The critical and box office success of Straight Outta Compton has saved Ice Cube's son O'Shea Jackson, Jr from being maligned and hated, says his famous father.
Ice Cube has told the Kyle and Jackie O show that his son put his own reputation on the line in the moviewhich is a a biopic about Ice Cube's 80s hip-hop group NWA.
Jackson took acting classes in preparation to play his father and Cube says, had the movie bombed, his son would have been part of the fall out.
"I'm proud of him, he did a great job," Ice Cube said.
"We could mess up our legacy if we didn't do it right and my son could go from having this pretty cushiony fluffy, just rollin' with life kind of a deal, to being scrutinised and everyone telling him how much he sucks in the movie, over the internet.
O'Shea Jackson, Jr. as Ice Cube and Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre, in the film Straight Outta Compton. Photo / AP
"He could have gone from being a cool dude to being one of the most hated guys out here, so there was a lot at stake."
Ice Cube says he sometimes winds back the clock at home and listens to the music NWA released and there's no censored version of one of their gangsta rap protest songs about the LAPD.
"Every now and then, I got to reminisce and bump the old records," he said.