From the August 2015 issue
A founding member of the rap group NWA and successful actor and solo performer, O’Shea Jackson Sr. (Ice Cube to you) has always lived in Southern California, where everyone’s lives are rooted in cars and traffic. Now 46, Cube, who trained as an architectural draftsman, has a passion for the region’s design and automotive heritage. And he is one of the producers of a new film about NWA, Straight Outta Compton, which is set to open August 14.
C/D: You’ve described Los Angeles freeways as each having its own personality. The 110, for instance, you say has “gangster traffic.”
IC: The 110, they just drive aggressive. I don’t know if that’s because they’re coming from downtown or if it’s because it goes right through the ’hood. The 405 isn’t that aggressive even when it’s flowing. Maybe for people on the 405, life is a little easier. I don’t know. The 5, to me, is like you get anything on the 5. Going through Glendale, the 5 is cool, but get past downtown and into the industrial areas and it gets thick. The 710 might be the craziest freeway we have. You’ve got all those trucks going to Long Beach. It’s a real fucked-up freeway—the freeway of last resort. I’d rather go over to the 605 than drive on the 710.
C/D: You live in the valley, in Encino. Is today’s driving in Encino different from driving in South Central in the 1980s?
IC: The police don’t look at you as long when they drive past. Sometimes they don’t look at you at all. In South Central, you’ve got them looking and lurking. I think it’s basic harassment. It’s part of their tactics to have everybody nervous of them. In the valley, at least I don’t feel it the same way.
C/D: Were cars important in South Central when you were growing up?
IC: A car in South Central is everything you need to have status. 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. “You know Eric?” “No.” “You know, with the blue lowrider?” “Oh yeah, Eric.” It was the most important thing you could own in South Central for status. More people are going to see you in that car than are going to see you in your house.
C/D: Have things changed?
IC: It’s always been jewelry, clothes, appearance. Those are things that compete with the car. But the car is the ultimate. Get that car right and it doesn’t matter what you got on or what you wear once you step out of that car.
C/D: Your character famously drove a ’63 Chevy Impala lowrider in Boyz n the Hood. Did you ever own a car like that?
IC: There was a time in my 20s where I wanted to buy a lot of cars and this and that. But I pulled back a little. Because now my kids, they want the fly cars. I’ve got to put them in fly shit because they want to show off. And there’s nothing wrong with that. I just put my son in a Maserati Ghibli, my other son is driving that four-door Porsche. That’s dope; he loves that. Me? I’m fucking with that Stingray. That’s my favorite car right now.
C/D: Regular Stingray or the Z06?
IC: Regular. I’m trying to stay alive.
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