The N.W.A. breakup is proof of how money can rip a group apart. Whether it’s internal or label issues or some middleman in between, greed always appears at the root of dissension. Ice Cube was the first domino to fall when it came to N.W.A. At the peak of their powers, N.W.A.’s Straight Outta Compton and Eazy-E’s solo album Eazy-Duz-It sold over a million records without an industry boost. Moreover, the group grossed over $650k on tour in 1989. Their manager, Jerry Heller, netted $130k of that bulk.
So where did that leave Ice Cube? After such a monumental time, he walked away from that tour with a measly $23,000. Obviously, something was wrong with these numbers, and he wanted to know about it. So when Cube inquired about merch sales and where all the money was going, they told him to mind his business. Fed up with the chump change he was receiving for writing half of Eazy-E and N.W.A. albums, he harbored resentment for a long time. Eventually, it spiraled into beef between Eazy and Cube, then Cube and Dr. Dre (and Snoop Dogg by extension).
Ice Cube Opened Up About His Hard Feelings towards N.W.A. back in the day
In a 1990 interview with SPIN, Cube honed all of his anger towards Jerry Heller and how he sparked the breakup of N.W.A. “Financial reasons, man,” he shrugs as to why he left the group. “I wasn’t getting paid. When you contribute to the sale of three million albums, you expect more than $32,000. Jerry Heller [N.W.A. manager] lives in a half-million-dollar house in West Lake, and I’m still living at home with my mother. Jerry’s driving a Corvette and a Mercedes-Benz and I’ve got a Suzuki Sidekick. You know what I mean. Jerry’s making all the money, and I’m not. Jerry has no creative input into the group: he just makes all the f***ed-up decisions and gets all the f***ing money.”
Ultimately, it’s not that Ice Cube wanted to leave. This idea was far from the contrary, according to his lawyer at the time, Michael Ashburn. Unfortunately, when it came down to meeting his financial demands, Jerry Heller didn’t budge. Instead, he spun the narrative that this was all a measure of jealousy.
“The real reason that Ice Cube left N.W.A. was that he was incredibly jealous of the notoriety and success of Eazy-E,” says Heller. “He wanted to be Eazy-E. He was jealous because not only is Eazy a key member of N.W.A. with a successful solo career, he’s also the president of his own record company. Eazy-E is a major star and a successful businessman. Ice Cube isn’t.”
Eazy shrugs at the whole debacle, acting unaffected by Cube’s decision to leave. The way he saw it, “it means we get more money.” When pressed for more questions from SPIN about Cube, he dismisses it completely and asks for the next topics. Eventually, old wounds healed, especially when artists like Eazy would die in 1995. But at the time, the tension was palpable.
The post “You Expect More”: Ice Cube Reflects on N.W.A. Departure in 1990, Bandmates Respond in Kind appeared first on VICE.
