Ice Cube is one of the most integral figures concerning West Coast hip-hop. As the founder and face of N.W.A, the lyricist (real name O’Shea Jackson), alongside Too $hort and Ice-T, helped put California on the radar of rap music.
With tracks such as ‘Fuck Tha Police’ and ‘I Wanna Kill Sam,’ Jackson has always expressed a disdain for America and its corrupt system of government. However, in an interview last year, the emcee insisted that his outspoken ways and brazen criticism of the establishment was why he decided to transition into acting.
In an interview with New York morning radio show The Breakfast Club with Charlamagne Tha God and DJ Envy, Jackson revealed that the music industry has known gatekeepers who happily hold certain artists back over others depending on their lyrical content.
Speaking about them, Cube said, “They’re all around. I don’t think it’s worse in any profession. I think there’s people that make sure you stay in your lane. And if they think you’re getting out of your lane — sometimes they’ll watch you, sometimes they’ll put guard rails around you, and sometimes they’ll actually put a gate up.”
Charlamagne Tha God suggested it may be the Illuminati jokingly. However, Jackson quickly admitted that he believed in the cabal and lent credit to the idea, stating, “Probably so. I don’t know none of ’em. They don’t come up to me and say, ‘Hey, I’m Illuminati.”
In 2017, Jackson started his BIG3 basketball league but insisted people were actively stopping him from getting to the next level. The ‘No Vaseline’ musician spoke about a “club of gatekeepers.” Unlike his acting endeavours, the artist has been less successful in the world of sports and explained he is experiencing resistance.
Telling Charlamgane Tha God and DJ Envy that he’s going to go on a “Fuck the Gatekeepers” podcast tour to expose people, Jackson unveiled, “I’m a go talk to everybody. 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.” You can hear Ice Cube speak about gatekeepers and the Illuminati in the video below.