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BY Francis Akhalbey, 1:38pm November 03, 2025,

O’Shea Jackson explains why he doesn’t worry about being regarded as a ‘nepo baby’

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by Francis Akhalbey, 1:38pm November 03, 2025,
O'Shea Jackson is Ice Cube's oldest child -- Left photo credit: Gage Skidmore | Right photo credit: MILLION DOLLAZ WORTH OF GAME

During a recent appearance on Da Get Got Pod with Marshawn Lynch & Mike Robinson podcast, actor O’Shea Jackson said he’s totally fine with being tagged as a “nepo baby” because of his father Ice Cube, who is an award-winning actor and rapper. 

Jackson, who is Ice Cube’s oldest child, emphasized that he doesn’t “fight” being regarded as a “nepo baby,” Complex reported. 

“I recommend it for everybody. You not about to make me feel bad about that, bro,” the 34-year-old said. “My dad works hard, you know? My dad loved me. I’m sorry that it didn’t work out the same way for you.”’

Jackson stated that though it appears to be a “dig” when someone is tagged as a “nepo baby,” he personally does not “feel bad” about it. 

“I will say being a second generation, as far as in a life of wealth, a lot of your fire and a lot of your drive got to be internal,” the Den of Thieves star said. “The things that my father had to deal with, that’s an external flame and that will help a lot of us get out of situations.”

READ ALSO: Selena Gomez reveals why her childhood crush was Ice Cube

Jackson also touched on playing the role of his famous father in the 2015 N.W.A. biopic, Straight Outta Compton, and having to leave the University of Southern California because of that. The actor was in his second year at the university during that time, and he got that movie gig after two years. 

“So that mean I’m at home watching all my friends graduate without me on Instagram,” Jackson said. “That’s fear. They hitting me like, ‘Yo, so what’s going on with the movie?’ And I’m like, ‘I don’t know.’ That’s fear.”

He added: “My siblings depended on me to get it done. My cousins depended on me to get it done to put our family’s name in entertainment forever through this film. … This is gasoline to my fire. And then once I did it, I still got people questioning me? So now that’s even more. So, yeah, I feed off that hate.”

Though Jackson eventually landed the role, he revealed in a previous interview that the movie’s director, F. Gary Gray, thought it was a “joke” when his father recommended that he portray him.

“He didn’t tell me during that ’cause [my father] knew that would have just pissed me off,” Jackson said on Sway’s Universe. “But it’s just little things that I had to use to build my fire. I left school, so it took me two years to get the part for Straight Out of Compton.”

READ ALSO: Ice Cube Shares Secret To Surviving 32-Year Marriage with Wife (WATCH VIDEO)

Last Edited by:Mildred Europa Taylor Updated: November 3, 2025

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