After Katt Williams unleashed a firestorm of jabs at several comedians and other celebrities in his recent interview with Shannon Sharpe, everybody and their mommas have come out to speak their mind. This go ’round, even rap legend-turned-movie mogul, Ice Cube, is stating his piece.

As we previously reported, Katt Williams name-dropped everyone from Steve Harvey, to Kevin Hart, Cedric the Entertainer, to Rickey Smiley, and more. In terms of the latter, Rickey, Katt called him out for speaking ‘untruths’ about the “Money Mike” role that Katt played in the Friday After Next film.

Now, Ice Cube has spoken out to both confirm many the things Katt said in the interview about his role, while also ‘clarifying’ a couple other statements Katt made.

Ice Cube Clears Up A Few Things…And Confirms Others

 

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Ice Cube started off by noting that Friday After Next was shot over 20 years ago, so he understands that “people have different perspectives” so many years later. He then made it clear that he thinks all of the comedians Katt went at in his interview, as well as Katt, are all “funny as hell,” stating that’s why he chose to work with them on his projects.

“Katt was 100 on a few things — on most of what he was saying — [but] a couple of the other thing… I just wanna clarify,” Cube said.

He continued:

“When we bring in [a] new comedian we do have them try out for different roles. So, Rickey did give [the “Money Mike” role] a shot. … but when we saw him and we kinda saw how he moved [when] auditioning we decided that he’d be better [as] “Santa Claus,” which to me was perfect casting.

Cube then explained how Katt got the “Money Mike” role and cleared up Katt’s claims about ‘writing’ all the lines’ for the role. “When I saw [Katt]…I just knew he was perfect for ‘Money Mike.’ … The role was written but he enhanced it. That’s why Katt was so dope in the movie.”

“Money Mike” had a small role, Cube said, stating that Katt’s role was originally the same size as Rickey’s role. However, Katt expanded his role with his comedic contributions to the lines:

“When we started filming [Katt] was giving it such magic that we kept expanding his role, giving him more to do because he was on point. … When we shoot the script …once we get what we need from the script, we let the comedians adlib, riff,play with the words, do their thing. Ya know, we give them a take, or two where they can go off or do what they feel. … Sometimes it makes the movie, sometimes it don’t. [But] When somebody gives you jewels you wanna try to make sure it makes the movie.”

 

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Ice Cube continued:

“Katt wrote a lot of his parts …because he was coming off the dome, he was coming prepared everyday to steal the show. Ya know, that was his mission. … And it launched his career…and I’m proud of the movie. I’m proud of all the guys who’ve come through Cube Vision production and went on to do bigger and better things.”

As far as any ‘Friday’ actors who complained about the low wages they were paid for the role — the same folks that Katt Williams also slammed for the same reason, in defense of Ice Cube — Cube pretty much sided with Katt on that.

Ice Cube also went on to clarify the “Money Mike” vs. ‘ex-con’ (Terry Crews’ character) r@pe scene that Katt stated he’d requested be taken out of the script. Check out what else Cube had to say about this in the clips up top.

In You Missed It…

In 2002, Williams and Smiley were part of the cast of the third installment of Ice Cube’s “Friday” series, “Friday After Next.” Williams was cast as “Money Mike,” and Smiley was cast as “Santa Claus.” In a prior interview, Smiley had told Shannon Sharpe, on his “Club Shay Shay” podcast, that he had initially been assigned the role of “Money Mike.”

Katt then came back to shut that claim down with the quickness:

“This man told you he had Katt Williams’ role. He was going to be Money Mike, and Katt Williams was going to be the Santa Claus,” Katt said to Shannon Sharpe. “We auditioned in Los Angeles. I was audition No. 201. Two-hundred Black comedians auditioned for the role of Money Mike with me. You’re saying all 201 of us was auditioning, and you had already had the role and had already shot the role in four days?”

