More than 20 years after Common and Ice Cube clashed in a historic rap beef, the two legends found themselves costars in Barbershop: The Next Cut – and used the experience to once and for all put aside any differences.
“You get to talk it out, get a chance to reevaluate what happened, what went wrong, the misunderstanding,” Cube, 46, told PEOPLE at a special Cinema Society screening on Monday in New York. “He’s a good dude. Of course, we laughed about it. It’s a funny thing.”
“It really was cool getting a chance to know each other,” Cube, who has played Calvin Palmer in all three Barbershop movies also said of working with the 44-year-old Common, who plays Rashad. “This was the first time we really worked together.”
According to Yo! MTV Raps, their dispute kicked off in 1994 when Common released “I Used to Love H.E.R,” a track about hip-hip that dissed gangsta rap and was interpreted as an insult by some West Coast rappers, including Ice Cube. In response, Cube and West Side Connection released “Westside Slaughterhouse,” and Common retaliated with “The Bitch in Yoo.”
At the premiere, costar Cedric the Entertainer praised the two men for finding peace.
“Because it was such a well-known rap beef, it showed that these two adult men have left their childish ways behind and are doing something important these days,” he said. “You’ve got to feel blessed to live to that point. People are killing each other too soon to even get to the point of saying, ‘I’m sorry,’ in time for redemption. They are amazing men, both of them are great.”
Eve, who plays Common’s wife, Terri, in the film admitted she didn’t even know of the history between the two men prior to filming.
“I didn’t even know they had a beef before. I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’ Because they’re both such great people,” she said. “But for them to do a record together and a video together for this film, it was the best thing in the world.”
“I saw a great camaraderie between them, and a great respect,” Eve continued. “It was non-stop laughter.”
Common also found the experience moving. “Sometimes, when I was sitting there and we were talking, I’m like, ‘This is me and Cube, man.’ I got a great joy from knowing that I’m working with somebody after the things we’ve been through. But even more than that, the person I always looked up to and thought his music was like, ‘Whoa!’
“I remember coming back from college, and going back to find AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted and putting that CD in my radio and just listening to it over and over. So just working with him has been a blessing.”
Common also said what he learned about the man.
“He’s very, very intelligent and determined when it comes to work,” he said of his costar. “He knows how to work together, knows the business. He really cares about making sure this [project] is done well, promoted well, and he’s willing to do that work.”
