Ice Cube Quotes & Sayings

If you love what you do, and you believe in your talent, there's nothing better than breaking through. There's no better feeling than breaking through. — Ice Cube

[Make a sitcom] was really the idea of Executive Producer Joe Roth who owned the property over at Revolution Studios and said he was thinking about taking it to TV. And after he said that he already had [writer/director] Ali Leroi on board, and that he was going after Terry Crews, to me it was a no-brainer. I said, "Let's put this together!" — Ice Cube

"Are We There Yet?" was the perfect title, because it's such a common saying. And having made the movie with the same name kinda locks it all in. — Ice Cube

I don't cook gumbo, but I just know it's a lot of good ingredients in it. And, with a movie, you got to have all those ingredients. — Ice Cube

It's easier for me to get comedies made because of my track record. Everybody needs to find their niche. I love dramas, but I understand that I am still just a young man in moviemaking. I know there will be some time to get back to that. — Ice Cube

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

We're in this entertainment business really to give the audience what they want. — Ice Cube

I love music. It's freedom, a way to deal with pent-up frustration. — Ice Cube

People wanted to have fun more than they wanted to learn from their music, and that's where the shift started to happen. — Ice Cube

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

Doing it your own way, not having to go exactly by the book to be successful. — Ice Cube

I care about what I look like on the red carpet. — Ice Cube

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. — Ice Cube

Rap is always evolving. It's easy for the old school to hate the new school, but it's a music that got a little stifled I think, by the Internet a little bit. — Ice Cube

I believe how you measure a good movie is how many times you can see it. With comedies, I like to be a producer, because comedies can get corny and go off track real fast. I'm always the 'less is more' guy when it comes to a scene. So I'ma be the one who will keep it grounded. — Ice Cube

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. — Ice Cube

I'm not really into the political game as far as paying politicians and stuff like that, I'm not into that. You do your job, and I'll do mine. — Ice Cube

I've been caught in parachute pants. And on my high school yearbook, they used the wrong picture. They were supposed to use the picture of me with a nice suit on. They used me with my collar flipped up, in a fuchsia and white striped shirt. I blame Prince and Michael Jackson in the Eighties for that. — Ice Cube

South Central is just who I am. Even though I have a nice house, nice family, the rest of my generation is still in South Central L.A. My cousins, my brothers, my sisters, they don't wanna move out. — Ice Cube

Cool people still have a hard time showing what they got in Hollywood. — Ice Cube

I won't lay down my principles for any kind of recognition or any kind of position or trying to be more famous. It's just not in me. I'd rather be a man. And then to have all this crazy stuff on my conscience. — Ice Cube

To me, in a perfect world, you have the flavor and the magic of movies like 48 Hours, Lethal Weapon and Bad Boys. — Ice Cube

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. — Ice Cube

Don't get a movie confused with real life. I'm a well-rounded human being like everyone else. — Ice Cube

I don't consider myself ever joining. But I have affiliations, for sure. — Ice Cube

There's never really been a real hood Christmas movie. — Ice Cube

If the day did not require an AK then it was good — Ice Cube

I'm a good counter comedian. I can just work it off with looks, or have something crazy to say back. That works for me. — Ice Cube

The moral is that a career can be gone in an instant. And all you have in this world are the people you love. — Ice Cube

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. — Ice Cube

A lot of people have a misconception of what the ghetto is all about. You know, it's only a small percentage of the people that are bad. Everybody else is good. — Ice Cube

Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall with a joint, drinking some eight-ball. — Ice Cube

Our household is built on love and respect. And we don't really let negative vibes stay too long. It's worked out. I got a great family, great kids. — Ice Cube

I definitely know the minister Honorable Louis Farrakhan. But I don't really believe in organized religion like that. I don't know what it does for people in the long run. — Ice Cube

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?' — Ice Cube

I always say the movie came out good if they want another one. That always tells me that people really liked the movie. — Ice Cube

I was trying to be the best rapper in the world. I wasn't thinking about acting. — Ice Cube

Truth is the ultimate power. When the truth comes around, all the lies have to run and hide. — Ice Cube

It never gets old. Working with somebody like Kevin Hart is rejuvenating in a lot of ways. He's such a pro. He's so good. — Ice Cube

