Ice Cube has reflected on dissing Dr. Dre and the rest of N.W.A on his legendary diss track “No Vaseline.”
Speaking exclusively to HipHopDX, Cube was asked about his “stick to producing” jab at Dre and said with a laugh: “That was all I could do, was tell Dre to do what you do best. Get off the mic and leave me alone!, you know?”
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He also discussed comparisons between the lyrics and Drake telling Metro Boomin to “shut your ho ass up and make some drums” on his own diss track “Family Matters.”
“I don’t know [if I inspired that line],” the gangsta rap pioneer admitted before giving props to his former groupmate and his latest album Missionary with Snoop Dogg.
“Dre is a formidable MC. Dre put out a record and everybody better run for cover ’cause the lyrics gonna be on point, the delivery gonna be on point, the music gonna be on point. He’s a formidable MC so I would never use that line [again].”
Elsewhere in the interview, Ice Cube heaped high praise on fellow California native Tyler, The Creator.
Asked for his thoughts on the Odd Future founder’s success, Cube said: “That’s L.A. That’s the L.A. people don’t know about — ultra creative individuals who won’t conform to the culture of gangbanging. They’re going to be themselves.”
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He then drew a comparison between Tyler and a particularly legendary West Coast rap group: “He reminds me of, like, The Pharycde. Here’s another: the Black Eyed Peas come from here.
“You’re going to always have those groups who are going to stay down with their own style and their own flavor, and going to win with it. Because they’re not conforming, they’re not being what you want them to be; they’re being who they are. And you gotta salute that.”
While Tyler enjoyed a huge year in 2024 thanks to the release of his chart-topping album Chromakopia, Ice Cube made a splash himself by dropping his 11th LP Man Down.
His first solo effort in over half a decade, the 19-track project boasts appearances from Killer Mike, Busta Rhymes, Kurupt, B-Real and Xzibit, as well as his Mount Westmore cohorts Snoop Dogg, E-40 and Too $hort.
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Cube also performed at the Los Angeles Dodgers’ World Series victory parade and expanded his BIG3 basketball league with new teams in Miami and Houston.
