hold us back another great album

Starting point is 01:45:28 LL You know LL even fat boys. Yeah, listen to it all Wow on the on the the only thing and I'm gonna come back because I want to see who's your on the Top five hip hop rappers. I'm curious to know what you'll say about that But you know what it is with me today cube and it's just I'm just transparent about it with you. So man, I was so caught up in my life that when I did a 180, for me at least, one day like for me hip-hop stops in 03. I know nothing after 03 with hip hop. When I tell you nothing, I'm telling you,

Starting point is 01:46:08 I know nothing after 03. You tell me Kendrick Lamar, I can't tell you a song. You tell me, you know, Lil Wayne. I couldn't tell you once. If I hear it, I know it. But I can, you go back 90s, I'm with you. I can hang with anybody, even R&B. You bring anybody R&B.

Starting point is 01:46:24 Aaron Hall, Uncle Sam, I can go weird stuff. Like as yet, I can go, you know, all of that because that was my era, that was my crew, that's who I was with. But then one day I'm like, yeah, I'm not doing this no more. So I replaced everything I listened to in the car. Radio's not been on in my car since 03.

Starting point is 01:46:44 It's been only books. And I realized if I listened to too much hip-hop, the way I would speak would change, my rage would change, my intensity would change. And maybe in certain situations that's a good thing, but when you're running a business and you want to get the creative juices flowing, I lowered that up, I went back to more 80s, I listened to more grandma's hands with Bill Withers and I go to, I love that song, it's one of my favorites, I go to that 70s, 80s to just bring it here instead of trying to take it there because I believe words have power. Affirmation, it's got a lot of power. Even earlier when you were talking about your friend who gave you that counsel, you know, mind your own business and you live longer, and you said it's not necessarily, you know,

Starting point is 01:47:35 what you say publicly. It's what another person that's not involved in the debate or the discussion can interpret that in a certain way and come back and try to harm certain Individual right and they're not even involved. This gangstrap is not even a party. What are you doing? This John F Kennedy? What are you doing? It's not even a part of you. What are you doing? And then that can get somebody with certain words to say, you know what? I'm gonna be the hero and I'm gonna come out there And do XYZ. That's the only risk, you know

Starting point is 01:48:03 to be the hero and I'm going to come out there and do XYZ. That's the only risk that when I go there, that's what I think about in that part. Well, mind your own business and you live longer. It doesn't mean ignore everything that's going on. Not at all. Just focus on it. It means you started to mind your own business when you said, okay, I'm gonna turn the radio off and I'm gonna listen to books and improve myself that way. You know, that to me is what it's all about.

Starting point is 01:48:37 And also, too much of anything is not good. Yeah, too much hip hop is not good. It's like too much sugar. It's not good It's it's you gotta have balance You know, I mean, so you gotta have a little gotta have a little R&B with your hip-hop Gotta have a little funk with it makes it a little soul. Yeah, you know, I mean you gotta mix it up to have a balance Maybe I maybe I love hip-hop a little too much for me to go to it because you know I go I go Yeah, we all do. Yeah, I know it's a It's an energetic music beautifully. Yeah, and can can give you a nice feeling

Starting point is 01:49:14 But too much of it, you know, it's not good for you top five Top five rappers in a hip hop. Who would you who would you put on your top five? Not album order different no order cuz I love them all Chuck D, Melly Mal, Karras One, Rakim, Ice T. How many times have you given that list? A few times. How many times do people think those are the five that are going to be on your list? I don't know, you know you never know but these are my OGs. I would go LL near too. These are my OGs that show me how to use the music and make it powerful and not just powerful and not just a nursery rhyme. Yeah, I remember one time, funny story, you know J King?

Starting point is 01:50:09 Yeah. Okay, so J King. Club Nuvo. Club Nuvo, yeah. Why you treat me so, and he had what? Look at all these rumors, right? Yeah, we got all these rumors. So one day, J King and I start working together.

Starting point is 01:50:20 And he says, Pat, I want to start selling insurance. I hear there's a lot of business in insurance. I love J King. If you've been around J King. He a hustler. He a hustler, yeah, I want to start selling insurance. I hear there's a lot of business in insurance. I love J. King. If you've been around J. King. He a hustler. He a hustler, yeah, he is. So I said, Jay, we gotta go talk to certain people that they have, you know, reputation

Starting point is 01:50:35 and that we can sell them insurance. He says, all right, so let's go to Beverly Hills. I don't know which one it is. He takes me to one of these hotels. We go there, we're sitting there. He says, let's talk to Shook. I'm like Jay, no insurance company is gonna let me sell insurance to Shook. What are you talking about? Right and he brings all these guys one by one by one and then you realize, you know, this space is a very interesting

Starting point is 01:50:57 I was friends with Reggie Calloway. I don't know if you remember Reggie Calloway Calloway brothers, I wanna be rich. And then he had Casanova, was it Casanova? Casanova, yeah, that's Reggie Cowell. Yeah, that was them. CIA, your first crew, your name was CIA? Crew in action. Crew in action, right. We wanted it to be criminals in action,

