Ice Cube Reflects on Rejecting a $75K Offer from N.W.A.’s Manager — ‘I Was Committed to Maintaining My Integrity in the Business’
Ice Cube Reflects on Rejecting a $75K Offer from N.W.A.’s Manager — ‘I Was Committed to Maintaining My Integrity in the Business’Ice Cube’s decision to walk away from N.W.A. served as a crucial lesson for him in the intricacies of the hip-hop industry.
Before establishing himself as a solo artist in the realm of hip-hop, Ice Cube, born O’Shea Jackson, was a member of the iconic group N.W.A., alongside Dr. Dre (Andre Young), Eazy-E (Eric Wright), DJ Yella (Antoine Carraby), and MC Ren (Lorenzo Jerald Patterson).
The group was assembled by Eazy-E, who had founded his own record label, Ruthless Records, in collaboration with Gerald Elliot “Jerry” Heller. According to the Los Angeles Times, Ruthless Records was the leading independent label of its time.
Initially, N.W.A. operated without a formal contract when they formed in 1986.
“They didn’t have us signed at first, and they waited until really late in the game to start trying to get us signed,” Ice Cube recounted, as reported by the Chicago Tribune.
It was Priority Records, founded by former K-Tel Records executives Bryan Turner and Mark Cerami, that took notice of Eazy-E and N.W.A., striking a deal with Ruthless Records to distribute albums for Eazy-E and the group. According to the record label’s website, this collaboration provided Ruthless Records with nationwide distribution and significant industry leverage.
This partnership led to the release of some of hip-hop’s most iconic albums, including Eazy-E’s “Eazy-Duz-It” (1988) and N.W.A.’s “Straight Outta Compton” (1988).
N.W.A.’s debut album achieved platinum status within a year of its release and secured a spot on Rolling Stone’s list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
However, the group’s success was short-lived, with Ice Cube being the first member to depart. Dissatisfied with the terms presented in a contract by Heller while they were on tour, Ice Cube, who was only 18 years old at the time, felt he wasn’t receiving fair compensation.
He credits Pat Charbonnet, N.W.A.’s former publicist turned manager, for alerting him to the potential pitfalls.
“She was saying, ‘You know Jerry?’ I’m like, ‘No, I don’t know these dudes. I don’t know Jerry.’ Now, she’s like, ‘Make sure you look at your paperwork. Make sure. I got a lawyer if you want to talk to him. Make sure everything is straight.’ So, I didn’t want to tell Jerry I had a lawyer, you know what I’m saying? I was like ‘My mama wanna see my contract before I signed it,’” Ice Cube shared during an interview on the “Come And Talk 2 Me” podcast.
