Rap careers, much like in any other musical genre, are fleeting. You can have a viral hit today and be the subject of a “What ever happened to…” podcast tomorrow. All of which makes what L.A. native O’Shea Jackson Sr. (that’s Ice Cube to me and you) has accomplished over his career so amazing. A member of the seminal gangsta rap group N.W.A in the ’80s and an influential solo artist in the ’90s, Cube had a wall of platinum plaques up by the time Drake was in kindergarten. N.W.A was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2016. He’s still selling out arenas today.
“It’s where artists want to be,” the 54-year-old Cube says. “Some people want to be feared and all that goofy stuff, but to me, love is stronger. I appreciate it. I try to give people quality no matter what I do. People will reward you if you give them quality.”
After conquering music, Cube moved on to movies (Boyz n the Hood, the Friday series, All About the Benjamins) and other businesses. One of his most fruitful ventures has revolved around sports. A die-hard Lakers fan, Cube co-created a three-on-three basketball league back in 2017 where retired NBA players who still had some bounce in their knees could keep playing. Big3 has been a rousing success, filling venues around the country and broadcasting on national television.
The Big3’s next season tips off with new players and new cities on June 15. Cube’s also touring Canada (through May 10) and hitting a few U.S. festivals over the coming months. The antithesis of “fleeting,” the entertainment icon sat down with us to talk about touring, taking his league to new heights and vacationing with his family whenever time permits.
What can fans look forward to this Big3 season?
What’s great about the Big3 is, over these seven years, we’ve calibrated the league and we’ve done a lot of things to make the game fun to play and fun to watch. We don’t have to tinker with the rules. We can just concentrate on the style of play, which I think everybody really appreciates. Now, if you look at how people are looking at the NBA and the style of play, people are really disappointed in the defense.
In the Big3, you can’t help but play right. I think we’ve done a lot of things that are aesthetically pleasing to the sports fans, especially the basketball fan. We let guys be themselves. We let personality shine through without being over-restrictive and policing the competitiveness of the guys. If they want to trash talk, if they want to stare somebody down after a dunk, let them do it without a technical. We’ve taken the game and let the players determine the outcome.
How do you decide which cities will host games?
Well, a lot of things come into play. One is venue availability. We go for 10 weeks in the summer. A lot of venues are renovating and a lot of venues, especially in the summertime, are having a lot of concerts. We gotta kind of navigate ourselves around. CBS plays our games. They give us the schedule. When they’re at 1 p.m. Eastern, we got to play on the East Coast because you’re not getting nobody in the building at 10 a.m. on the West Coast.
We want to introduce new cities to the game and not just hit the same old ones. I’m glad that we’re going to places like Baltimore, Anaheim, Portland, Cincinnati, San Antonio and Nashville. These are places we haven’t been before. And it’s great because we get to introduce them to the Big3. It’s a little different than the NBA experience. To me, it’s a lot more fan-friendly.
Mid-markets like Cincinnati and Nashville are hungry for that kind of stuff.
We gotta break new ground every year. The business model says we play once a week, so our games have stakes. By playing once a week, we get to go anywhere in the world pretty much and we still give our guys enough time, enough rest to be able to play the game. It’s a great model. It’s like a mini all-star game from town to town.
Speaking of going from town to town, you’re in the midst of a Canadian music tour. What has that country been like?
I toured Canada with Snoop years ago. And I’ve been wanting to do that [again] ever since. We had the first leg of the tour [back in February and March], we hit coast to coast and it was cool. It was fun. But it was like the middle of winter. This is in the spring, so I think we’re going to have even more fun. We don’t have to deal with the cold. We get a chance to really see what these cities are all about. It’s just cool to be able to have so much success with the first one that they wanted to do it again.
You’re going from British Columbia to Edmonton to Montreal. How do you keep your body sharp with so much moving around?
Try to block out the noise, you know? Kinda focus on what I’m there for. Put it all in perspective and get your rest. If I let everybody know [I’m in town], everybody will want to pull me here and everywhere, and by show time, you’re pretty spent and you can’t really give it 110%. So, I’m just the opposite. I don’t check in. I hit the town and I’m ready for the show. I’m like [Kobe Bryant’s] “Mamba Mentality” when it comes to the show. Everything is geared and focused for the time that I’m going to be on stage. I do everything it takes to be ready for that. That’s the most important thing to me. I think having that singular focus prioritizing what really matters. You get your rest.
What are a few things that you always travel with?
Probably my hat box. I got a thousand hats. I gotta have that with me for sure. And some of the things that I need to continue to do business, like my computer. My glasses. I got to have a couple of different sets of shades. I’m not complicated. You know what I’m saying? All I need is some black T-shirts and I can make it work right.
Do you wear your fitted cap real low and have on dark shades to move through the airport undetected?
You know what? The only thing about COVID that was cool is that people don’t think you’re a weirdo if you’ve got a mask on. Usually, I mask up, take off the hat and put on some glasses. People don’t even look twice. It’s kind of cool to get through. That’s usually my go-to. But sometimes, I still have people walking up to me saying, “Cube, is that you?” It works most of the time, but sometimes it don’t even work. No matter how hard I try.
What are some cities you like stopping at on tour?
I love to hit Phoenix. I love to hit Denver. I just know the crowds are going to be epic anywhere on the West Coast. It’s going to be pretty crazy. I love to go to Chicago, too. Who don’t like to go to Miami? What’s cool is this year, with the Big3, we’re going to Tampa, which is a cool town. Those are a few cities that I look forward to hitting because I just know the reception is going to be next-level love. New Mexico is cool. I’m starting to get a lot of love in Texas, too. Oklahoma’s great. New York [is good]. Everywhere. You know, I get a lot of love everywhere. There’s nowhere I go where I’m not welcome.
We know you love music, acting and sports. Where does traveling rank among your passions?
I always look forward to getting away with my family. We just came back from the Bahamas. I take full advantage of it when I’m there. I still get a little work in. But for the most part, I kick back, reflect and enjoy myself.
I love going to Maui. It’s a shame they have to deal with those fires. I used to be on Front Street [in Lahaina]. I’ve been going to Front Street for 20 years. I’m looking forward to going back to Maui. Those are my two favorite places. I’ve been to a lot of different places, but those are my favorite. I’m always looking forward to going back.
Are there any bucket-list spots you’re still trying to get to?
I want to see places like Costa Rica, and I do want to go to Egypt. I would love to go back to South Africa. That was great. I would love to hit new spots like Kenya and places in Asia like the Philippines and Thailand. When I slow down, I’ll hit some of my favorite places.