Rickey Smiley Responded

Rickey Smiley responded to Katt on Thursday morning during his “Rickey Smiley Morning Show,” pretty much saying that Katt needs to get his facts all the way together. Check out those clips below…

Rickey Smiley’s full clip below…

Katt Williams also claimed the original Friday After Next script involved a r@pe scene, and that he didn’t think the attack would be amusing, so he asked for it to be removed. He went on to comment that if they were able to do the movie without a Black man being raped in it, he promised that it would be twice as funny.

Thoughts on all of this ILOSM fam?’

The post Ice Cube Speaks Out To Clarify Katt Williams’ Claim About ‘Friday’ Role And Rickey Smiley appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

ILOSM family, the man whom Ice Cube portrayed in the classic 1991 film, “Boyz N The Hood,” passed away a few years ago. He was the childhood best friend of late director/writer, John Singleton — who painfully paying homage to his childhood homie in 2018…just one year prior to Singleton’s death.

(VIDEO) Singleton Spoke On The Passing Of Real-Life Doughboy

Although Cube’s character, “Doughboy,” left a lasting impression on millions of fans, most people never knew it was really Michael “Fatbacc” Winters,’ life story.

After Fatbacc’s passing in 2018, Singleton posted a video of Fatbacc speaking about their friendship at a prior event for Singleton (scroll down for video). At that time, John Singleton captioned his video post with the following message:

“Y’all give some honor and love to my best friend Micheal Winters aka Fatbacc..107 Hoovers. We grew up on 101st and Vermont ..shared a lotta adventures …This man could run his mouth .. speak his honest opinion on anything …he gave no fucks from an early age …In Boyz n Hood the character Ice Cube plays Is based on this man The Original Dough Boy. We called him Fatbacc. He gave himself that name around 12 years old near 7th grade writing in notebooks ..H.C,G. FATBACC. You will forever be remembered. RIP.Love.”

 

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Following Singleton’s tribute, Fat Bacc’s brother also paid homage to him online:

“My little brother 4 life 101st was way too real we had some real men come from that street from Vermont to Hoover st. I’m the one who introduced them to one another and its been all love ever since…. thanks for always being True friend and homie to us, your Boyz off the 101st. Big Tw7n”

Fatbacc, a Crip gang member, was loved by many around his way and was said to have a great personality. Singleton went on to study at USC film school, which is when he wrote the script for “Boyz N The Hood.” Even though their lives took separate paths, they’re genuine brotherhood remained in tact for the rest of their lives.

Singleton On Why He Created “Boyz N The Hood” Characters About His Friends

 

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81. #BoyzNTheHood (1991) #FilmVoyeur2018 Directed by #JohnSingleton DP: #CharlesMills Players: #LaurenceFishburne #CubaGoodingJr #IceCube #MorrisChestnut #NiaLong #ReginaKing #AngelaBassett #TyraFerrell #NowWatching #LosAngeles #LA #SouthCentralLA #Doughboy #90s #Films #Movies #Cinema

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In a previous interview with Vice, Singleton revealed why he wrote the film about his life and friends, growing up in South Central, L.A.:

“I was living this film before I ever thought about making it. Growing up in my early teens, I batted around with three friends, Jimmy and Michael, and our other friend who was also named Michael; his nickname was Fatback – he was heavy-set – and in the movie we called him Doughboy. As I started to think about what I wanted to do with my life, and cinema became an option, it was just natural that this was probably gonna be my first film. In fact, when I applied to USC Film School they had a thing that asked you to write three ideas for films. And one of them was called Summer of ’84, which was about growing up in South Central LA.”

John Singleton was portrayed as the character, “Tree” — played by Cuba Gooding Jr. and Desi Arnez Hines II (young “Tre”), and Singleton’s father was portrayed by Laurence Fishburne:

“At 11 years old I went to live with my father. There are things that happened to me and my family, like the guy breaking in and my father getting the drop on him, and the black policeman, saying “You should have got him – that would have been one less nigger.” Then there’s other events in the picture that happened, but not necessarily to me.”

May John Singleton and Fattbacc a.k.a. “Doughboy” continue to rest in peace and power.

