Ice Cube Goes Off on LA Critic Dejon Paul: "I'd Never Mentor You, Boy! Beat It!"

Ice Cube went post-for-post on X with LA critic Dejon Paul Monday night after Paul asked why Cube hasn't signed new LA rappers. "I'd never mentor you, boy! Never! Beat it!"

Ice Cube spent Monday night going post-for-post on X with LA rap critic Dejon Paul, and it got personal fast.

It started Sunday. Dejon Paul, the A Day In LA host behind the "Rap Report Card," was talking AzChike and the late Drakeo the Ruler. Cube's son O'Shea Jackson Jr. jumped in to defend AzChike. Paul fired back with the question that pulled Cube in: why hasn't your father, "w/ all his multi-millions and resources," signed or developed any new LA rappers "this decade or last?"

O'Shea Jr. answered Monday afternoon: "My father has given opportunities his ENTIRE CAREER. For 40 years." Paul doubled down and called the OGs' new music "flop music."

Then Cube logged on. From his verified @icecube account, he said he's an independent artist who isn't retired, still writes and produces his own music and movies, and runs the BIG3, so it would be "unfair for any rapper to be signed to me and expect the kind of attention they need." He told Paul to "stop trying to cause problems in L.A."

He didn't stop there. "Sold more than yo sh*t. When do you drop?" "Nobody robbed me. I'm paid." "I don't gate keep. Don't have to." When Paul called himself a journalist and Cube a "studio gangsta," Cube called him "a fat fan trying to make a name for himself" and dared him: "If I'm a buster I want you to snatch my chain." Then the line that took over the timeline: "I'd never mentor you, boy! Never! Beat it!"

Late Monday, Cube asked if Paul was threatening him on social media after Paul said he'd "call Solo" on him. Paul has repeated an old story about Cube getting knocked out and losing his chain. That story is UNVERIFIED, and Cube's replies push back on it.

Paul kept going into the early morning and went live on YouTube about it. "I said what I said," he posted around 1:27 AM CT Tuesday.

Under all the insults is a real LA question: are the West Coast legends doing enough to build the next wave? Paul brought up the old New West gatekeeping complaints from Nipsey Hussle and Glasses Malone. Cube says he's not afraid of anybody's talent.

No statement from Cube's team beyond his own posts.

Sources: Ice Cube, Dejon Paul and O'Shea Jackson Jr. public X posts (Oct 4–6, 2026); NerdBaller News (Oct 6, 2026); Primetimer (Anuj Basak, Oct 6, 2026).