My thing is: stay creative. And just because somebody starts to pay you, that don't mean all your creativity goes to that, and you don't save none for yourself to be able to do other, bigger and better things and still follow your dreams even if you start off inside of a box. — Ice Cube

I hear about people getting shot all the time. But most of the guys you hear about getting shot pulled through. — Ice Cube

I wanted to go in a different direction, artistically. But having somebody like Terry[Crews] in it was your ace in the hole. That makes it very strong, so I definitely had to jump in with both feet. — Ice Cube

I've been fighting my whole career to show a different side and prove naysayers - not prove them wrong, because I don't think you should get your energy from negative people. — Ice Cube

Most actors have to sit by the phone and wait for somebody to call them up to audition and stuff. I don't think I can exist in Hollywood just on that. I think I need to be proactive and making sure that things I really want to do are being developed to the point where somebody wants to make them. — Ice Cube

I know my flavor's going to work because I just know there's not a lot of guys like me around. So you got to figure out what's that about you. — Ice Cube

Music has done a lot to enhance the emotions of sports. It's played in arenas. Whenever there is footage cut together they're always using music. And it goes together, you know. — Ice Cube

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

I'm trying to cut down a little on eating, on sodium, keep my blood pressure down, which is tough. Because I love food! I do, but it's unfair how everything that's bad for you tastes so good, and all the good stuff, veggies and green things, doesn't match up. — Ice Cube

I've got a basketball signed by all the greats from Julius Irving to Oscar Robinson. It was at an All Star game I got them all to sign it. So that ain't going nowhere. I'm going to die with that in my casket. — Ice Cube

I'm not actually from Compton - I'm from South Central Los Angeles, and my father still lives in the same house I grew up in, so I'm there all the time. — Ice Cube

I hope everything works in our favor. The show ["Are We There Yet?"] is cool. It's family fare. We ain't aiming at the cheap seats. Instead, we're making something with a broad appeal that people of any color or creed and from all walks of life can enjoy and maybe learn something from. — Ice Cube

Twerking has to end. Not for the ones that look good doing it, but for all the ones that you feel, 'You don't have enough to twerk back there. Your twerkin' look like jerkin.' — Ice Cube

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

[Boycott Oscar] is like crying about not having enough icing on your cake. It's just ridiculous. — Ice Cube

I identify with the bottom of the pyramid, because, outside of having money, I am at the bottom of the pyramid. — Ice Cube

Everybody that wants to be successful should always be careful of what you wish for. A lot of artists and entertainers want to put the genie back in the bottle and wish they could go back to being what they were. — Ice Cube

A bird in the hand is worth more than a Bush. — Ice Cube

As far as producing, once we started shooting, I soon realized where the critical decisions about the movies were really being made, and it wasn't on the set. They were being made in the production meetings. That's where producing a movie happens. And that's where I wanted to be. I didn't just want to be a piece, a pawn being played. I wanted to take part in the creative process, and that's how I sort of got introduced to the idea. — Ice Cube

There's a lot of potential that goes unused in places like South Central L.A., a lot of brilliant, smart people who just don't have that chance to show it. — Ice Cube

I know I ain't too old. I always think of my fans about 10 years older and 10 years younger than me. — Ice Cube

I'm interested in how things are put together, and that's more interesting to me than just regular shows, even though I like The Walking Dead. — Ice Cube

A good movie is a movie that you could see over and over again, not a movie that wins a Oscar, or a movie that makes a lot of money. It's a movie that you personally can watch over and over again. That, to me, is a measure of a good movie. — Ice Cube

I don't think people should try to force their will on their family. — Ice Cube

I was given the name by my brother when I was about eleven or twelve years old. He was older than me, and around that age I was starting to get into girls, and when they would call the house for him, and when he was not there, I would try to talk to them. I was trying to be the man and trying to get them to come and see me, not worrying about him. When he found out ... he started calling me Ice Cube as a joke because he said I was trying to be too cool. I just liked it and started telling everybody in the hood "my name is Ice Cube." — Ice Cube

When I was six, God was a white man with a big beard riding on a white cloud. That's the image television pumps. — Ice Cube

There's rumors in the Twittersphere. If I find out that any of my officer is giving out drug and alcohol I send their ass to prison with a snorkel duct-taped to their mouth and me s***ing down that Snorkel — Ice Cube

