Kanye West has made headlines more than a few times over the course of his career but, near the end of 2022, he found himself in the news cycle for less-than-positive reasons. The rapper went viral after sharing antisemitic social media posts and courted controversy again when he doubled down on his sentiments during a podcast appearance. West subsequently experienced a wave of backlash, which resulted in him losing a number of his corporate partnerships. Other notable names in the music industry have since weighed in with varied thoughts, and Ice Cube is one of the latest to respond. When asked how West is currently doing, the Friday alum alleged that he’s in “a good space” right now.
The 54-year-old actor and rapper – whose real name is O’Shea Jackson – has been friends with Ye for years now. They have, however, had their share of pitfalls, and that detail was mentioned during Jackson’s appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored. Morgan went on to mention that the two are now in “good shape,” and the N.W.A. icon agreed with that assessment. Jackson also confirmed that he and the “Jesus Walks” rapper did indeed meet up recently and clarified why he was recently at odds with him:
Yeah, a couple of weeks ago. We were always cool. He just, he spoke my name without explaining what he really meant. And I just couldn’t leave that statement out there; I just kind of had to rebut that. But since then, we’ve talked. And I think Ye understands that generalizing will always get you in more hot water than being very specific.
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Ice Cube was called out by Kanye West amid the height of the latter’s antisemitic-based controversy. West claimed that Cube “influenced’ his views, enticing him to “get on this antisemite vibe.” The Barbershop star eventually clapped back on social media and expressed disappointment that his name was dragged into the “bullshit.” He asked that West “please leave my name out” of the conversation, as he’s “not antisemitic and never have been.” However, Cube has been accused of sharing inflammatory statements about Jewish people on multiple occasions throughout the years.
Both men seemed to be in good spirits when they crossed paths in California back in June, and paparazzi even snapped pictures of them hugging it out. As for how Ye is doing when it comes to personal life, the Grammy winner said that he’s doing well. Though he also opined that he’s still working through some business issues:
I believe he’s doing great. He’s still dealing with some people trying to hold onto his money, but for the most part, I believe he’s in a good space. I think he’s learned a lot from this past year, and hopefully, he’ll come out better on the other side.
In October 2022, Kanye West took to Twitter to share a few posts and, in one, he spoke about having a desire to “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.” He shared more blunt statements on an episode of the Drink Champs Podcast (which has since been removed). While there, West mused that he “can say anti-Semitic things, and Adidas can’t drop me. Now what?” A former associate recently accused West of making more derogatory comments while expressing anger over a financial loss. When reflecting on his own experience hearing the earlier statements, Ice Cube said the following:
I felt that if he was really upset with specific people, that the message he was saying would kind of hijack what he’s really upset about, you know? That’s kind of what happened. You just can’t generalize. You have to be specific, especially if you are talking about anybody, any race of people. You have to be specific on who exactly you’re talking about.
In the aftermath, Adidas spoke out and confirmed that it had dissolved its Yeezy partnership with Ye. CAA, Balenciaga, Gap and Def Jam later severed ties with him as well. The music mogul later opened up about having been “beat to a pulp” from a business standpoint after making the statements. He said earlier this year that Jonah Hill’s 21 Jump Street (which coincidentally stars Ice Cube as well) made him “like Jewish people again.” After everything that’s happened, the road ahead for West is uncertain but, at the very least, it sounds like Cube wants to see him improve.
