Today (July 26), Cam’ron and Ma$e shared a new episode from their hit sports and entertainment show, “It Is What It Is,” which saw Ice Cube as the latest guest. During the sit-down, the West Coast legend opened up about his BIG3 league, success in Hollywood as an actor and director, and more.
At one point, the topic turned to Cube’s short stint as part of N.W.A — one that ended a year after the group’s iconic 1988 debut, Straight Outta Compton. When asked about the reason for his departure, he explained how then-manager Jerry Heller proved to be dishonest when it came to paperwork.
“I left the group because [Heller] lied, you know, I caught him in a lie,” Cube said. “I was a young dude, a young emcee. The whole business part of it, I was kind of naive to it. I started hanging with the publicist that we had for N.W.A; she ended up being my manager, Pat Charbonnet… She was like, ‘Make sure you look at your paperwork. I got a lawyer if you want to talk to him named Michael Ashburn. Make sure everything is straight.'”
After multiple failed attempts to get a look at his contract (including one involving his mother), Cube ultimately decided not to sign the dotted line. “We was at the DoubleTree Hotel in Phoenix, Arizona. Everybody’s going down there. So it was my turn… I said, ‘I can’t sign the contract ’cause I don’t know what’s in it,'” he revealed.
Elsewhere in the interview, Cube broke down why “No Vaseline,” his subsequent diss to N.W.A and Heller, stands as one of the greatest in hip hop history. “You got one emcee taking out four motherf**kers and the manager,” he stated. “To me, you can’t beat that.”
Press play on the full episode of “It Is What It Is” below.