Ice Cube Salutes Tyler, The Creator: 'Reminds Me of The Pharcyde'

Ice Cube says the sustaining success of fellow West Coast artist Tyler, The Creator is an example of “the L.A. people don’t know about.”

Speaking with Jeremy Hecht for HipHopDX, Cube, whose Man Down album arrived last November, gave his assessment of the current state of West Coast music at large. Tyler, specifically, was mentioned by Hecht as an example of an artist who’s “authentically themselves to the max,” prompting Cube to offer his take.

“I mean, that’s L.A.,” Cube said. “That’s the L.A. people don’t know about, ultra creative individuals who won’t conform to the culture of gangbanging. They gon’ be themselves. He reminds me of, like, The Pharcyde, it was a group. Everybody gotta know the Black Eyed Peas come from here.”

Cube continued, “You gon’ always have those groups who gon’ stay down with their own style, their own flavor, and gon’ win with it. Because they’re not conforming, they’re not being what you want them to be. They’re being who they are and you gotta salute that.”

Tyler’s 2024 was indeed an exceptional one, as he spent the year rolling out his Friday-bucking Chromakopia album and launching the latest edition of his Camp Flog Gnaw festival at Dodger Stadium. Next month, he’ll hit the road with Lil Yachty and Paris Texas for his Chromakopia World Tour experience, no doubt a highlight of the year’s live offerings.

Cube, meanwhile, closed out his 2024 with an appearance on Idea Generation with Noah Callahan-Bever. Revisit their full conversation here.