Ice Cube Explains Art In One Line

I had to physically force Claudia to go see “Straight Outta Compton”. And there were a lot of sex scenes but I didn’t care. I took my 13-year-old and 16-year-old daughters.

Even in a couples therapy session, Claudia said to the Doctor, “He keeps insisting I see this. I don’t want to!”

But finally everyone agreed at the same time and I jumped on it.

“Everyone in the car!”

I’m not going to talk about the movie. Whatever. Everyone else is talking about it. Yeah, there are scenes. Yeah, they missed stuff.

But after it finished, we kept sitting and then they had end shots of the real guys.

Ice Cube says one line, “IF IT’S NOT HARD IT’S SOFT.”

That is art. That is business. That is the way I need to live my life.

If a piece of writing is not hard, it’s weak. It’s not worth writing. It’s not worth sharing.

If it’s not hard it’s soft.

If you can’t BLEED or KILL or SLASH YOUR GUTS with your word, then keep it to yourself.

If you can’t take it to the edge, then you played it to safe. Every time.

Don’t just gossip or talk to say words. Say words that are your reality, that are your pain, that expresses yourself.

If you can’t change the world, then you know you have to change yourself.

Mostly, for me, if I can’t say something that has really hurt me, or helped me, or changed me in some way, then I need to just shut up. I need to not write it.

Find a pain inside of you. Tease it out. This is hard. This is art.

If it’s not so hot you feel like it brands you, then it’s cold and you’re nothing.