Ice Cube made sure his words weren’t misconstrued during an appearance on Big Boy’s Neighborhood.
The legendary MC was asked about recent comments he made regarding Drake’s reign at the top being over and clarified that he wasn’t singling out the OVO superstar. Cube explained he was simply sharing his theory about how any rapper’s time at the absolute top is limited and wasn’t talking about Drake falling off in the near future.
“I wasn’t saying that about Drake,” he said. “It’s my theory about anybody in music. You usually have a three, maybe five-year reign at the tip-top before the industry is looking for something new. That’s just, you know, I’ve seen it happen time and time and time again. It happened to me. After the reign on the tip-top, you have to find your place. Don’t fall all the way to the bottom. Find your place near the top, keep doing music, keep growing your fanbase. So, that was the theory. It wasn’t about Drake.”
Cube was then asked who he believes is at the top right now.
“I have no idea ’cause I don’t care,” he said with a smile. “That’s the problem. Nah, it’s not that. It’s that I don’t look at artists for that. I look at do I like the music or not. And if I do, you at the top. If I don’t, you at the bottom.”
Check out the full interview below. The conversation about his Drake comments begins at the 25-minute mark.
(This post has been updated. The following was originally published on June 4, 2018.)
When Q-Tip rapped, “I said, ‘Well, Daddy, don’t you know that things go in cycles?,'” on “Excursions” he never broke down how long it would take for a new cycle to begin. According to Ice Cube in a 106 KMEL interview, when it comes to a rapper’s reign at the top of the game, it’s three years. And in Cube’s opinion, those three years are up for Drake.
While at the radio station to promote the Big3 match day in Oakland (July 3), hosts Sana G and G Biz get Ice Cube’s take on who is at the top of the rap game right now. Ice Cube says Drake has built up a nice career, but similar to greats like Lil Wayne or T-Pain, or a contemporary like Kendrick Lamar, and even Cube himself, the time spent at the top is limited.
“You only got a three-year run basically at the top […] and then you gotta find your place in this game,” posits Cube. Then at that point, he thinks that people look for someone else. He also gives props to 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg, who made big waves when they stepped onto the scene.
G Biz then brings up Pusha T’s beef with Drake and asks if that ended Drake’s reign. Cube says his son, O’Shea Jackson Jr., has kept him updated but Cube still needs to digest all of it. But Cube does comment Pusha bringing up Drake’s family “ain’t cool.”
He doesn’t say it’s too far though since he believes with each beef, the artists decide how far the revenge goes. He also comments he didn’t go too far with his scathing diss track “No Vaseline.”
Later in the interview, Cube defends the long rollout for the rumored Last Friday film will only come out when it’s “funny as hell” and everyone is happy with it. Cube has reached out to Chris Tucker to be in it and has confirmed most of the original cast.
He also said he’s working on a new album titled Everythang’s Corrupt, which will be out in the fall.
Watch the full interview below.
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Some good points, a lot of hot performers had their time in the spotlight… Snoop, Dre, Eminem, 50, Ja, Kanye, Lil Wanye… only a matter of time before you lose your touch and relevancy. Then you gotta release your greatest hits album!
True. They release a greatest hits album or an X-Mas album.
Each time someone says “why Pusha bring up Drake’s family though?” I get annoyed. Drake mentioned Pusha’s lady and his brother. Is that not ok as well? And that came first.
This!
He did mention them, but didn’t disrespect them!!
When people cannot see the difference, it’s something to worry about.
But it’s the world we’re living in… It’s all about seeing the next one on the floor and step on them.
Maybe that’s why you have so many mass shootings in the US.
Wow, that was an insightful observation, wtf you doing in these comments?
Lol wtf, really. You bring up mass shootings with this Drake shit?
You do know his brother is a rapper right? And he didn’t disrespect his wife in any way.