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. — Ice Cube

The '80s was brand new. It was AIDS. It was gangbanging. It was starting to become big dope-dealing, and crack was starting to flood the neighborhoods. And then you had hip hop, which was something new, other than what we were doing, which was sports, playing football, basketball, baseball. And I was excited. — Ice Cube

I think everybody likes a person that stands up for themselves. Nobody likes a punk or a coward. — Ice Cube

I go light on breakfast. Sometimes it's a yogurt, but a lot of times it's leftovers from one of my wife's dinners. — Ice Cube

Brothers keep asking Ice Cube, 'Yo, when will you bust?'
They surround me and make a big fuss — Ice Cube

Go down to the corner store and beat the Jap up, clean all the crap up. — Ice Cube

Everybody who comes from the gangster life - they want what that man in the suburbs wants. Nice family. Nice house. Nice cars. Bills paid. Kids in school. Food on the table. Nothing more. — Ice Cube

I never go to the Grammys. I just never go. I don't know if I care enough, and I went because my son wanted to go, and they asked us to present Best Hip Hop Group of the Year. You know, we had two records from Compton in there, and it was just like a cool thing to do, and to do with your son, and it was just cool. But we was the first award up, so after I did my thing I just jumped in the car and came on back home. — Ice Cube

I think that my "Let's get it done! Let's have fun! Let's make a great movie!" attitude helped. I rarely have problems on my movies with egos and attitudes. — Ice Cube

I think the worst thing you can do about a situation is nothing. — Ice Cube

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. — Ice Cube

I been all around the world and I haven't found a city that I'd rather be from or rather come back to than Los Angeles. — Ice Cube

I have great people, smart people that are around me and we love the challenge. I guess it's like climbing a mountain or building a building. It's a challenge but you love every challenge that it brings or presents itself. — Ice Cube

Should I peel a cap or should I let him survive? — Ice Cube

You pay to have a good time, you don't always want to pay to be schooled or sad or reminded how bad you got it. To me a movie theater ain't always the place for that. — Ice Cube

My thing is, I know kids cuss, they do their thing, but I tell my kids, 'Don't do it in earshot of any adults, or you're in trouble.' — Ice Cube

I'm always the "less is more" guy when it comes to a scene. So I'ma be the one who will keep it grounded. Even if I let it go off and go crazy, I'm still the voice of keeping things grounded in reality. — Ice Cube

My problem is that I never get through the whole book. I skim through this one, that one, and then the other one. — Ice Cube

You like a woman, she's got kids, it's a package. You can't just go in one-sided. — Ice Cube

I've been around a lot longer than most rappers stay around. So I don't feel like, I haven't made too many career mistakes. — Ice Cube

With comedies, I like to be a producer, because comedies can get corny and go off track real fast. — Ice Cube

I really appreciate family. I really can't imagine life without them! — Ice Cube

Sports without music is just a game. Music makes it entertaining. — Ice Cube

For my birthday, buy me a politician! — Ice Cube

Never question the size of Ice Cube's balls! — Ice Cube

Hollywood is obsessed with police stories. — Ice Cube

To me, it's my job not to laugh, no matter what's said. By the time we shoot, I'm ready for all that's coming. I probably do most of my breaking in rehearsals, when I know that I can. — Ice Cube

You can go raise the money outside of the industry, and then what you're doing is fighting with your money to get back into the industry, or for them to use your money instead of their own. So, you got to figure out how to do it within the flow of the industry. — Ice Cube

I have a lot of milestones that I'm proud of when it comes to music, 'Amerikkka's Most Wanted,' I'm extremely proud of that. Just because of what I had to go through to get that music produced, that album produced. — Ice Cube

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

I was a very interested arts student, I was always into that part of school and when I got into high school I went into architectural drafting. It gave me an understanding of how to build things and it's really helped me put things in perspective. With my music and my movies, to me it's all art. — Ice Cube

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. — Ice Cube

When you go to a movie, you don't care for one Oscar, really. Do you care if a guy got a Oscar on the shelf or is it a good movie? And, you don't care how much the movie made. — Ice Cube

Most of the problems that we have are brought on by the government and not by music. Music is a mirror of what we're going through, not the cause of what we're going through. — Ice Cube