Ice Cube has not only cemented his legacy in hip-hop with the iconic and groundbreaking N.W.A., and of course his huge success as a solo artist, but the legend has also penetrated pop culture with the classic film resume that has catapulted the West Coast staple into entertainment history.

It was during the early nineties that Ice Cube first exploded onto the acting scene when the late John Singleton took him under his wing for his breakout role in the classic film ‘Boyz N The Hood.’ Cast as Dough Boy, much of Cube’s early acting roles were reflections of his upbringing and the fights against police brutality that was represented in much of his music. Appearing on Kevin Hart’s Peacock ‘Hart To Heart’ show, Cube recalls the impact the Singleton film had when it first played at the Cannes Film Festival and how his early acting gigs inspired him to write ‘Friday.’

“I’m at the height of my solo career,” Cube explains. “Just dropped AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted, I think I either just dropped Kill At Will, or was about to drop my second EP. It was rolling. I was working on Death Certificate. So we get there, and I’m like ‘when are we showing the movie?’  They’re like ‘we’re going to show it Thursday.’ We got there on Monday. And then I started thinking these people speak French, how are they going to understand the movie?”

After realizing the film would be screened with subtitles, Ice Cube initially feared that no one would understand the movie but with the likes of Quincy Jones, Eddie Murphy, and the late Gregory Hines all in attendance, Cube was hyped following their reactions to the movie, saying, “All these dudes is in there, and they gave it a standing ovation after the movie was over. I was like damn, if they love it here…wait until they play this in the States. It’s over.”

Cube goes on to share how early career typecasting inspired him to write the cult classic ‘Friday’ because he wanted to show a different side to life in the hood.

Check out the clip above!