Ice Cube has vowed to expose those who are trying to stop him from taking his BIG3 basketball league to the next level.
The legendary West Coast rapper took to Twitter on Sunday (June 25) to set the record straight on why he’s experiencing resistance with his wildly-successful sports endeavor.
AD LOADING...
Cube started off by saying that because he’s not part of the “club of gatekeepers,” this potentially hinders his ability to move around in the sports world. He then said that ever since he put out the “Contract With Black America” and started the BIG3 in 2017, he has received pushback and the cold shoulder from both the NBA and major television networks.
Ice Cube continued by saying in order to remedy his situation, he’s going to go on a “Fuck the Gatekeepers” podcast tour to expose those that are working overtime to halt his momentum.
AD LOADING...
“I’ma go talk to everybody,” the former N.W.A. rapper said. “Everybody. And get a chance to get my message out to the people. Be able to let people hear from me. And, you might agree, you might not. But, the important thing is, for me to go on these platforms and say what I feel about what I think.”
He continued: “Some people may get pissed off. ‘Cause I’m going to talk to everybody. I’m not playing. It’s gone be a crazy summer. It’s gone be fun.” Check out the full video below.
— Ice Cube (@icecube) June 25, 2023
Although Ice Cube is calling out the detractors of the BIG3, he has found sustained support from many with the NBA-veteran centered league, including 50 Cent, who recently congratulated Cube for his latest BIG3 milestone.
Ahead of the 3-on-3 league’s sixth season this summer, the BIG3 was officially recognized as the first Black-owned major sports league in the United States thanks to Ice Cube’s vision at the helm.
AD LOADING...
“Ice Cube has done some great shit over the years creating a path artist from our culture can follow,” 50 wrote to Instagram earlier this month.
Fans flooded the G-Unit mogul’s comment section in agreement that Ice Cube needs to get his flowers more often while he’s still here to smell them considering what he’s accomplished in all aspects of entertainment.
AD LOADING...
“Greatest of all time should include beyond rap. Ice Cube is debatably on the Mount Rushmore,” one person wrote, while another said: “No cap .. he should be celebrated more!”
Ice Cube claimed in May that BIG3 attracts more TV viewers than two major sports leagues in the United States.
While being interviewed on Logan Paul’s IMPAULSIVE podcast last month, he discussed the hurdles of bringing his three-on-three hoop league to the masses and how their TV ratings actually rank above the NHL (National Hockey League) and MLS (Major League Soccer).
“It’s been hard as hell to get it going. I mean, to get people to start fighting us on these different fronts,” Cube said. “Our ratings are better than MLS, our ratings are better than NHL. So we got a sport that’s making noise.
AD LOADING...
“I wouldn’t know the world no different. This is just a new version of the same song. We dealt with it in music, movies and we’re dealing with it in sports.”
He continued: “We’ve had five great seasons so we’re planning to have our sixth, but the challenges are there for any young league. We’re just meeting them head-on and it’s cool people will get a chance to see what we’re going through.”
