Ice Cube has frequently stated his belief in the nebulous — and often nefarious — Illuminati, and it’s a claim he reiterated recently.
In an interview with The Breakfast Club, which aired on Tuesday (July 11,2023), the former NWA rapper told Charlamagne Tha God and DJ Envy that he believes in the existence of gatekeepers who hold certain artists back over others.
“I think they’re all around,” he said. “I don’t think it’s worse in any profession. I think there’s people that make sure you stay in your lane. And if they think you’re getting out of your lane — sometimes they’ll watch you, sometimes they’ll put guard rails around you, and sometimes they’ll actually put a gate up.”
When Charlamagne volunteered that it could be “the Illuminati,” Cube didn’t hesitate to jump on the theory. “Probably so,” he said. “I don’t know none of ’em. They don’t come up to me and say: ‘Hey, I’m Illuminati.’”
This isn’t the first time that Ice Cube has addressed the concept of “gatekeepers” in the entertainment industry. Last month, he vowed to expose those who are trying to stop him from taking his BIG3 basketball league to the next level.
The legendary West Coast rapper took to Twitter to set the record straight on why he’s experiencing resistance with his wildly-successful sports endeavor.
Cube started off by saying that because he’s not part of the “club of gatekeepers,” this potentially hinders his ability to move around in the sports world. He then said that ever since he put out the “Contract With Black America” and started the BIG3 in 2017, he has received pushback and the cold shoulder from both the NBA and major television networks.
Ice Cube continued by saying in order to remedy his situation, he’s going to go on a “Fuck the Gatekeepers” podcast tour to expose those that are working overtime to halt his momentum.
“I’ma go talk to everybody,” Cube began. “Everybody. And get a chance to get my message out to the people. Be able to let people hear from me. And, you might agree, you might not. But, the important thing is, for me to go on these platforms and say what I feel about what I think.”
He continued: “Some people may get pissed off. ‘Cause I’m going to talk to everybody. I’m not playing. It’s gone be a crazy summer. It’s gone be fun.”
The concept of “The Illuminati” is one that has taken over Hip Hop — so much so, in fact, that Rolling Stone did an extensive exposé on how prevalent the conspiracy theory is.
“While the prevalent conspiracy theories are “empirically inaccurate,” they are nonetheless valuable because they are “rooted in an attempt to articulate inequality” and to hold “government responsible for the well-being of all its citizens,” they wrote, pointing out that the Illuminati conspiracy theory is rooted in paranoiac homophobia and ultimately “fails its adherents” because it, quite simply, isn’t true and doesn’t exist.
Perhaps music publications have a reason to deny that “The Illuminati” exists — to Ice Cube’s point. However, science publications do not.
According to IFLScience, while the original Illuminati was formed in 1776 in what is, today, known as Germany — and it was formed as a Protestant response to the growing influence of the Catholic Church — there’s no evidence that “The Illuminati” in any of its forms exists in 2023 and beyond.
