Ice Cube Compares Tyler, The Creator To Legendary L.A. Rap Group

Ice Cube is not one to hold his tongue. If he has a problem with another artist, he will make it known. “No Vaseline” and “Westside Slaughterhouse” have made this quality very clear. Conversely, Cube has been quick to praise those he feels are contributing positively to hip hop. Tyler, The Creator is the latest name to receive the Ice Cube seal of approval. The “Sticky” rapper was singled out by Cube for his artful take on the genre. He was even compared to a beloved group from the 1990s.

The Tyler, The Creator discussion came about during an interview with HipHopDX. Ice Cube spoke on the wave of the current generation of Los Angeles rappers, and claimed that Tyler has been reviving a sound that has sorely been lacking. “That’s L.A,” Ice Cube asserted. “That’s the L.A. people don’t know about. Ultra creative individuals who won’t conform to the culture of gangbanging. They’re going to be themselves.” The N.W.A. frontman has been impressed with the way Tyler has been able to maintain a sense of individuality while making popular music.

When pressed for a comparison, Ice Cube thought of the Pharcyde. “He reminds me of, like, Pharycde,” he explained. “You’re going to always have those groups who are going to stay down with their own style and their own flavor, and going to win with it.” Ice Cube embodied a specific strain of gangsta rap, but he maintains that groups like the Pharcyde were just as important to the L.A. identity. “Because they’re not conforming, they’re not being what you want them to be,” the rapper posited. “They’re being who they are. And you gotta salute that.”

Tyler, The Creator has been having a banner year. The rapper’s latest album, CHROMAKOPIA, was a critical and commercial success. He also gave a memorable performance during the Pop Out Show on Juneteenth. A show that was put on by another rapper Ice Cube respects: Kendrick Lamar. Cube told Billboard that he was impressed by Lamar’s diss record, “Not Like Us,” and considered it to be an all timer. “As a hit, it’s humongous,” Cube asserted. “As a diss, it’s top-notch… It’s hard to miss when you got that combination. It’s the perfect music for the perfect diss.”