Starting point is 01:51:21 but Lanzo was like, man, stop talking this criminal stuff. You know what I mean? We're gonna be crew in action but Lonzo was like man stop talking this criminal stuff you know I mean here we gonna be crew in action so I like that so after the wrecking crew crew in it you know so so CIA and you've said some stuff about the CIA Rob I don't know if you got the clip on I don't know which clip this is we'll play one of these clips if you got it is this on Bill Rob okay play this clip you know maybe your positions change, but I want to hear your thoughts. Go for it. Same people who own the labels on the prisons. Literally the same people. Literally the same people who own the labels on private prisons. The records that come out are really geared

Starting point is 01:52:00 to push people towards that prison industry. But They didn't make you write those lyrics. It's not about making somebody write the lyrics. It's about being there as guardrails to make sure certain songs make it through and certain songs don't. You know, some records are made by committee, meaning record company guys sit around and tell the artists, this is hot, say that, do this.

Starting point is 01:52:28 We're gonna have this guy write the lyrics. We're gonna have that. You have the record company pushing the narrative. And somewhat some social engineering going on here to make sure those prisons stay full. to make sure those prisons stay full. So, how much truth is there behind that? I think it's a lot of truth. If you really, remember I was talking about

Starting point is 01:52:54 the Black Rocks of the world and vanguards of the world? Look how much they are invested in all these big labels and the prison industry. And you know, not saying that the CIA is sitting there writing rhymes, but they may have a deal with the labels and to allow certain records to get through. I mean, it's up to the label who they blow up, the whole industry. And so, yeah, I mean, I've seen records made by a committee when it's not the artist's own thought process,

Starting point is 01:53:36 but that happens with a lot of records. You know, a lot of records are, you got producers, you got A&R people, you got people who sit there and say, okay, this sound like it's a hit, this sound like it's going to be great. And so it's not hard to imagine a record label finding a kid that's talking the hardest and blow him up to the top because they know, you know, some kids may be out there gonna listen and, you know, like you said, be influenced to do something

Starting point is 01:54:16 because this is their favorite rapper. So, you know, you don't see a lot of happy rappers at the top of the game, do you? No. You know any of these names, any of these people that the CIA fed them or somebody wrote the scripts for them or no? I'm not looking for names. I'm wondering if you...

Starting point is 01:54:34 I don't know names, you know. It's just companies who, you know, they're not gonna let you put the record out unless they have a say in the production of their music. I got you. Yeah, I mean mean that's kind of like you write a book and they say, hey, you can't be critical of this guy, take this out. Or hey, we got to talk to the lawyers about this line. We don't want to get sued by those guys like that. You're not saying necessarily to try to get internally to destroy a community like the African American community. Well, you know, I mean, I'm not saying that it's not either. You know, I don't know what their plan is.

Starting point is 01:55:08 I just know that the same people who own the labels own the prisons. And I believe, and it's a lot of evidence out there, that they make sure that the records that are put out will more than likely have a negative effect on the community and create you know a prison industry or a prison community where you know you you know you got the men and women in the community going to jail often. So it happens.

Starting point is 01:55:48 It's real. It's reality. Last two things before we wrap up. Friday 4. How is that looking? Better than it has in the past. You know, there's new leadership at the Warner Brothers and they see the value in making this movie and but it got to be done in the right way under the right circumstances so right now we

Starting point is 01:56:12 we just working out those circumstances on how this movie is gonna be you know produced and you know make sure that we we got a lot of people who? Are big stars now who want to be in the movie, so we got to make sure we got enough to pay him The influencers you're talking about well. You know I mean Mike Epps is a bigger star Yeah, cat Williams is a bigger star Terry Crews is a bigger star I got what you guys are yeah a lot bigger than it was when we did the first movie where well cat is now This was this was they this was they shot you know, so

Starting point is 01:56:54 You know we want everybody be happy. I want everybody we can get we can back in the movie Let me tell you which one of your movies I've watched, God knows how many times, all about the Benjamins. I can't, for me, that's the one, you know, which is you ain't got a faux head, you got a fire head. You don't watch movies, do you? You have dreams. Yeah, hey. I bet you never see it.

Starting point is 01:57:17 You know, that movie's one of those gyms, you know, that people love, and wherever you catch it, you can watch it too. I can't help myself he is too good and and Big Three how's that how's that looking how's that come along? Amazing you know Big Three we're in our seventh season we're going into week three in Baltimore we're selling teams now so we sold a team in Los Angeles and we sold a team to Heath Freeman in Miami.

Starting point is 01:57:46 So it's going to be a team out here in Miami. And we're looking at Toronto, we're looking at Dallas, we're looking at London, New York, Detroit. So, you know, hopefully we can sell these 12 teams and expand the league and, you know, unlock a major fan base. How close were you at signing Caitlin Clark? Were you having conversations with her people or? Yeah, we had conversations with her agent.