The post Fans Stunned After Video Of Real-Life Man Ice Cube Portrayed In Boy ‘N The Hood Resurfaces appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Unfortunately, we never got to see “Ezal” in the next Friday installments and for the first time ever, A.J. Johnson has revealed why. In an interview with Vlad TV, he detailed how Ice Cube reportedly did him wrong behind the scenes. *Scroll down for video*

A.J. Johnson’s Brutally Honest Revelation About His Residuals

A.J. Johnson kept it real when asked if the Friday actors are getting any residual royalties from the film today:

“Yeah we still get residuals…like 60 cents. …You gotta pay more to cash the check, than what you got get. The check is 60 cents and you gotta pay three dollars to cash it.”

Cube’s Alleged Regret

AJ then explained how the huge response he’d received at the premier of Friday, caught Ice Cube off guard, prompting Cube to somewhat regret not giving him a larger role…although AJ initially tried to convince Cube to do so, allegedly:

“At the premiere, it was crazy…everybody [was laughing]. And when [Ice Cube] came back there and said ‘Damn man, we shoulda had you through the whole movie,’ I wanted to sock him!”

AJ Reveals How Cube Reportedly Did Him Dirty

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Then came time for Next Friday and that’s where AJ says Cube dogged him. When Vlad asked AJ why he wasn’t ‘asked to be in Next Friday,’ AJ revealed this:

“I was asked. … Cube called me and we had a meeting…and we was talking about the money. And we came to a number (a payment agreement) that I was getting and we shook hands, and we was gonna do it (film the movie, Next Friday). … About 2, 3 weeks later…I was in the movie, I was gon’ shoot it…and I get a phone call [saying], ‘Man, you know they’re shooting Next Friday.’

Aj’s surprised response to the caller was:
“I’m like, ‘Uh…how they shooting?…I’m IN it…how they shooting?!!’

He says the caller then went on to explain that Cube and the rest of the cast were “on 105th street shooting” Next Friday as they spoke. Thinking there must have been some type of miscommunication about the filming, AJ revealed he got a rude awakening when he showed up to the Next Friday set:
“So I get in my car and I go down there. I tried to go on the set to talk with Cube, but he done already had me barred off the set, where I can’t even get on…to talk to him.”

Then came the next shocker for AJ:
“Come to find out, he done hired the dude from Onyx [rap group] play my part.”

Wow! We haven’t heard Ice Cube’s side of this story, so we’re not sure why things went down like that at the time. However, hopefully they’ve since been able to forgive and move past this.

The post Comic, AJ Johnson, Accused Ice Cube Of Doing Him Dirty For “Next Friday” Film appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

The year was 1995 when comedian/actor, A.J. Johnson, cracked us up in his role as “Ezal” the ‘crackhead’ in Ice Cube’s, Friday. With mostly then unknown stars, like A.J., Chris Tucker, Faizon Love, and Bernie Mac, as well as known stars, like Regina King and John Witherspoon, Cube proved he had the eye for talent. A.J.’s comedic delivery in the film, further proved that point. His classic one lines such as, “Owww! My neck…my back…my neck and my back,” as he purposely fell to the floor in that grocery store scene, was genius!

Unfortunately, we never got to see “Ezal” in the next Friday installments and for the first time ever, A.J. Johnson has revealed why. In an interview with Vlad TV, he detailed how Ice Cube reportedly did him wrong behind the scenes. *Scroll down for video*

A.J. Johnson’s Brutally Honest Revelation About His Residuals

First, A.J kept it real when asked if the Friday actors are getting any residual royalties from the film today:

“Yeah we still get residuals…like 60 cents. …You gotta pay more to cash the check, than what you got get. The check is 60 cents and you gotta pay three dollars to cash it.”

Cube’s Alleged Regret

AJ then explained how the huge response he’d received at the premier of Friday, caught Ice Cube off guard, prompting Cube to somewhat regret not giving him a larger role…although AJ initially tried to convince Cube to do so, allegedly:

“At the premiere, it was crazy…everybody [was laughing]. And when [Ice Cube] came back there and said ‘Damn man, we shoulda had you through the whole movie,’ I wanted to sock him!”

