Ice Cube Quotes

I used to game a lot, you know, back in the day. My gaming time done got so short that my skills ain't where they need to be to be online, you know what I'm saying? I just got that Xbox One. I gotta get my skills back, up the par to call myself a gamer.

I can't really attribute my success onscreen to any formula and suggest you "do this or that" to make it as an actor.

We used to have MTV and all these ways we can show our videos, and it was these rap shows, and it was everything. And then it became not cool to be conscious; it became cool to just hang out. Escapism rap became the norm. And, when I say "escapism rap", I mean getting high, get your cars, get your money, get your jewelry, go to the club, have your women, and it just became all about escaping your reality and not making your reality better on a real tip; not just on the have fun tip.

I think when hip hop first started, people were open to it, and groups like Public Enemy and there was groups like Poor Righteous Teachers and all these people who were spitting a lot of knowledge, a lot of history, questioning a lot of societal barriers was starting to be super popular.

I'm the most successful person in my generation of family members, and that sucks.

Seeing my son getting roughed up by the police is not fun. It brings back memories of when I got roughed up by them. He grew up totally different than how I grew up, and to me, he shouldn't have to go through that.

I won't do anything for money. I won't compromise my manhood.

I love makin' music, so whether I'ma make money at it or not, I'ma still do it. The thing is, I've gotten to a point where I don't have to use music to make a livin', so I can do it for fun like I used to when I was young.

You the devil in drag. You can burn your cross, Well, I'll burn your flag.

I’m a B-boy at heart. I still like rhyming. It’s just the radio game is like Chinese arithmetic. It’s hard to know what nuts to crack. But I still love music, been dropping music. Never stopped really.

When I did 'Boyz N The Hood', I never thought how we grew up in South Central was interesting enough for a movie.

Sometimes you got to start somewhere. And it's cool, as long as where you start is not where you plan on finishing.

Usually people who attack the rap are people who aren't even fans.

I think you have to find how the machine can work for you. That's what I mean by "attaching yourself to the machine," 'cause the machine is going to be there, and you can rage against the machine, which is cool, but there's ways that you can benefit off the machine if you're savvy enough and you're sharp enough, smart enough. We all got to live and eat.

I like Obama, but I understand that his hands are tied, the way Congress is reacting. It's just partisan politics everywhere, and don't know how we going to get things done in the future without compromising a little bit.

I think, to me, reality is better than being fake.

I still want to put together bigger and better programs to work with the community. I still think I could do better on that end.

Don't talk about death, I've got too much life to live, To many orders to give.

You don't have to spend $200 million or $100 million to make a great movie.

Don't worry about being a star, worry about doing good work, and all that will come to you.

You always want your kids to step up at the moment of truth.

Any time there's racism somewhere in sports, we should get it out of there because sports is a place where everything's supposed to be fair.

I've always gotten good grades, you know, with my teachers and my English teachers, 'cause I was able to - they'd say, "What did you do for the summer?" I'm able to explain it to them in a written form. And my teachers always patted me on the back for that, being able to take what's in my mind and put it on paper.

Anybody that really knew Tupac will tell you the same thing. That he was just a dude that was full of life, full of energy.

The silver and black may have another home, but the Raiders will always belong to the people of Los Angeles.

If it was all about me, I'd do a whole lot of pop records, make a whole lot of money, just rake in the dough. But it's never been all about me. It's all about being a voice for the voiceless. People who can't speak for themselves, who don't have a mic, don't have a say.

The real is always presented. That hardcore record or movie is not needed in the hood, because it's already there. You can see it with your own eyes.

For my birthday, buy me a politician!

I don't listen to nothing while I'm in the studio, because I don't want to be influenced by anybody else.

If you really think back to the culture or just black America before rap music took off, New York could have been Paris.

My wife keeps me sharp. You know, she ain't going to let me get comfortable with this "Ice Cube" stuff.

I think when somebody goes to the movies and they spend their money and they take the girl out, the family, they want to have a good time. You don't always want to be hit over the head with history or how bad society is.

I think hip-hop has changed. When I first came out, hip-hop was more of a kind of way to learn about new places, new things. What are kids doing on the East coast, what are kids doing here. Then it left that and is like a party mode. I think it's going back to people wanting to get messages and wanting to learn things from the music.

As a husband, I'm a true partner. I don't believe one person should have dominance over another.

Nowadays, you can be yourself. You don't have to put on façade. You can be who you are and still be just as successful as the ones who put on the fake façade. You know, it's like reality is just as important as fiction.

I knew a dude whose entire check was going to his car. He didn't care. This is back when the Mustang 5.0 came out in, like, '82. Between paying the note and insurance, I think he had like $40 left. A lot of people knew people because of their car, and not them.

We should love the fact that we're not just getting one point of view. That we have this diversity in entertainment, and people are not scared to be themselves, and people are not scared to make people uncomfortable, and that's all part of it. That's all part of being free.

I think rap music is the sole reason for a lot of black acceptance in pop culture; because the music is very popular, it gets our image out in other ways than in movies.

It's funny how people who ain't never been down there can think that America is so fair and that we should be alright. It's funny that the people who have their foot on our neck are telling us, 'Get up. What's wrong with you?'

When my nine goes buck, it will bust your head like a watermelon dropping 12 stories up.

I am only 33, I've got a lot to do. This is the first half of my career. I'm looking forward to the future and I'm proud about the past.

I did Are We There Yet? because I wanted to do a movie for my fans' kids. Black kids don't really see movies on this budget for them, starring them. And there's so many white kids that love that movie.

I'm ready to run a studio. I'm ready to green light movies, and be in it to win it, you know? It's close. It'll happen.

I've never really taken myself too serious. That's everybody else, listening to the music or whatever. I've always said what I've felt, said what I thought was right, but I've always had a comedic bone.

The thing is with hip-hop, it has its waves and the waves crash against the beach and the new waves come in. So to stay relevant you have to roll with that.

Do not turn into just cookie-cutter producer, cookie-cutter this, but a producer that people say wow, when they do something it's great or just unique or whatever.

I'm always open, and will criticize myself, too. And I just think being that honest with everybody puts you in a different space than somebody who's just shooting venom at a certain group or a certain amount of individuals.

Some people have a taboo about doing advertising in the States. You know, where they kind of make their bread and butter. But to me, that's crazy.