These mumble rappers’ lifespans only last about 1.5 years (if not less) before the fans move on to the next fool dressed in skinny jeans and rocking colored dreads. The average rap fans’ short attention span and the short duration of the viral hit is to blame for that.
3 years? Umm Cube, FYI, Drake is waaaay past the 3 years you mentioned.. dude’s “reign” has lasted almost a decade now with no signs of slowing down.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Bro, that’s some funny ish!
Drake has been on the air ways heavy since 08 so its been 10 yrs. Already
Cubes right. Drakes last album went completely unnoticed. It didn’t even have a radio single. For the last 4 years its been all Kendrick and J.Cole. His first four albums Weezy was still on top. That gave him about a 3 year reign of dominance. Game over!
So doesn’t that mean that Cube only has about a year or 2 left in that bullsh*t Big 3 league?
https://www1.ticketmaster.ca/event/1000548CBD405E67 – Looks like you are right, now let’s put Drake’s tour up against this BS money grab from ICE CUBE and we can talk about Reigns
He said rap game fool. Rap game. Not ball. Idiot
That would mean drake ever been on top of the rap game. Dude doesnt play in this division though. He plays in the same league as Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift. He may been on top there but never was this cornball sitting on the rap throne
Lie to yourself if you want. He’s been on top of the rap game at the same time while being on top of the pop game. It hasn’t made him the best rapper or anything, but those are just the facts.
When Ice Cube can sell out a world tour again let me know. His 3 on 3 tourney tickets are going for the price of a Drake concert t-shirt and his acting career is half of Ice T and LL Cool J.
So unless he’s touring a live version of Friday he should watch who he Kills at Will
When Drake has Ice Cube’s bank account, has his own production company, gets a letter from the FBI for being that real in his music or has three classics call me.
Wtf are you talking about. Are you typing from under a rock. Foh
His got a point but facts below got a point too. Drake has never been your normal rap/ Hip Hop artist thats why he gets away with being soft and remember the old catz like him too, Nas shouted him out, his been on records with Jay, Kendrick, Rihanna etc and given them hits so he can only respond strong on his album and carry on. Only Kendrick can officially dethron him and the clock is ticking on him too
GTFO here, Drake ain’t been on the throne of anything. He ain’t hip hop, he doesn’t write his own lyrics. He is a manufactured star. Kendrick has been on top since good kid mad city and is still going strong. You Drake crybabies just need to stay in Toronto and shut up
exactly, preach ma ninja
It doesn’t have anything to do with what other artists are going to do. The problem is that the public gets tired of its superstars. People have used everything in the book to explain his success. The truth is that the kid is talented, but everybody runs out of ways to say the same shit over and over again, especially today with the sped up time to produce projects. You eventually want to hear somebody else’s story and what they got to say.
drake will keep making hits and y’all will keep calling him corny
Drake will continue being corny and y’all will continue buying his music.
Dear ice Cube: Drake brought Family into it FIRST!!!! And……HOW ABOUT A WESTSIDE CONNECTION REUNION???
Hell yeah! Westside Connection was so dope!
No that shit was weak and you are both ol glory days motherfuckers
That shit ain’t aboutt o happen. Cube and Mack 10 don’t get along anymore.
Okay. Drake already been on top of the game since 2011…or if you want to be stingey 2013. That’s five years right there.
Yes, and I’d say it ended artistically in 2016 with Views,which ironically was his most successful album numbers wise but sounded like shit. People just have not found a superstar type of talent to move onto next to attach themselves to. So he’s there right now just by default.
All this shit is pop music. How you people try to delineate it is cute. All of it is trying to sell art to somebody, which is the definition of pop music. Some A&R person at all of these labels are telling them to use these producers and work with these people. That’s pop music bruh. Drake has the numbers he has because Wayne gave him a cosign back in the day, and he has just enough talent that that cosign turned into his own following. If he tried to get in the game by himself (see Comeback Season), he would be some indy rapper still that might have some gold plaques on his wall if he was lucky. That goes for every person ever. Snoop was introduced by Dre. Pac was introduced by Digital Underground wehn they were popular. Fifty by Eminem, etc., etc.