AJ Reveals How Cube Reportedly Did Him Dirty

Embed from Getty Images

Then came time for Next Friday and that’s where AJ says Cube dogged him. When Vlad asked AJ why he wasn’t ‘asked to be in Next Friday,’ AJ revealed this:

“I was asked. … Cube called me and we had a meeting…and we was talking about the money. And we came to a number (a payment agreement) that I was getting and we shook hands, and we was gonna do it (film the movie, Next Friday). … About 2, 3 weeks later…I was in the movie, I was gon’ shoot it…and I get a phone call [saying], ‘Man, you know they’re shooting Next Friday.’

Aj’s surprised response to the caller was:
“I’m like, ‘Uh…how they shooting?…I’m IN it…how they shooting?!!’

He says the caller then went on to explain that Cube and the rest of the cast were “on 105th street shooting” Next Friday as they spoke. Thinking there must have been some type of miscommunication about the filming, AJ revealed he got a rude awakening when he showed up to the Next Friday set:
“So I get in my car and I go down there. I tried to go on the set to talk with Cube, but he done already had me barred off the set, where I can’t even get on…to talk to him.”

Then came the next shocker for AJ:
“Come to find out, he done hired the dude from Onyx [rap group] play my part.”

Wow! We haven’t heard Ice Cube’s side of this story, so we’re not sure why things went down like that at the time. However, hopefully they’ve since been able to forgive and move past this.

The post Comic AJ Johnson Tells All, Accuses Ice Cube Of Doing Him Wrong For “Next Friday” Film appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

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Ice Cube Expanding His BIG3 League

In a surprise announcement about his BIG3 League, Cube took to Twitter Tuesday morning (June 12, 2018) to announce he and his partner are in talks with heavy-hitters in China to expand their league to China….and then to Brazil. Now that’s big boss moves right there!

In Beijing, just met with Yao Ming, the CBA & superstar Jay Chou about starting BIG3 CHINA 🇨🇳. Brazil is next 🇧🇷. pic.twitter.com/S7zhOgWiL7

— Ice Cube (@icecube) June 12, 2018

After Cube’s announcement, further details emerged about the Compton, Cali. native’s latest business moves. NBA legend and New Orleans, La. native, Clyde “The Glide” Drexler, was with Cube in China for the high-level meeting up with Chou and Ming. Drexler- an NBA Hall of Famer- is BIG3 League’s commissioner. He, Ice Cube and their fellow BIG3 League execs are currently ‘in Beijing as part of a 3-day trip to announce that the league will play exhibition games in China,’ reports TMZ. Check out the video clip of their Beiging trip below…

That’s not all though:

Via TMZ: …After the upcoming BIG3 season ends, players and coaches will travel to China and hoop in exhibition games with players from China’s 3-on-3 league, the JYB — started by Taiwanese star Jay Chou. […] We’re told it’s only the 1st of a 2-part plan. Step 2? An entirely new BIG3 League in China … that’ll tour the country. […] It’s not a done deal just yet … but the league is optimistic it’s gonna happen.

The $1Billion Lawsuit

This latest news, is far better than what we informed y’all of in April. We reported that Cube and his Big3 League partner, Jeff Kwatinetz filed a $1billion (yes BILLION) lawsuit against their business associates. Cube and Kwatinetz did a deal with a royal family from Qatar, which promised to invest millions into the BIG League, which would help cover the salaries of the players, but unfortunately things went way left. Long story short, the Qatari men have been giving Cube and his partner the run-around…even reportedly going as far as blaming their relaxed payments on sinus problems and teeth issue…weird, we know.

What Is Big3 League?

By the way, if you still aren’t too familiar with exactly what Ice Cube’s Big3 League is all about, here’s what we previously reported about his huge grand opening last year (2017)…

Ice Cube has created a league that is one of the coolest things we’ve seen in a while. His Big3 League is a new basketball league comprised of some highly legendary former NBA players, including Allen Iverson, Jason Williams, Stephen Jackson, Chauncey Billups, and more.

