Ice Cube proves he’s moved beyond ‘Boyz’

‘Do people like it?’
Like his music, it’s important to Cube that his films convey some sort of message. In “Are We Done Yet?” it’s about not giving up despite the obstacles. The thru line in all of his on-screen work, however, is to expose the world to the “nooks and crannies” of African-American life. That was also the intent with his successful FX TV series “Black/White,” in which a black and white family found out what it was like to live in each other’s skin. Next up is a show called “Good in the Hood,” which will air on A&E.

“With that we’re gonna be showcasing the good people who try to do the right thing as well as bad people trying to do the right thing,” he said. “‘Black/White’ got a lot of people talking and hopefully so will this one. That’s what it’s all about.”

It’s never really about what the critics say or what the box office returns or Nielsen ratings reveal.

“I’m more pleased that we have a movie that people like,” he says. “That’s the question I ask myself. Do people like it? I just want to know it wasn’t a waste of time and that I did my job.”

Long, his costar in four films including “Boyz n the Hood,” isn’t at all shocked by Cube’s success.

“I’m not really surprised because that’s the natural evolution of life,” she says. “If we stay in the same place it’s kind of uninteresting. He started off as a rapper in the hip-hop business and he still is a rapper, but I think he’s also a really smart and intelligent businessman. And he’s incredibly passionate about what he does. He’s taken advantage of his opportunities and his brand and he’s parlayed it into other things and built an empire for himself.

“He’s always thinking. There’s not a moment when he isn’t thinking about moving forward.”

On point
Some of his next moves include a remake of “Welcome Back Kotter,” which he’ll produce and play the title role. There’s also a new CD in the works called “Raw Footage” and at press time he was trying to lead his NBAE (NBA Entertainment League) team to the championship game.

His position? Naturally, he’s the point guard. Apparently he’s a man who needs to be control even when he’s at play.

“Naw, it’s not about that,” he says. “I’m a team player. The point guard is the guy who runs the offense, but he makes sure everyone gets theirs. That’s what I’m about on court and off.”

Additionally, he’s been doing a lot of dreaming lately. He’s not a guy who likes to go public with his goals, but he wants to own his own studio one day.

“The game that filmmakers have to go through with execs — I want to cut out some of it and make the movies that should be made,” he said. “That’s a dream of mine and if we keep working hard it will happen.

“But right now we’re gonna keep it moving and have a ball.”

More from Ice Cube On fatherhood: “Yeah, I’m a little protective of my daughter, but also my sons. I tell them it’s easy to get tripped up as a black man. I teach my kids that the police don’t know if you’re a good kid or how much money your parents have. You’ve got to be careful. On the best lesson his mom taught him: “To always be on time. A lot happens right when you’re on time.” On his new album “Raw Footage”: “It’s more political than my last album.” On the image issues with rap music:  “Rap is going to talk about the good, the bad and the ugly. It’s not gonna get prettier. It’s always gonna talk about what’s going on. There’s no holding back. Some rap is gonna sensationalize it, but at the core of it, it’s real issues that they’re talking about and dealing with and dealing with it in their own way.” On the music industry: “All music is dying. No more music in schools — they’re not teaching it like they used to when I was in school. There’s more downloading and more ways to take the music from the artists. You have artists who are not making music because they can’t make a living at it and it’s just slowly, but surely dying off. Pretty soon we’re going to get to a point where we don’t have nothing but old music to listen to unless we can find a way to get these artists paid.”

Miki Turner is a freelance TV producer/writer in Los Angeles. She can be reached at .

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