West Coast pioneer Ice Cube will join Michael Eisner on the former Disney chairman’s CNBC talk show tonight (May 19).
The rapper, actor, director and film producer born O’Shea Jackson will appear on a new episode of Conversations with Michael Eisner during an episode featuring renowned actress Julie Andrews and Rolling Stones Magazine founder and Publisher Jann Wenner.
During his segment of the episode, Cube shares his thoughts on a variety of topics including Oprah Winfrey’s apparent snub of the rapper, even as she celebrated the groundbreaking documentary Black.White, which Cube executive produced for the FX network.
The N.W.A. co-founder also explains the thought process behind his current single “Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It,” the first song to be released from his forthcoming ninth solo album Raw Footage, which hits stores June 17.
“Last year, with Don Imus and the Virginia Tech shooting, and even Michael Vick and the dog fighting, there was this swirl in the media that Gangsta rap is the root of all evil, almost,” Cube tells Eisner. “I started thinking how ironic that is. Gangsta rap was basically invented in 1985, but if you was around in 1984, you know how crazy it was in the world. So how could Gangsta gap be the cause of all these global problems.”
Since the release of N.W.A.’s seminal debut LP Straight Outta Compton in 1988, Ice Cube has established himself as not only a heavyweight in the rap game, but a well respected player in Hollywood as well.
His first on-screen turn as “Doughboy” in John Singleton’s 1991 classic Boyz n the Hood has led to appearances in over twenty-five films to date.
Ice Cube currently has three films in postproduction including Longshots, the story of the first girl to play in a Pop Warner football tournament. Conversations with Michael Eisner airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. EST.