Cube’s league features retired players who play on three-man teams against each other. It’s an eight team league. It’s also great way to allow the Old School to represent, by keeping the players- who have stayed on top of their game and kept themselves in tip top shape after retirement- on the court and their legacies thriving. Props to Ice Cube for bringing his Big3 League to fruition!

The post Mo Money..After $1B Lawsuit, Ice Cube Makes Huge Announcement About His Big3 League appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

The Ball Hogs are officially on the clock. Who do you think fits best next to co-captains @scalabrine and @JChillin? pic.twitter.com/67sBdVCZXn

— BIG3 (@thebig3) April 3, 2018

In case y’all didn’t hear, Cube’s pro’ BIG3 basketball league has been getting off to a great start, ever since he sparked it in 2017. Fans have been lovin’ it, but there are a few hurdles that may block him and his league partner from being able to sustain to massive expenses it costs to run said league- those are the wealthy Qatari business investors who are now giving Cube the run-around.

Here’s What Happened

Simply put, Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz did a deal with some royal fam’ from Qatar, which promised to invest millions into the league that would help take care of the salaries of the players, but unfortunately things went way left. Check out the details of Cube’s lawsuit below…

Via TMZ: TMZ Sports has obtained the complaint in which Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz are suing several individuals including Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Thani … the CEO of the Qatari Investment Authority.

Cube says the Qataris were supposed to invest $5 MILLION and be passive investors in the league — but instead “quickly started to insinuate themselves into the affairs of BIG3 despite failing to live up to even their most basic obligation to fully fund their investment.” […] “These members and associates of the royal family made excuse after excuse for not paying, all of which is documented in text messages and emails, where the blame for their failure to fund the millions they owed the BIG3 ran the gamut from their ‘sinuses,’ ‘hiking,’ it being a ‘long day bro,’ and to bad press regarding Qatar associations with alleged funding of terrorism.”

“Also, like a simple debtor in hiding from a collection agency, these Defendants with their purported links to the Qatar royal family, would go into hiding and refused to return phone calls and ignore Plaintiffs.”

Cube says in Dec. 2017, Kwatinetz attempted to set up a meeting with Al-Rumaihi who instead of substantively responding “sent a picture of his teeth being worked on, apparently to conjure sympathy.”

In the lawsuit, Cube claims Al-Rumaihi eventually got so pissed off over the repeated requests for the money that he loudly screamed at Kwatinetz and threatened his life saying, “You don’t know who I know in L.A. and what they’re capable of. You should think of your safety and the safety of you and your family.”

Cube and Kwatinetz are now seeking $1.2 BILLION in damages in order to pay $20 million per player in the league.

What Is Big3 League?

https://twitter.com/thebig3/status/977941931715002368

If you still aren’t too familiar with exactly what Ice Cube’s Big3 League is all about, here’s what we previously reported about his killa grand opening last year…

Ice Cube has created a league that is one of the coolest things we’ve seen in a while. His Big3 League is a new basketball league comprised of some highly legendary former NBA players, including Allen Iverson, Jason Williams, Stephen Jackson, Chauncey Billups, and more.
Cube’s league features retired players who play on three-man teams against each other. It’s an eight team league. It’s also great way to allow the Old School to represent, by keeping the players- who have stayed on top of their game and kept themselves in tip top shape after retirement- on the court and their legacies thriving.

The league’s commissioner, Roger Mason Jr., expressed that same sentiment:

Vis CNN: “There’s a nostalgia there of a fan that watched those guys in the NBA,” Mason said. “There’s also a younger fan that competes and plays 3-on-3 out on the blacktop and that will be interested to see our guys play as well. […] There’s plenty of guys that actually continue to work out, that still work on their skills and their game,” Mason said. “Those are the guys that should be out there representing the league.”

