Ice Cube is a West Coast legend who has been not only at the forefront of music but also a prominent actor and filmmaker. The emcee 9real name O’Shea Jackson) is known for his iconic albums, such as AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted and Death Certificate.
However, before he embarked on a solo career, he was part of the epic gangster rap group N.W.A. alongside Dr Dre, Eazy-E, DJ Yella and MC Ren. As part of the group, he made history and put California on the map. That said, in an appearance on Cam’Ron and Ma$e’s It Is What It Is show, the ‘No Vaseline’ musician explained why he eventually parted ways with the collective.
The group, which formed in 1986, had massive commercial success, but when asked why he left in 1989, Jackson revealed that he decided to break away from the collective after becoming frustrated with the crew’s manager and founder of Ruthless Records, Jerry Heller.
Detailing the predicament that caused him to leave, Ice Cube explained, “I left the group because [Heller] lied, you know, I caught him in a lie. I was a young dude, a young emcee. The whole business part of it, I was kind of naive to it.”
Jackson explained how, after a while, he grew concerned and hired a manager for himself, the group’s publicist Pat Charbonnet. Following this, he received a warning from her about the details of the paperwork, disclosing, “She was like, ‘Make sure you look at your paperwork. I got a lawyer if you want to talk to him named Michael Ashburn. Make sure everything is straight.'”
The Lethal Injection icon told Ma$e and Cam’Ron how he repeatedly tried to get a hold of his contract but shared that Heller was shady and, once he saw the contract, decided to leave, stating, “We was at the DoubleTree Hotel in Phoenix, Arizona. Everybody’s going down there. So it was my turn… I said, ‘I can’t sign the contract ’cause I don’t know what’s in it.'”
After coming to the realisation that Heller didn’t have his best interest at heart, Jackson proceeded to record his diss record against Heller and his former crewmates entitled ‘No Vaseline,’ a diss track that Ice Cube has repeatedly professed is better than 2Pac’s ‘Hit Em Up’. You can listen to Jackson’s It Is What It Is interview below.
