Ice Cube says he was “pushed” into making ‘Next Friday’

nme.com:

Ice Cube has shared the story of how he was “pushed” into making Next Friday – the sequel to the iconic 1995 movie Friday.The former NWA rapper was a guest on the latest episode of the YouTube show Mavericks with Mav Carter, where he spoke about his venture into acting and screenwriting – the latter of which came at the suggestion of director John Singleton.Carter asked Cube if he ever felt “pushed into” something he wasn’t passionate about.“I was pushed into doing Next Friday,” he replied, before quickly correcting himself: “Not pushed, but I always thought, ‘We did a great movie, don’t touch it.'”A post shared by THE HIP-HOP WOLF® (@thehiphopwolf)He continued: “My people was like, ‘Yo, have you thought about ever doing a part two?’ And it’s like, ‘Nah.’ [They] said, ‘You should think about it; people love the movie.’ So, I’m glad I did it, because part two led to part three, led to me meeting [comedic actors] Mike Epps and Katt Williams, Terry Crews.”However, Cube admitted that if it was up to him, he “probably wouldn’t have” made the 2000 film, especially after hearing that co-star Chris Tucker wanted no part of it either.“But, you know, by the time I heard he didn’t wanna do it, I was invested in doing another one,” he said. “We figured out the best way to keep going.”The West Coast rap legend concluded: “I’m grateful that I was pushed on that.

That’s fine, too. As long as, at a certain point, you gotta take the reins and buy into it and go full force.”Friday chronicles the wild adventure of unemployed friends Craig Jones (played by Cube) and Smokey (played by Chris Tucker) who become indebted to a local drug dealer and have to deal with the neighbourhood bully.