Ice Cube took offence at a single line in Common’s classic “I Used to Love H.E.R.”, triggering a feud in the 1990s that he later blamed on a dark period in his life, telling Talib Kweli in 2020: “I was just in my feelings,” per vice.com.
Common’s 1994 track is widely regarded as one of the greatest rap songs, reflecting on hip-hop’s direction at a time when the East Coast/West Coast rivalry was dividing the culture. Ice Cube was the exception to its acclaim.
The Los Angeles rapper objected to the second verse, in which Common reflects on hip-hop’s move to the West Coast and the styles that emerged there. Cube focused on a line that referenced “Boyz n the Hood,” which he read as a slight against him and the West Coast.
Common has long maintained the lyric was misunderstood, and it reads as harmless to many listeners today. Ice Cube nevertheless answered on the Westside Connection track “Westside Slaughterhouse”, taking aim at the song and its subject.
Common initially ignored the diss. After Ice Cube repeated his criticism on BET alongside WC and Mack-10, Common replied with “The B***h in Yoo,” criticising Cube’s style, arguing he had not made a great album in years and insisting the feud stemmed from a misreading. He also told Cube to stick to acting. The response was restrained, reportedly to avoid inflaming the wider East Coast/West Coast tensions.
Ice Cube hit back again on the Westside Connection’s “Hoo-Bangin’ (WSCG Style)”, but the feud eventually faded.
In 1997, Minister Louis Farrakhan arranged a meeting between the two rappers at the Nation of Islam headquarters to settle matters. Ice Cube later cast Common in “Barbershop 3”, signalling a truce.
In 2020, Ice Cube told Kweli the disses came from a dark time in his life. “Common was a good dude; I don’t think he deserved it,” he said.