West coast OG Ice Cube sat with MACRO’s newsletter, UpRising, to discuss various subjects including the making of his hilarious holiday classic, Friday After Next, and his 11th solo album, Man Down. Released in November 2002, the comedy, highlighted by Katt Williams’ hilarious turn as Money Mike, holds up. But it’s the discussion on his new album that finds Cube thinking deeply. Cube uses the album to dig into the state of masculinity and how it’s being misunderstood. The term, according to Cube, has received a negative connotation and requires a redefinition.
“There's a line between true masculinity and being an asshole,” Cube tells UpRising. “For some reason when you hear the word masculinity, you think somebody wants to be an asshole, a bully, somebody pushing his weight around, that's where masculinity is. But that's not what that is. It’s being your true comfortable self. Men are apologizing for being themselves and that s**t gotta stop. There's no survival in that. There's no future in that. We need men, youngsters, and boys for the world, for the infrastructure, to stay together in this world. So it's a bad word now that we got to turn around.”
The actor-rapper-producer, who embraces his role as a legend in the music space, also discussed working with Busta Rhymes and Killer Mike on “Ego Maniacs”. The two rappers take some time to salute Cube within their 16s. Busta, in particular, recalled the first time he met Cube in New York in the mid 90s.
“I was honored when I heard the verse,” said Cube. “I was blown away that he could spit all the facts in a quick 16 [bars]. I was amazed at his wordplay on the record. It was all love from him and Killer Mike—love that I didn't expect. So it was very cool. You doing something right when you got two ferocious MCs giving you props, you know what I mean?
In addition to Killer Mike and Busta, Cube also worked with B-Real, Too Short, Kurupt, and Da Lench Mob’s J-Dee. The album debuted at number 8 on Billboard’s Top Rap Albums. It’s the first time in 14 years that Cube has placed a solo album in the Top 10.