Drakes going to be around because he does more than rap, he has a huge r&b pop fan base.
Hip Hop is so world wide, this beef is probably not international, not many would care since
some of his huge hits are not Hip Hop. Drake will be find, and Pusha T. will still B Pusha T.
Ice Cube right, they’ll be looking for the next new face. Here’s a new Billboard Smash making
huge waves, but went unnoticed for a few months before it started to rise to the top.
Because he raps less
That publicity stunt beef doesn’t have anything to do with it. People get tired of the same voice and want something new after a while. How many more ways can people listen to Drake whine about some broad who dissed him in high school? It’s why I’ve always said for these entertainers it’s a gift and a curse to be the tip top dog. Like a Jay-Z could bubble under the radar and remain near the top without ever getting that eventual backlash that people don’t want to hear him anymore before because there was always another guy running the game who would take the brunt of the criticism for every step they took while he could just get praised for putting out quality projects without people analyzing his every move and wondering when he was going to fall off.
Cube know the game and how its played 3yrs or less today so much lame talentless clowns out here its sad I got to listen to old school as they say just here true hip hop with many lanes !!!!!!!!!!
He’s right. His time would have already ended but people don’t have anything to move on to a lot like when Wayne was running on fumes until Drake overtook him despite Wayne sounding like shit for years. I said it when Views came out, that album sounded totally phoned in, and the shit I’ve heard from this next album hasn’t been much better. Kendrick isn’t in the same lane or any of the other dudes people are going to bring up in response to this. Best thing Cube said though is who gives a fuck. Listen to what you want to listen to, which is why I don’t criticize the mumble rappers too much. I don’t ever hear that shit because it’s not in my face like back in the day when shit would be on rotation on the radio 24/7, so I don’t know how bad it is and don’t care.
Drake ain’t been on top since Good Kid Maad City and that didn’t cement it To Pimp a Butterfly definitely did. Kendrick has always made better music, but now his sales top Drake’s too. I like Drake but Views was sub par, More Life was just okay, and I’m Upset may actually be his worst song ever.
drake is a pop artist. his reign isn’t governed by the rules of hip-hop. especially now that push t pulled up his skirt. he’s gonna keep doing his numbers but the culture gonna see it for what it is
Thought by now y’all would know dem likkle rules simply don’t apply to Drake.
Why don’t they. Yeah, they applied to Mike Jackson and shit, but Drake gonna buck the trend, lol. Hilarious. Remember when Eminem used to go platinum in a week? Remember when Jay didn’t get less than a gold plaque first week out? Remember when Wayne had the world waiting on his next Carter? It happens to everybody. What goes up always goes down because their fans get tired of that same voice and style and move on.
What early albums from jay you talking about… more of his albums didn’t sell 500k in the first week then they did when he “fell off” and had his biggest first week after he came back from “retirement.” Shoot if we talking sales; nelly and or Em was hotter, he was just consistent and still is. BRANDING PERFECTION
Which retirement? Then first one, second or third time he “retired”
Ice Cube told the truth in the music game its a 3 to 5 year reign FACT !!!!!!! Now these silly fools want to start a beef Cube way smarter than to fall for this lame crap
lol he may be old but when it comes to music,lyrcis Ice cube is gonna destroy Drake !
Man let’s be completely honest. Since So Far Gone drooped in 2009, Drake has been on top. Almost 10 years. He may have taken a blow in 2015 with the ghost writing allegations (which I believe are true but not his entire catalogue) but he’s still at the top. The only 2 that come close to Drake right now are Kendrick and Cole. I think he’s going to come with something interesting with this next album.
The jevvish mafia had this schwartz backtracking his comments. Fast.
@Yeah i said it
lol Ice Cube does what the fuck he wants little man.