As he gears up to tour the UK this year, the rapper and actor answers your questions on racial injustice, what he’d say to Eazy-E, and how he wrote the ultimate diss track
Doughboy is the most heartbreaking character in Boyz N the Hood. I find your performance so raw and authentic. What informed it? HappyEnough
I actually grew up not too far from where we shot that movie, so I knew guys like Tre who didn’t wanna gang bang, just wanted to live his life and be happy. I knew cats like Doughboy that was dead set on gaining respect in the neighbourhood. When Laurence Fishburne played Tre’s father in the movie, he told me to not act and to just be Doughboy. That made me relax and do what I knew was right; go with my instincts.
You took white America’s racism and shoved it back in its face articulately. Have you ever wondered what you’d have done as a young man if you hadn’t had to fight against racial injustice? tooskinttogotocuba
It’s a weight and an anchor that holds back production. Without that constant obstacle from all directions – and sometimes it’s an unseen obstacle – I would be bigger and better, no doubt. We all would. Even white people, because when you lock somebody up, the correction officers are in jail too. So, to come up with systems to hold people back, you’re actually holding yourself back.
