Speaker 1: My next guest is a multi hyphen legendary rapper, actor
Speaker 1: and producer of some of our favorite films, an entrepreneur,
Speaker 1: founding member of the iconic Rap collective NWA, and.
Speaker 2: Of course, co founder of the Big Three Basketball League.
Speaker 2: We know them, we love them. It's my brother, the
Speaker 2: one and only Ice CBS in the house. What's going on,
Speaker 2: big time? How are you man? How's everything all?
Speaker 3: Good? Man? Good to be here?
Speaker 1: Thank you man, Please my pleasure now? Am I reading
Speaker 1: this correctly? Season eight of the Big Three tips off.
Speaker 1: The tipped off this weekend.
Speaker 3: Bro Season eight, he's an eight.
Speaker 4: You know, it's been it's been a nice long ride,
Speaker 4: but it's been a great ride. And you know, season
Speaker 4: eight that means, you know, the people really love the
Speaker 4: style of play and they rewarding us with, you know,
Speaker 4: little longevity here.
Speaker 3: So we're gonna keep it going.
Speaker 1: Express to everybody what your vision was when you first
Speaker 1: started this league and whether or not you believe that
Speaker 1: vision has become reality.
Speaker 4: You know, I go back to what I said in
Speaker 4: twenty sixteen, twenty seventeen, if this league I wanted to
Speaker 4: last one hundred years, you know, like like the NFL
Speaker 4: or the NBA, you know, was just going on a
Speaker 4: hunting so, yeah, I wanted to be here.
Speaker 3: Why not. You know, we got this style of play.
Speaker 4: Three on three has always been part of basketball. It's
Speaker 4: never really got it shine, and now it's starting to
Speaker 4: shine and people saying it's a great style of play.
Speaker 3: You know, mono a mono.
Speaker 4: You know, you gotta be able to pass, dribble, shoot,
Speaker 4: and defend to have success.
Speaker 3: And it's a great game.
Speaker 2: You know what you think about what the Big Three?
Speaker 1: I mean, listen, I got to tell you, I'm proud
Speaker 1: of I'm proud of what you've done to the league
Speaker 1: with the league. I'm proud of the opportunities you've given cats.
Speaker 1: You know that obviously some of that retired from the
Speaker 1: NBA and stuff like that, but they still got skills.
Speaker 1: They just ain't trying to run up and down a
Speaker 1: quarter full ninety four feet for eighty two nights a year,
Speaker 1: that kind of thing.
Speaker 2: But when I think about.
Speaker 1: This league and what you've done for so many people,
Speaker 1: what are the kind of things these players are telling
Speaker 1: you the Big Three has done for them.
Speaker 4: You know, one thing we never counted on was how
Speaker 4: much this league would help mental health of our heroes
Speaker 4: on the court, getting them back in the arena where
Speaker 4: they belong. These guys have honed their skills, you know,
Speaker 4: as long as you have, you know, doing your art,
Speaker 4: and just think, you know, somebody can walk up one
Speaker 4: day and tell you it's over just because of what
Speaker 4: you know. They don't have room for you.
Speaker 3: You know what I mean.
Speaker 4: It's like, yo, these guys still want to play at
Speaker 4: the highest level. They go overseas, but they want to
Speaker 4: be at home. They want to play in those arenas
Speaker 4: that they used to play, and they want to play
Speaker 4: in front of you know, American crowds, their friends, their family,
Speaker 4: they bring their kids to the game.
Speaker 3: So never thought, you.
Speaker 4: Know, we helping players' mental health as much as we
Speaker 4: are when it comes to, you know, what they can
Speaker 4: achieve on the basketball court.
Speaker 1: I'm seeing former NBA players that's a part of the
Speaker 1: league right now. And I'm told former NBA champions Dwight
Speaker 1: Howard and Lance Stevenson were ejected from Saturday season open
Speaker 1: up between Miami and Los Angeles. That's spiled into the
Speaker 1: media box. What the hell is that about? I mean,
Speaker 1: they think you got cats getting fighting and doing all
Speaker 1: of that right now, what's that about how you feel
Speaker 1: about that ice que.