Starting point is 01:58:14 We were a little disappointed and we didn't get a chance to sit down with her and her family because we think we could have made a compelling argument. They probably didn't want us to make and tell her how much leverage she really has at that time. So, you know, it didn't happen, but we was ready for it if she was ready to take that step. And it was a big step, you know, playing against men, you know, in this new league, you know, it was a major move if she,

Starting point is 01:58:47 and she probably just, you know, didn't need another challenge, you know, at the end of the day, you know. Being in the WNBA with a target on your back is probably challenging enough. Do you watch the WNBA? I catch a game or two every now and then. Yeah, yeah. She's changed numbers. Her, you know, average attendance 15,500.

Starting point is 01:59:14 That's sweet. And, you know, people love the women's sports because we know they want to win. They plan to win. Right. And with the men in the NBA, we're not sure. We're not sure if they want to win or are they worried about their brand? Do they want to be like their load management? What is it about? Is it really about bringing home a ring? In WNBA? No, in the NBA.

Starting point is 01:59:44 In the NBA. In the NBA. So you don't think it's not what it used to be anymore? I'm not sure. Are you? Are you sure that every NBA player is dying to win a championship? Or do they care about their brands?

Starting point is 02:00:00 Did you watch the finals? I did. All of them? I called them a few games, about three brands. Did you watch the finals? I did. All of them? A few, I called them a few games, about three games. Were you bored out of your mind or not really? I wasn't bored, you know, but you know, it didn't feel the same. It doesn't have the same weight for some reason.

Starting point is 02:00:21 I didn't feel it at all. I, you know, I didn't feel it at all. I didn't feel it at all. To me, you know when was the last time I felt it? It's gonna sound weird. It's when the Bucs played the Suns. That was sick. They were fighting. There was something there.

Starting point is 02:00:33 Giannis wanted it. There was something about this one. I'm like, maybe Porzangas just completely changed the game. The first couple of games when he played, remember when he came in, you're like, dude, this guy's got four blocks in the first quarter. There's no way he's got 16-4-4 in the first half or first quarter.

Starting point is 02:00:51 I'm just not excited with the NBA product today. I'm not, I don't see the competition. I think the last time I watched the NBA All-Star game when they fought in that one fourth quarter where first to 157, I think game did 155, 157 and the type of defense, you're like this is cool and then they went away again. I don't know. Look, the last time I rooted for the Lakers, and I know this is gonna be controversial for you because I know your loyalty where it lies, I've been a

Starting point is 02:01:17 die-hard Laker fan since Michael made that shot over Sam Perkins. Oh wow. Yeah. Because that's when I came to the States. And I mean listen, Sedeal Treat, I'm talking Nick Van Axel, I'm talking Elgin Campbell, Kevin Smith, I think Kevin Smith was his name, 34. Kevin Smith, what was his name? Kevin, anyways, we had it number 34. That's my era. Travis? Not Travis, this is in the 90s if you go to 1994 Laker squad

Starting point is 02:01:47 1994 Laker squad you would see this they'll treat Nick van Axel was exciting to watch a left-handed who was a fighter. Yeah, what's the squad? Can you zoom in? Sam we all know remember what Cedric Sabala scored that 50 points in a game. Oh Tony Smith. I'm sorry Tony Smith. Yeah Did you ever see Cedric Sabalaala scored that 50 points in a game. Oh Tony Smith. I'm sorry Tony Smith. Yeah Did you ever see Cedric Zavala's is a rap song? Do you remember that? I think I did see it. Yeah Flow on was called flow flow on flow on it was terrible, but I mean Points in the game. I liked him. He was our guy, you know when we we listened to him back in it It's anyways cube. it's been a pleasure

Starting point is 02:02:26 It's been an honor having you on Congrats on an incredible life I don't even want to say career because some people have great careers. You've had an all-around great life You're part of a community where your son wants to work with you and collaborate with you and do movies with you. You're married for 32 years. You love where you came from. You give respect to the people that came from your industry. There is a lot of strong, deep character with you. And there's a lot of depth with you. And I applaud you. I respect you. And I really enjoyed this conversation. Thank you, man Thanks for having me on and

Starting point is 02:03:08 Yeah, we had a good time, you know Talked about some things that I've never talked about in the interview. So it's a great setting. I appreciate it Take care everybody. Bye. Bye. Bye In these uncertain times if there's anything we need is we need people to believe the future looks bright So you if you've heard about me saying this mission to you Uncertain times, if there's anything we need, is we need people to believe the future looks bright. So you, if you've heard about me saying this mission to you, we're on a mission to get a million people to wear this gear. And this is what we're doing.

Starting point is 02:03:30 If you buy one of these hats, there's a category of buying one hat, getting the second one free. If you haven't yet worn this gear publicly, go ahead and test it out. Buy some of the gear, wear it in public, and see how many people will stop by and say, you also watch a value timing? You also follow PBD Podcast? I do too. Place your order. it out, buy some of the gear, wear it in public, and see how many people stop by and say, you also watch Valuetainment? You also follow PBD Podcast? I do, too.

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PBD Podcast - "I Should Be Dead" - Ice Cube's Untold Stories: Impact of Hip Hop on Society, Surviving L.A. Gangs

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