Ice Cube has responded to allegations suggesting he had inside information about a “secret meeting that changed rap.” Originating from a decade-old blog post, the claim alleges that a group of 25 to 30 music industry decision-makers orchestrated a plan in 1991 to use rap music to create a prison pipeline, where Black artists would produce content encouraging criminal behavior, benefiting privately owned prisons.
Cube dismissed the notion, stating, “Opinions are like assholes. Everybody has one and they all stink! What evidence do you have to make a statement like that?”
Krazie Bone of Bone Thugs N Harmony spoke about the letter and its effect on the black community in the US.
Several fans online have insinuated that Cube had knowledge of the meeting due to statements he has made elsewhere.
I believe Cube @icecube likely has direct knowledge of “the secret meeting” that Krayzie Bone was referring to in the above long clip.
The ex Bone Thugs member ( Krayzie Bone) states upon reading the letter that the alleged meeting took place in 1991.
It should be noted that… https://t.co/pA0yYYaWh9
— Atarah Israel (@The_777_lioness) January 30, 2024
While not endorsing conspiracy theories, Ice Cube has been critical of record labels. In a podcast appearance on Bill Maher’s Club Random, he suggested a financial connection between the rap music industry and private prisons. The “Today Was A Good Day” rapper emphasized the importance of following the money to understand who benefits from societal division.
“Who benefits and profits off our bickering and division?” responded Ice Cube, when asked about the rise of petty societal debates that create division. Adding, “Follow the money.”
“I don’t know their names Bill, but if you follow the money, you go high enough, you start to see,” Cube added. He then used the record industry as a “broad example of how people at the top can manipulate what’s going on with the people who are bickering and fighting.”
He pointed out the ownership overlap between record labels and prisons, raising concerns about the suspicious alignment of music content with the interests of the prison industry. Despite urban legends surrounding the “music industry to prison pipeline,” scholars consider it unfounded but acknowledge the complexity of related issues.
“A lot of albums, a lot of dope songs people like are made by a group of people telling rappers what to say,” alleged Cube in a Breakfast Club interview. “That’s dope. Or, that line ain’t good enough. Let’s change this. Let’s get someone up here that can write.”
