“Why criminalize your own citizens for something most people in Congress are probably doing on the low?” Ice Cube doesn’t pull punches. He never has. The rapper, actor and entrepreneur calls out the hypocrisy around cannabis with the same unfiltered grit that made him a force in music and film: direct, unapologetic, sharp as ever.
Cube grew up with the smell of weed in the air. “My older siblings were teenagers when I was a youngster running around, so I’d smell it all the time,” he says. By the time he was a teen himself, curiosity took over. “I was stealing my brother’s weed, my friend was stealing his brother’s weed, we were trying it,” he laughs. But the weed itself? “It was like backyard boogie. It wasn’t great. It wasn’t like this super-duper weed. They [the plants] would have stress. They would have all kinds of seeds popping and all kinds of sh*t.”
So he left it alone. Until he found the real thing.
As an adult, Cube came back to cannabis, this time with an eye for quality. He started paying attention to strains, effects and the craft behind the plant. No more backyard boogie. “I really started to get back into it when I could find great quality and it was amazing,” he says.
Still, cannabis was always part of the culture. Cube grew up on Cheech & Chong movies, but when he put his own stamp on it, he brought something different—something that hit home. “Friday” wasn’t just a stoner movie. It was real. “I grew up on Cheech & Chong movies,” he says. “That’s what really pushed us to create the Friday movies around the Black experience with weed.”
Time went by. Things started to change. The same plant that had fueled good times in Friday was now at the center of debates on health, business and law. Cannabis was no longer a punchline; it was medicine, a way out of the opioid crisis—one that claimed more than 73,000 U.S. lives in 2022 alone. Cube watched it all unfold.
“We saw a big jump in people understanding the medicinal benefits,” he says. “Seeing people who wanted to get away from opioids and dealing with cannabis, whether it’s THC or CBD.”
He wasn’t just watching. Cube made moves. His professional basketball league, BIG3, became the first to allow CBD use. “I got the BIG3, the first league to allow CBD use for our athletes,” he says.
Cube and the ‘Hollyweed Queen’: A Cannabis Power Move
In the cannabis industry, authenticity and quality are paramount. Ice Cube, renowned for his uncompromising standards, sought a partner who could match his ethos and bring Fryday Kush to life. He crossed paths with Priscilla Vilchis through Budding Equity, a company facilitating high-profile cannabis ventures, and quickly recognized she was the right fit.
Vilchis, widely known as the “Hollyweed Queen,” has built her reputation as the first Latina and youngest female CEO to obtain cannabis licenses in both Nevada and California. Her trajectory—from managing medical practices in Southern California to leading a cannabis enterprise—reveals a blend of resilience and business acumen.
“She’s doing things that no other person is doing,” Cube says. “Young, a go-getter, somebody who’s not afraid to fight the odds. She’s definitely somebody who won’t take no for an answer when it comes to this space. So, you gotta respect her hustle and how she gets down. I remember being young and fearless the same way; not worried about the norms, who’s supposed to be on top… Taking my place and kicking the door in… Priscilla is doing the same thing, and I wanna work with the best.”
What truly underscores her underdog success is how she did it: “I got my license when I was 27,” she explains. “I competed with billionaires—corporate America, real wealth. And there I was, 27 years old, doing well for myself, but nowhere near their level. And I won those licenses. That means something.”
Fryday Kush isn’t Cube’s first foray into cannabis. In 2021, he partnered with Caviar Gold to launch a line of infused products, but that collaboration has since ended. Any outstanding matters related to the brand’s launch are now being handled under Premium Produce, Vilchis’ vertically integrated cannabis company. With Fryday Kush, Cube wanted a fresh approach—one centered on hand-selected strains, stronger branding and a direct-to-consumer focus alongside Vilchis, whose expertise in cultivation and market expansion aligned with his own high standards.
As of mid-2025, Fryday Kush is available in California, Nevada, Arizona and Oklahoma. While Vilchis still dreams of eventually expanding into Latin America, for now, those plans remain “ongoing.”
Fully aware of the pitfalls of celebrity weed brands, Ice Cube and Vilchis spent more than a year honing Fryday Kush’s identity. The result is a lineup of 16 hand-picked strains, each crafted to meet different tastes and tolerance levels. “We want people to enjoy it, not for people to overindulge,” Vilchis says. “It’s always cool when you’re in control.”
Slated for further releases this year, Fryday Kush aims to fuse cultural influence with top-shelf cannabis. It’s a vision rooted in authenticity, both from Cube’s longstanding love affair with quality weed and Vilchis’s commitment to consumer trust.
From Cypress Hill To Capitol Hill: B-Real, Policy And Cube’s Next Moves
For Ice Cube, the deeper dive into cannabis began with an unexpected spark inside a recording studio. “I was in the studio with B-Real and they was blazing and passing,” he says. “I don’t know what, man—that weed was next level.” At the time, he still favored a drink now and then, but that one session shifted his entire perspective. “I used to drink, but once I found good weed, I started pushing the drinks away. I don’t really like to drink no more.”
That same dedication to top-shelf bud carried over to how he and Vilchis developed Fryday Kush. “We worked a year and a half tinkering on different formulas,” Cube explains. “I am a natural smoker. I enjoy a natural taste instead of flavors and all that stuff. I leave that for other brands.” The goal was a line that could satisfy everyone from connoisseurs craving potency to casual users seeking a smoother entry point.
“We’ve got a ton of strains and we’re about to drop so many under Ice Cube,” Vilchis notes. “We’ve got the ones that are going to knock you down, and we got the ones that are going to be able to go to the club with and still be social.”
Although Fryday Kush first hit shelves in Nevada, the plan now spans California, Arizona, Oklahoma and ongoing expansion efforts in other states.
Beyond the product, Cube is vocal about the legal hurdles that still plague cannabis. “It should be legal,” he says bluntly. “Americans have already shown they can use cannabis responsibly. If you look at legalized states, the whole ‘big boom’ in crime and chaos never happened. In fact, in some ways, cannabis use has even subsided with legalization. So why criminalize something that people enjoy and can use safely? Why criminalize your own citizens for something that most people in Congress are probably doing on the low? Matter of fact—let’s have Congress take a piss test right now.”
That irreverent honesty shows up in lighter moments, too—like when he’s asked who he’d most like to spark up with, living or dead. “Bob Marley,” Cube replies, “because you know he’s gonna jam while we do it. After that? Rick James. Just weed, though.”
Neither partner treats cannabis as a casual add-on. For Cube, it’s a lifestyle shaped by decades of personal connection. For Vilchis, it’s a business built on community engagement and premium standards. Together, they hope Fryday Kush can be more than a celebrity strain—something that resonates with a wide audience and stands out in an increasingly cluttered market.
After dedicating significant time to perfecting Fryday Kush, Ice Cube reflects on the journey: “We spent a long time getting Fryday Kush right, and we’re still building. I’m excited to see where it goes.” With its expanded footprint and the dynamic partnership behind it, Fryday Kush seems poised to make a lasting impact in the cannabis industry.
Photo by Vincenzo Pires, courtesy of Fryday Kusk
This article was originally published in Forbes on February 25, 2025, and appears here with permission. It has been lightly updated for accuracy and style.