Speaker 4: Hey man, you know it's part of the game. Like
Speaker 4: you know, they ready to play. You know, they they're passionate.
Speaker 4: They not just out there because you know they're getting
Speaker 4: you know, crazy money. They out there because they love
Speaker 4: the game. And this is what the fans want to see.
Speaker 4: As far as the passion. Now, we don't condone the fighting.
Speaker 4: You know, we let you trash talk a little. We
Speaker 4: don't want players touching each other, you know what I mean.
Speaker 4: We want players that you know, kind of watch their language,
Speaker 4: you know a little bit on TV.
Speaker 3: But we want to and you know it happened.
Speaker 4: It's built over in our first game between two rookies.
Speaker 4: This is their first game in the Big Three, and
Speaker 4: welcome to the Big Three.
Speaker 1: The Big Three, which is on CBS by the way,
Speaker 1: for everybody that's watching them debut with eight all new franchises.
Speaker 2: Tell me about them.
Speaker 1: I'm looking at Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Dallas, Houston, Miami.
Speaker 2: I mean, LA, talk to me about that eight new teams.
Speaker 4: Yeah, well, you know, we decided to plan ourselves in
Speaker 4: cities before we were kind of a you know, barnstorming
Speaker 4: league not connected to any cities. We wanted to create
Speaker 4: Big Three fans and fans of the style of the game.
Speaker 4: And now that we have that, it's time to plant
Speaker 4: our flags in cities. We opening up a real big
Speaker 4: fandom when it comes to that.
Speaker 3: So it's unlocking.
Speaker 4: A lot of eyes onto the Big Three, a lot
Speaker 4: of interest. You know, when when you got your city
Speaker 4: pride to add to to you know, your you know,
Speaker 4: expectations of the game, it uh, it just takes us
Speaker 4: to another level. So we got eight, Now we want
Speaker 4: to go to twelve. We want to go to you know,
Speaker 4: sixteen twenty. You know, we don't have a team in
Speaker 4: New York yet, so you know, Steven that you might
Speaker 4: want to put it, put some you know, put put
Speaker 4: a team together, you know, grab that New York squad.
Speaker 3: So you never know, I have to.
Speaker 2: I might have to. How might have to?
Speaker 1: You can't have you can't have a basketball league and
Speaker 1: no team in New York. We definitely got to talk
Speaker 1: about that, make no mistink about it.
Speaker 2: But but I want to know this Qube.
Speaker 1: You know when you came in, when you started this,
Speaker 1: since its inception, what's been the biggest challenge for you
Speaker 1: that you've encountered and try to help this league grow.
Speaker 4: You know, it's been challenging in different ways. You know,
Speaker 4: we we really thought we were going to get more
Speaker 4: love from the sports media. Having the names that we
Speaker 4: have involved with this league. You've always you know, been
Speaker 4: able to you know, shine light on the league with
Speaker 4: your platform, which I appreciated from day one. You know,
Speaker 4: but you know a lot of sports media looks over
Speaker 4: the league and it's a shame because in the dog
Speaker 4: days of summer, you know, for who fans you know,
Speaker 4: this is to me, you.
Speaker 3: Know, a league that is bite sized.
Speaker 4: You know, we got ten weeks and we crowned champion
Speaker 4: and then you know, we can get to the NFL.
Speaker 4: So it's pretty pretty cool for the summer. So I
Speaker 4: just wish the sports media get with the program.
Speaker 1: I totally agree with you that I certainly could do
Speaker 1: more and I am gonna do more.
Speaker 2: But I'll tell you else. I think the players could
Speaker 2: do more as well. I'm not talking about.
Speaker 1: Playing because I know they bring what they bring, but
Speaker 1: I'm talking about talking about the Big Three when you're
Speaker 1: looking forward to I just saw Dwight Howard the other day.
