During a recent appearance on Bill Maher's "Club Random" podcast, Ice Cube discussed ties he sees between the prison industrial complex and the entertainment industry. He claims that the prison system benefits from the rap industry, using it to put more people behind bars. "The narrative is really kind of structured and really made into what the record company wants the record to be," he says.
"Like follow the money," he begins, "I don’t know their names, but if you go high enough you begin to see this is an industry." "Let’s take rap music," he continues, "[The] same people who own the labels own the prisons. It seems really kind of suspicious—if you want to say that word—that the records that come out are really geared to push people toward their prison industry.” Ice Cube later went on to call it "social engineering," to ensure that "prisons stay full."
Ice Cube Claims The "Same People Who Own The Labels Own The Prisons"
When Maher claims that nobody is forcing artists to write the lyrics of their songs, Ice Cube argues. "It’s not about making somebody write the lyrics," he says. "It’s about being near as guardrails to make sure certain songs make it through and certain songs don’t." He then claims, "Certain flavors are exposed on the record. Some records are made by committee. Meaning record company guys sit around and tell the artists ‘This is hot, say that. Do this, we gonna have this guy write lyrics.’”
This isn't the first time Ice Cube has been vocal about his controversial opinions. Earlier this year, he called AI music "bullsh*t," claiming that it forces artists to be associated with things they never agreed to. "Samples are approved or denied by the song owners," he wrote on Twitter. "Totally different than taking a dead artist and making a new song they never approved," Ice Cube explained. He then went on to say, "That’s evil and demonic to me."