Ice Cube‘s son O’Shea Jackson Jr. has recalled the profound moment he knew his father’s music was “important” to his fans.
Appearing on former NBA star Iman Shumpert and his brother Ahrii’s Iman Amongst Men podcast, Jackson Jr. — who is an actor himself — remembered a specific moment he witnessed the life-changing impact of his dad’s music firsthand.
AD LOADING...
“I always knew my dad was the superstar that he is, but I didn’t realize how important he was to people until I hit 18,” he said. “We went on tour — me and my older brother Darrell, we were part of the crew. We were helping build and take down the stage, all of that. We were out there working.
“We were in Australia and after the show, we were taking down the lights or whatever, getting the setlist off the front of the stage […] And this dude was like, ‘Hey, can you tell your dad that early in my life I was heavy into the gang life and listening to his music helped me get through it. And now I’m a doctor.’
AD LOADING...
The Straight Outta Compton star continued: “He gave me his card and I was like, ‘Man, you a doctor now?! That’s wild!’ Like, my dad writing some stuff in the kitchen helped this man become a doctor?! He’s important to people.”
Watch his story at the 16:50 mark in the video below.
Ice Cube also reflected on his illustrious journey in music and acting during his own appearance on the Shumperts’ podcast, where he named his “proudest career accolade.”
“Wow… I would say Friday because I was kinda out of my element as far as writing and producing,” he said. “Doing a comedy, everybody was surprised at the time because there was nothing comedic in my music.
“We had funny little parts in our music, but everything was hardcore so everybody thought I was tripping a little bit, like, ‘Damn, Ice Cube’s coming with a comedy?’”
The N.W.A legend also credited his classic song “It Was a Good Day” with giving him the confidence to make Friday.
AD LOADING...
“I learned from ‘It Was a Good Day.’ To me, it was the song version of Friday,” he added. “It’s me coming out the box, because everything was hard and then here I go [and] flip it.
“I’m a reality rapper so if I’m having a good day, I should be able to rap about that, too.”