Speaker 1: He about to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 1: He didn't mention the Big Three. It would have been
Speaker 1: nice and he mentioned that you see what I'm saying
Speaker 1: stuff like that, just letting cats know, Yo, this ain't
Speaker 1: the only kind of basketball is going on.
Speaker 2: We got some.
Speaker 1: Skills that we still want to showcase as well. So
Speaker 1: I think a lot of the players can do the same.
Speaker 1: It's a collective effort.
Speaker 3: To media.
Speaker 2: You do, you're the.
Speaker 1: One person that you're the one reliable commodity with the
Speaker 1: Big Three from the standpoint, you always, always, always are
Speaker 1: promoting this league. And I think the players, they got
Speaker 1: a lot to say with their podcasts and all of
Speaker 1: that stuff, they could do a lot more as well.
Speaker 2: Would you say that.
Speaker 3: We would love that.
Speaker 4: You know, some players do, you know, use their platform
Speaker 4: to hype up the Big Three, But we would love
Speaker 4: for the players to do more that. You know, why
Speaker 4: the players love the league is that we don't put
Speaker 4: you know, too many you know, like ain't doing them
Speaker 4: like that. You know they want If they want to
Speaker 4: do it, it's got to be out the love of
Speaker 4: their heart. We're not going to require them to do that.
Speaker 4: We're not going to require them to talk to the media,
Speaker 4: you know, they got to do it out the love
Speaker 4: of the game, and they didn't have wanting to have
Speaker 4: something to say to the world.
Speaker 3: So you know, I don't think we're gonna change that.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 4: Of course we would love for them to talk about
Speaker 4: it twenty four seven, but at the end of the
Speaker 4: day's growing men, it's up.
Speaker 3: To them on what they want to talk about.
Speaker 1: One of the things that you've done with this league
Speaker 1: has become more than just sport to touch his culture,
Speaker 1: music community, all of that.
Speaker 2: Was that always your intention.
Speaker 4: Always, you know, I thought, you know, music culture and
Speaker 4: sports is like you know, peanut butter and jelly with
Speaker 4: the milk, you know what I mean, it all go together.
Speaker 3: It's perfect.
Speaker 4: So that's always been you know, our philosophy. We had
Speaker 4: Jim Jones come out rock the house today. I mean,
Speaker 4: you know, on Saturday doing Game one, we're gonna have
Speaker 4: spot Face out and.
Speaker 3: Uh out there in Baltimore.
Speaker 4: So you know, we plan on bringing the best entertaining
Speaker 4: the people with basketball music culture. You know, we got
Speaker 4: break dances out there from Monster Energy, we got DJ dancers, dunkers,
Speaker 4: everything you can name.
Speaker 3: At the Big Three. So it's you know, it's a carnival.
Speaker 4: You know, it's a lot of fun at the events.
Speaker 1: You've also talked about ownership involving you know, ownership opportunities
Speaker 1: for these players, and I know equity is has always
Speaker 1: been important with the Big Three and how different is
Speaker 1: that you know from other leagues in your estimation in
Speaker 1: terms of ownership opportunities for these players.
Speaker 2: Explain that to the audience.
Speaker 4: Well, you know, a lot of our day one players
Speaker 4: who helped start the league have an ownership in the league,
Speaker 4: which is amazing. And you know, once the league is
Speaker 4: you know, profitable, we'll be able to start cashing them
Speaker 4: out and that'd be a great thing. You know, at
Speaker 4: the end of the day, it's really about you know,
Speaker 4: people putting groups together. Teams are very reasonable right now,
Speaker 4: you know, at the end of the day compared to
Speaker 4: other pro teams, you know, and so that's gonna change
Speaker 4: very rare for the LEA as teams will start to
Speaker 4: get purchased, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3: We got four owners now looking for four more.
Speaker 4: And then we're gonna expand the league, so it's going
Speaker 4: to continue to go up. So we want some of
Speaker 4: the players you know who want ownership in the league,
Speaker 4: like this to come forward. Like I said, put groups
Speaker 4: together on some of these franchises and think about, you know,
Speaker 4: their generational wealth.
