C: How would say your movie opportunities have changed over the last 15 years?
Ice Cube: I mean you get more things offered; But it really comes down to relationships in this business. When it's time to do a movie, guys are going to think about people that they've worked with before. You have to go and make relationships with people you want to make movies with and I don't think that's going to change, no matter how big you get or how many movies you do. I think I've gotten more offers because I've been successful.

C: Do you feel like your movies get pigeonholed as black films?
Ice Cube: I hope so; I'm black [laughs]. All races enjoy my movies, if they take the time to check 'em out. But, you know there's nothing I could do to stop that part. I'm not going to try to be whiter in my movies for people not to consider them black movies. That doesn't make sense.

C: Do you think putting out "black movies" affects movie and DVD sales?
Ice Cube: No, because I think people find good movies and they leave bad movies on the shelf. I think DVDs allow people who normally wouldn't go to the theatre to see a movie, watch the film, and enjoy it. People might feel funny about going into a young black movie, if they're a senior citizen, but they may say "I want to see that movie, but I'll just get it when it comes out on DVD."

C: So are you and Chris Tucker cool?
Ice Cube: Yeah, he just came to my suite a couple days ago for the Laker game. He came up there, hung out for a while. We talk about working together, but I don't know if he's ready for a Friday. He does want us to do a movie together, so to me that's the first step.

C: Why do you think he's been so reluctant to do Friday again?
Ice Cube: I don't know if he had a good time making Friday. He didn't make a whole lot of money from that movie because it was his first movie. So I don't know if the overall experience was good for him. He never told me this, but it's the only reason why I would say that he didn't want to come back to it. But shit, he's Chris Tucker now! He's going get paid top dollar, and he going have a ball if he do another one.

C: He's in a different space now?
Ice Cube: Before he was a comedian trying to get seen and get known, so he might have looked at it as "that was my worst movie experience," but that was only because he was a new actor. We always get treated like rookies. It happens. I got treated like one in Boyz N Da Hood. But when you prove your worth in Hollywood, the treatment is better. That's my speculation on it. He's never told me any of this.

C: On your last album you kind of poked fun at kids coming out of pocket and acting hard in the rap game, do you think things have gotten worse since then?
Ice Cube: I feel like you got a different kind of rap. You got real serious rap and you got comic-book rap. And, you know most of them dudes just fall in the comic-book section of this whole thing.