Wel-Welcome to The Daily Social Distancing Show, man.
It's good to have you on.
And I'm not gonna waste any time.
Let's-let's jump straight into it.
You know, you made news because you unveiled,
uh, what you call the Contract with Black America.
And before we get into, like,
the whole Donald Trump of everything
and just how the news spiraled,
I just wanted to talk to you about the contract.
It's a 13-part plan that was inspired
by many of the things that happened during 2020
but, really, the journey that Black Americans have been on.
What is this 13 plan for America?
Well, I mean, it's actually more than that.
You know, we have a 22-page plan.
We had 13, pretty much, bullet points
that we wanted to try to get, you know,
senators and congresspeople
and-and people just to kind of agree to
-and-and hopefully sign. -Yeah.
Um, and-and so, we were, more or less,
pushing an abbreviated version of-of... of concepts.
Um, but the contract is... is thorough,
and it's growing.
Um, we-we... we're gonna add a section on sports.
We're gonna add a section on women, Black women.
Um, so, we're-we're growing
the-the contract, you know, daily.
So, the 13 points were just
common sense things,
you know, things, uh,
that can, you know, hopefully,
you know, open up the wealth gap.
Everybody's been really putting a lot of energy
into police brutality.
-Right. -So we wanted to put energy
into economics, because we believe, you know,
economics can solve some of our problems.
Not all of our problems, but you know,
you have 13 percent of the people fighting
for basically, half a percentage point of wealth.
So that causes a lot of problems in itself.
You know, you can imagine 13 people trying
-to share a half a plate of food. -Right.
You know, it... it'd go down.
You've always been someone who's been outspoken,
but this year, it feels like something...
something changed in you.
It feels like you became a little angrier.
It feels like you became a little more, um,
like there was a catalyst that-that pushed you.
What-what do you... what do you think that was?
Was it one thing, or was it just the moment in time
becoming so big?
You know, I've always been an artist that believed
in, um, pushing the envelope,
you know, sometimes being a little disruptive,
uh, to, you know, make sure,
you know, things are heard like they're supposed to be.
But the situation with, um, George Floyd,
the murder of George Floyd,
was something that I just couldn't let slide.
Um, and I felt like, when I look around,
it's-it's our turn, you know?
It's-it's my generation's turn to try
to make some of these social,
um, things happen for our people,
and try to push, um,
you know, all the pressure points available
to make something dramatic and-and big
and impactful happen for our people here.
That's really what sparked me
on this quest to,
you know, create the Contract with Black America,
promote the Contract with Black America.
You know, it's dealing with, not only the government,
but, uh, the private industries,
because I think they've worked together to keep us down.
So, you know, there is enough blame to go around.
And we just want people to fess up, own up and pay up.
Um... this is our money.
We're not asking for other people's money.
This is our money that, you know,
our ancestors earned in a lot of ways.
We're continue to earn this money, and we're...
You know, we continue to pay taxes,
and-and still not get any of the programs,
you know, from the Homestead Act, to the GI Bill,
to, you know,
-you know, the pp loan, PPP loans. -Right. Right. Right.
Um, you know, all these things that are in place
to help average Americans,
most of the time, we're shut out, cut out,
or, basically, disrespected and cheated.
So, um, you know,
I just think it's a debt that the country owes,
and that the country has to pay up,
because the country is coming apart at the seams.
If they want to stop it,
they'll-they'll stop this unfair treatment
of... of, uh, Black people here in America.
You know, it's, um, interesting that-that you say that,
because this was the year when some people were awakened.
Many people knew this was happening, but this was the year
when-when, en masse, I would say, many Americans said,
"Okay, we see that there's a... there's a deep problem here.
We have to try and fix it."
It was surprising to me when I woke up,
and I read a news article that said,
"Ice Cube Supporting Trump," and I was like...
And I-I always know a headline doesn't tell a full story.
I clicked on the story, I read through it.
It seemed messy, but
I know you were... you were trying
to speak to multiple politicians,
and then, the only story that came out was,
"Ice Cube is now a Trump supporter,
"and he says Trump is good for Black people,
and Biden and Kamala aren't."
From your perspective, what happened?
Well, I mean, I never said that.
You know? I put out a plan.
Uh, both campaigns,
uh, wanted to talk to me about it.
And... you know, I was eager to talk to both campaigns.
You know, I'm done playing this politic game.