Speaker 3: We think we got it here with the Big Three.
Speaker 1: Big Three's embraced innovation like the special all red fireball
Speaker 1: five ball three rules, a four point shot, a fourteen
Speaker 1: second shot clock, and to bring the five challenge where
Speaker 1: teams can contest a foul call with an in game
Speaker 1: one on one. How does that enhanced the game and estimation?
Speaker 4: Well, you know, if you look at three on three,
Speaker 4: if you saw the Olympics, it feels you know, amateur
Speaker 4: if you really put it frankly. But at the end
Speaker 4: of the day, the Big Three we professional league. We
Speaker 4: wanted to have our wrinkles that helped our game. We
Speaker 4: wanted to have things that you couldn't see nowhere else
Speaker 4: in a pro basketball game, like our four point shot,
Speaker 4: like our bring the fire rule, one shot free throws.
Speaker 4: You know, seeing a guy shoot a free throw from
Speaker 4: the three point line and or the four point circles
Speaker 4: pretty unique. These little wrinkles have made our game fun
Speaker 4: to play and fun to watch. And uh and that's
Speaker 4: always competitive. You know, these rules are not just because
Speaker 4: we are thinking of you know gimmicks. These rules are
Speaker 4: built to help you win the game. And we saw
Speaker 4: some great comebacks this weekend team down at least eleven
Speaker 4: and the other team had forty nine, and then they
Speaker 4: come back and win the game. So it's is designed
Speaker 4: perfectly for this game.
Speaker 1: One of the last questions I got for you on
Speaker 1: the Big Three man Big Three head coach of basketball
Speaker 1: legend Nancy Lever as the first woman to become a
Speaker 1: head coach of a men's professional team. As powers head coach,
Speaker 1: she led the team to the title in twenty eighteen.
Speaker 1: Have you considered expanding the league to include more women athletes?
Speaker 3: Sure? You know, we we u offered Caitlin.
Speaker 4: Clark, you know, a shot at our league last year
Speaker 4: and it didn't work out.
Speaker 3: You know, we thought she could probably.
Speaker 4: Have a Billy Jeane King moment, and we thought she
Speaker 4: could maybe have success in our league because you know,
Speaker 4: small guards have had some success in the league, like
Speaker 4: you know, like more ab du Roof and Nate Robinson,
Speaker 4: you know, not comparing them, but at the end of
Speaker 4: the day, we thought, you know, more than a bigger player,
Speaker 4: you know, she could maybe get loose.
Speaker 3: So it didn't happen.
Speaker 4: You know, the player captain's pick who they want to
Speaker 4: be in the league.
Speaker 3: We've got owners. Now, you never know what's gonna happen.
Speaker 4: So if a player captain pick a woman to be
Speaker 4: on her his team, then she's in the league.
Speaker 3: Over the week.
Speaker 1: It was this past weekend. How long does this league last?
Speaker 1: This particular summer? When's the end day? When's the championship game?
Speaker 3: Championship? August twenty fourth, ten week season.
Speaker 4: We got one buy you know, so you know, count
Speaker 4: us down, check us out every weekend. You know, we
Speaker 4: got games either Saturday or Sunday CBS and Vice TV.
Speaker 3: And hey, you know what I mean.
Speaker 4: Come if we're in your town, come check it out
Speaker 4: because you got to see seven foot is play three
Speaker 4: on three is incredible.
Speaker 1: Well, I'm coming, I'm coming. I'm gonna sit with you.
Speaker 1: You're gonna have a seat for me right next to you.
Speaker 1: That's what I'm talking about. I mean, damn, it's a
Speaker 1: courtsut seats are hard to come by every damn place.
Speaker 2: But it better not be with Q.
Speaker 1: If I'm in the house, I better have a seat
Speaker 1: waiting for me right next to you.
Speaker 4: Bro.
Speaker 2: I mean last, I'll sit with you at l a
Speaker 2: couple of years ago.
