In an interview from 2021, which went viral just days before the midterm elections, rapper and actor Ice Cube pointed out that Democrats have been having trouble attracting "the black vote" for years. He says the Biden Administration has yet to meet with him to discuss his "contract with black America" initiative, which the rapper calls a "blueprint to achieve racial economic justice."
They haven’t done anything to act on it. I’ve had one conversation with an assistant to the president, but no talk with the president. No other movement... We’re still working though.
Ice Cube says Biden still hasn't spoken with him about his contract with black America .... pic.twitter.com/zRVjcGRrrg
- SHO'NUFF (@IAMSHO_NUFF) October 24, 2022
Ice Cube asserted that black people feel they have gained nothing after giving their vote to the left for decades. They feel ignored and cheated by promises that have not been kept by Democrats:
We’ve been doing that for a long time as a people and we haven’t really gained as much as we should. And I believe it’s important to engage with both sides, and not just one side, because if the one side you’re engaging with doesn’t respond, there’s nowhere to turn.
Black voters are assumed to be Democrats
Elsewhere in the interview, Ice Cube said that the only call he received from a candidate on the 2020 campaign trail was from former President Donald Trump. The two discussed potential actions to support the black community in the future.
His meeting with Trump generated negative criticism on social media, with many calling him a "sellout." The rapper responded by saying that people have the false belief that blacks are "staunchly loyal to Democrats." He went on: "I just think people didn’t understand exactly where I was coming from. And people are really used to seeing black people go on one side, to the Democratic party."
When I got bus to school. Homies called me a sellout. When I started rapping in 1983. Bangers called me a sellout. When I left NWA. They called me a sellout. When I start doing movies. Rappers called me a sellout. When I started my own league. The arena said it was a sellout.😂
- Ice Cube (@icecube) October 16, 2020
Ice Cube claimed that Trump "made some adjustments" to the "Platinum Plan" developed by the Republican Party after discussing the rapper's roadmap for economic, educational and financial investments in black communities.