Um, joining sides.
Uh, to me, that... that doesn't get the job done.
You know, what gets... what gets the job done is
to, um, you know,
try to make a deal with whoever's in power.
And hopefully, they see, uh, what-what we're going through.
Um, now, we don't know who's gonna win.
And, so, you know, the fact
that we don't know that is the reason why
I felt like like we need to meet with both sides.
People get mad because they pick their sides.
People get mad because they have their perks
or whatever they're gonna get from each party.
And they want me to pick a side.
And they're upset 'cause I haven't.
But if I picked a side, um,
I don't think, um,
you know, talking about the issues
of the Black community would still be on the tongues of,
and on the minds and on the consciousness
of both of these campaigns.
You know, I think, you know, everybody knows that, um,
both of these campaigns are going after white women voters,
uh, at this point in time.
So, um, I think we would have been just kind of,
you know, uh, put in-in the back pockets.
Right. Like an af... Like an afterthought. I hear you.
I want to keep our issues, you know, top of mind
-and at the forefront of everybody. -Right.
And so, you know, it's-it's politics.
You know, the Trump campaign put out those headlines.
But, you know, you got both sides putting out headlines.
You got... you got celebrities on both sides,
uh, with headlines.
You know, campaigns try to use political footballs
-in any way they can. -Mm-hmm.
Uh, at the end of the day,
American people smarter than that.
You know, American people gonna look at all the facts
and go and vote for the person
they believe can win and, uh, do a better job, so...
Were you... were you worried at all, though, as Ice Cube,
that Trump and his people would-would try and play it
like you were supporting them?
Were you worried at all, I mean,
once, like, Don Junior started MAG...
you know, putting up a picture of you wearing a MAGA hat?
And they tried to make it seem like,
"Yeah, Ice Cube is our guy,"
as opposed to "Ice Cube is a Black man
who's coming here with a plan for Black people."
Well, I mean, I know whoever did and tried to use me like that
would be, um,
you know, mistaken, 'cause
I was gonna come out and tell the real.
I'm gonna always speak the truth, and that's the problem.
You know, I-I understand the game.
You know, I don't mind,
you know, people taking shots at me,
because I talked to both sides of the aisle.
But I always believe this,
um, you know, is a... is a... is a nonpartisan issue.
You know, I've been saying "bipartisan,"
but it's... it's really a nonpartisan issue.
-Right. -No matter what side of the fence you're on,
it's time for both sides to come together and solve this problem.
You've always been somebody
who-who's about bringing people together, you know.
You've-you've spoken your mind in your music.
You've got fans from all walks of life.
And I know a lot of people were shaken and-and disappointed
when earlier this year,
you had a few tweets that came out
that were anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.
And I know, maybe from my life growing up in South Africa,
but I've seen a similarity in America,
where a lot of people feel like the Jewish community
and the Black community are natural allies
in some experiences that we've shared.
And you know, you came out afterwards and said,
"Hey, man, I was... I was misguided and misinformed."
What do you...? What have you learned since that experience?
I mean, I never said I was misguided and misinformed.
I just thought, you know, it was...
I was being clumped in with other people.
You know, I-I put up a piece of art
that-that pained me for... for my reasons.
And then I realized it pained other people
for-for their reasons.
And so, um, you know,
that's what art does.
You know, art provokes thought.
You know, being an artist,
that's what, you know, I dream to do is to provoke thought,
to provoke people to-to see a different version of reality
to-to understand, um, that, you know,
things can come at many different angles...
-Right. -...or different perspective.
You know, all I want is fairness
and justice and I'm gonna speak truth wherever I,
wherever I see it or believe it.
And so, you knowq, it was unfortunate that a lot,
that some people took it, took me as...
you know, a-a anti-Semitic person.
But, um, I think there's just too much history
to show that I'm not.
Well, I appreciate you coming on the show.
I appreciate the work that you're putting in.
And, uh, to your point, um,
regardless of who wins, I hope that Black people win
on the other side of the election because
then that's equality and justice for everyone.
So thank you for taking the time, Ice Cube.
Thanks, Trevor, hey!
You know, if, no matter who win, it's all about...
trying to make this country better, um...
and that's what we, we need to do.
And we need to solve this problem and, uh,
and make this country, uh, better than it is today.
I appreciate you, my dude, for real.
Yay-yay, shout out.