Speaker 4: Yeah, no problem, man. You always got to see if
Speaker 4: my wife don't come you you right there. If she did,
Speaker 4: you got to see.
Speaker 1: Now I'm go, I can't come before the wife. I
Speaker 1: can't come before the white man. What you been doing
Speaker 1: with yourself?
Speaker 2: Man?
Speaker 1: How much of your time is being taken up by this?
Speaker 1: Because I mean, you're an actor, you obviously a musician.
Speaker 2: You know you be doing your thing. And I gotta
Speaker 2: admit to you, I haven't even seen you to say
Speaker 2: this to you. It hurt my dam feelings when you
Speaker 2: set up there and saying to.
Speaker 1: The Yankees when you know, when you told them about it,
Speaker 1: that hurt my feelings. Killed now hurt my feelings because
Speaker 1: you know, I'm a Yankee fan and I knew they
Speaker 1: were in trouble, and then they came with with with with.
Speaker 2: With Fat Joe.
Speaker 1: I'm like, yo, I love him for the Knicks, but
Speaker 1: the Yankees nine stepped out of pocket there.
Speaker 2: I was like, nah, I ain't cute and it ain't
Speaker 2: gonna work.
Speaker 3: I was depressed by you know, at the end of
Speaker 3: the day, you know, I had fun.
Speaker 4: I'm a big Dodger fan, you know, so I had
Speaker 4: to do it, you know.
Speaker 3: You know the Yankees do hurt our hearts so many times.
Speaker 4: Gang, you know, I got to try to get ahead
Speaker 4: some way, somehow, So it was great to be a
Speaker 4: part of that. And uh, you know, it's just just
Speaker 4: a you know, I'm a busy man, but I love it.
Speaker 4: You know, spend eighteen hours a day on the Big Three.
Speaker 4: You know, when I commit to something, I committed one
Speaker 4: hundred and tempercent. So that's what it's all about right
Speaker 4: now for me. It's all Big Three.
Speaker 3: You know. Then we'll jump back on the music.
Speaker 4: I got a tour coming, the Truth to Power Tour
Speaker 4: in the fall, So you can't get rid of me, Stephen.
Speaker 3: Ah.
Speaker 2: I'm just I'm trying to figure that say it out.
Speaker 1: I'm like that brother music car Risk being forty years
Speaker 1: and he was about to come out with a new album.
Speaker 2: And by the way, you don't look you don't look forty.
Speaker 1: So I'm looking at you like, damn, it's forty years
Speaker 1: of the music industry.
Speaker 2: I mean, that's a lot of time. But you don't
Speaker 2: look it, bro, you don't look it.
Speaker 4: Hey man, people don't realize. You know, I started as
Speaker 4: a real young man. You know, I was fourteen, fifteen
Speaker 4: years old when I started, you know, wrote my first
Speaker 4: hit song at sixteen, you know, a song called Boys
Speaker 4: in the Hood for easy Eating rest in Peace. So
Speaker 4: been here, you know, doing it, and it's time to
Speaker 4: celebrate that, you know, four decades of attitude. You know
Speaker 4: you got to catch me when I come to town.
Speaker 1: Well, listen, man, let me not forget this from my orders.
Speaker 1: You were recently honored with your handprint ceremony of the
Speaker 1: Chinese did the Hollywood Walk of Fame, celebrating your icotic career.
Speaker 2: Fans, family friends on hand. What did that day mean
Speaker 2: to you?
Speaker 3: Man?
Speaker 4: That's a movie star status, you know what I mean.
Speaker 4: At the end of the day, a lot of people
Speaker 4: got stars, not a lot got their hands and feeding
Speaker 4: some men in front of the Man's Chinese theater. So
Speaker 4: great honor, something you don't expect. When you get the call.
Speaker 4: You just feel, you know, gratitudes of attitude for real,
Speaker 4: you know, you just feel blessed to be in this
Speaker 4: position and to have a career that people are recognizing.
Speaker 3: Uh, decades later.
