Ice Cube may have made his name as a rapper in the late 80s and early 90s, but it could all have been very different for the star - real name O'Shea Jackson - had he pursued with his studies as a youngster. Cube has recently been waxing lyrical about his teenager love of architecture. In an interview with the New York Times the 42 year-old revealed that he'd studied architectural drafting for a year in 1988, picking up a certificate in the process.
The rapper claims that he's not "picked up a T-square since," but a recent documentary shot called 'Pacific Standard Time Art: Art In La 1945-1980' belies this, reports On The Red Carpet, as Cube takes centre stage when extolling the virtues of Los Angeles architecture, saying "A lot of people think L.A. is just eyesore after eyesore. Full of mini malls, palm trees and billboards . So what? They don't know the L.A. I know. The good, the bad and the ugly about L.A." Going on, the rapper even praised the freeways of the city, claiming "each freeway has its own personality."
Speaking to the New York Times, Jackson was philosophical about the impact architecture had had on his life, despite his limited time officially studying the subject. "What I learned from architectural drafting is that everything has to have a plan to work," he enthused, "You just can't wing it. I can't get all the materials I need for a house and just start building," he said. "Whether it's a career, family, life -- you have to plan it out."