Nov 10, 20263 min read

Ice Cube Says Reunion Runs Through Dre

Cube is ready and the microphone is easy to find. The whole reunion question sits with one man in the producer chair.

OMYGOTTI

Toronto hip-hop artist | 730K+ Facebook

The Door Is Open, the Key Is Dre

Ice Cube is not shutting the door on another N.W.A run. In a new interview with Complex, the Los Angeles legend said a reunion has to come together on its own, with nothing forced and nothing scheduled. His words were simple: it has to happen organically, and he would love to get back in a room with his groupmates.

Listen and Laugh podcast premiere with Dr. Dre, via YouTube

Then he put the whole thing where it belongs. Cube said it is all about Dr. Dre and where Dre's head is at. If Dre feels like doing it, they do it. If he does not, they do not. Cube's reasoning is hard to argue with: nobody wants an N.W.A song without Dr. Dre's production behind it. The group changed rap from Compton outward, and the sound Dre built is the foundation the name stands on.

The Podcast Put Them Back in One Room

The comments landed the same week Cube and comedian Mike Epps launched their new podcast, Listen and Laugh, and the first guest through the door was Dre himself. The premiere episode arrived November 6, with new episodes set for Fridays. Two men who helped build West Coast rap sat down like family, and Cube used the moment to give Dre his flowers for taking him under his wing as a young artist.

Dre did not come empty handed either. Asked about the greatest hip hop producer of all time, he pointed past the obvious names and crowned Larry Smith, the Run-DMC and Whodini architect, as the greatest in his eyes outside of Quincy Jones. The two also split on artificial intelligence, with Dre calling himself extremely excited about what AI opens up creatively while Cube took the more cautious side. They agreed to disagree, which is what four decades of history buys you.

Why This One Feels Different

Reunion talk around legacy groups usually dies in the group chat. This one has working parts around it. Cube is building the Last Friday film with Epps and has said he wants Dre to produce a song for its soundtrack. The two already revisited their history on the podcast, including how hard it was to get the Straight Outta Compton film right. The working relationship is warm, public, and active.

None of that makes a reunion a plan. Cube was clear that nothing is in the works today, and any honest reading has to hold that line. A reunion would also carry the weight of Eazy-E, gone since 1995, whose presence no producer can replace. But the temperature has changed. The most guarded man in the story is the one holding the key, and lately he keeps showing up in rooms with Cube. When Dre decides, everybody else is already ready.