Speaker 1: Man, is it true that you gotta you know, I'm
Speaker 1: hearing these reports that the last Friday films and developments
Speaker 1: is that true? Fans that finally, uh, you know we've
Speaker 1: been okay then.
Speaker 3: Fighting the play wait a long time.
Speaker 4: You know they's not just new leadership at New Line
Speaker 4: and Warner Brothers with Mike de Luca. You know, now
Speaker 4: it's time to start putting the pieces together.
Speaker 2: I can never talk to you without giving your son
Speaker 2: some love.
Speaker 1: I saw then the Thieves two a few months ago,
Speaker 1: the Brothers doing this thing. Oh, Shay Jackson. I mean, proud, Papa.
Speaker 1: I'm imagining that brother's got talent. My man, He's got
Speaker 1: a real, real bright future in Hollywood. As far as
Speaker 1: I'm concerned, he can act. I love what I see
Speaker 1: from your son. How are you feeling about what he's
Speaker 1: doing with himself these days?
Speaker 4: And he's a better actor than me, you know what
Speaker 4: I mean, like amazing range, you know, fully dedicated, and
Speaker 4: you know, proud that he's running with him. You know
Speaker 4: he's not walking with him. And so you know, all
Speaker 4: we can do is parents, I know, happy Father's Day
Speaker 4: to order. Father's out there that's really involved in their
Speaker 4: kids life, no doubt, and so look to you to
Speaker 4: really to really you know, being your kids life and
Speaker 4: watch them do something, put them in a place to win,
Speaker 4: position to win. You want them to do what it takes.
Speaker 4: You know, you know I can only put you in
Speaker 4: a position to win, can't play for you.
Speaker 3: So you know he out there doing what he needs
Speaker 3: to do to win the game. So you know, I'm
Speaker 3: proud of it.
Speaker 1: Ie, Before I let you get on out of here, man,
Speaker 1: forgive me for fear left and.
Speaker 2: Ask you this question. You're you're an LA native.
Speaker 1: You see what's going on in the streets of Los
Speaker 1: Angeles right now with all these protests because of the
Speaker 1: Trump administration and ice and what they're doing with migrants.
Speaker 2: And stuff like that.
Speaker 1: And you see a lot of people protesting across the country,
Speaker 1: but obviously a lot of it is emanating with the
Speaker 1: no Kings protests emanating out of Los Angeles.
Speaker 2: What has been your.
Speaker 1: Thoughts about it, because you you you've never been shy
Speaker 1: about expressing what you believe is right and what have
Speaker 1: you And obviously you know you're politically conscientious as well.
Speaker 1: Your thoughts about what you've been seeing.
Speaker 3: It's heartbreaking, you know, see.
Speaker 4: The city go up like this, you know, just to
Speaker 4: see the city kind of I mean, the government handle
Speaker 4: it in the way they're handling it. You know, they're
Speaker 4: they're using a lot of humiliation, you know, and they're
Speaker 4: being you know, being very you know, heavy handed. You know,
Speaker 4: I understand the laws of the law and all that,
Speaker 4: but why you gotta be so heavy handed with what
Speaker 4: you're doing so disrespectfully.
Speaker 3: Purchase weddings?
Speaker 4: You know, you hit these places, man, and you know
Speaker 4: it's just I think it could be turning.
Speaker 3: In a more respectful way. Man, It's just it's not right.
Speaker 2: I got you.
Speaker 1: I appreciate you, my man. I always appreciate your voice,
Speaker 1: appreciate what you're doing. You know, I'm always here for you,
Speaker 1: my man. You take care of yourself and I look
Speaker 1: forward to talking to you and seeing you soon.
Speaker 2: All right, you be good.
Speaker 3: Take it easy, Take it easy, man, always, any time.
Speaker 1: Always, no doubt. One and only ice Cube right here
Speaker 1: on the Stephen Nate Smith Show. My thanks to the
Speaker 1: one and only Q himself. You can catch The Big
Speaker 1: Three on CBS and Vice TV. Also The Truth The
Speaker 1: Power Tool coming to a city near you, very very soon.