Be sure to check your local listings for the Big3 League next airing. So far, Ice Cube’s got our attention with this one. Keep the Old School alive Cube!

The post Ice Cube Slaps Business Associates With $1.2Billion (Yes, Billion) Lawsuit For Doing Him Dirty appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

The league’s commissioner, Roger Mason Jr., expressed that same sentiment:

Vis CNN: “There’s a nostalgia there of a fan that watched those guys in the NBA,” Mason said. “There’s also a younger fan that competes and plays 3-on-3 out on the blacktop and that will be interested to see our guys play as well. […] There’s plenty of guys that actually continue to work out, that still work on their skills and their game,” Mason said. “Those are the guys that should be out there representing the league.”

“I signed up to be coach, player, captain,” Iverson said. “The coach part is going to go on throughout the game. The playing part is not going to be what you expect. I’m 42 years old, been retired, what, six, seven years? The only reason I get out there for the couple minutes I do get out there is for the fans, you know what I mean?” He added: “You’re not going to see the Allen Iverson of old out there.”

Source1, Source2, Photos via TMZ

The post Ice Cube’s New Basketball League Debuts w/MegaStars, Star Players &Thousands Of Fans appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

We all remember when Friday hit theaters in 1995 and when “Smokey” (Chris Tucker) told “Dee-bo” (Tiny “Zeus” Lister, Jr.) “You got knocked the f^*% out”; when the late Bernie Mac’s character, “Pastor Cleaver” preached his way right into “Ms. Parker’s” bedroom, and when Craig’s (Ice Cube) Pops (John Witherspoon) decided to give him a man-to-man talk while sitting on the toilet stinking up the place…LOL. The term “Bye Felicia” has even taken on a life of it’s own now ever since Cube told that to “Felicia” (Angela Means) in the movie. This film had a bunch of heavy hitters in it, including Regina King, Anna Maria Horsford, and Nia Long and basically, everything about the movie was funny as all get-out, but the behind-the-scenes rehearsal footage is just as hilarious. It’s rare that we get to see what it’s like before the big movie sets, the film crew and all of the frills and the pretty stuff come into play on a classic movie like Friday.

Check out the video clip below to see how Chris Tucker, Ice Cube, Tiny, and the rest of the cast actually rehearsed some their scenes together, in their rawest form- this was all about skills and seizing opportunity. *Contains explicit language*

In April of this year (2015) Friday actually turned 20 years old! Can you believe it’s been that long? Dang!  Where did the time go?!! Anyways, ET posted a video to celebrate Friday’s anniversary with this behind-the-scenes footage of some of the cast. Check it out…

What do y’all think? Is it time for Friday to make a comeback with it’s original cast? Most of these actors blew up after the first Friday release, so the movie budget alone might not even cover their current fee, but it would be cool to see Chris Tucker get his mojo back and create the same type of magic he did the first time around. We’ll just have to sit back and see.

*BE SURE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR EMAIL UPDATES SO YOU DON’T MISS ANY OF OUR OLD SCHOOL STORIES*

The post Too Funny! Watch VERY RARE Footage Of The “Friday” Movie Rehearsals! appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Remember “Ms. Parker” from the 1995 movie, Friday? If not, let us refresh your memory: She made Chris Tucker and Ice Cube say “Hey Ms. Parker. How you doin’ Ms. Parker? I wanna (bleep) Ms. Parker.” And she made Bernie Mac’s preacher character recite a Bible verse just before he stepped to her to flirt with her, after she walked out of her house to water the lawn in those Daisy Duke shorts and midriff shirt.

We’ve been wondering where “Ms. Parker” has been and what she’s been up to as of late…a few of the fellas over here at ILOSM were also curious as to whether or not “Ms. Parker” was still rockin’ her Daisy Dukes, LOL. After doing a lil’ research we found actress, Kathleen Bradley a.k.a. “Ms. Parker” and wait ’til you see how she’s looking nowadays…

The post Have U Seen “Ms. Parker” From “Friday” Lately? Good Lawd! appeared first on I Love Old School Music.