NEWS
Keke Palmer has shared the long-lasting advice she got from Ice Cube as a teenager while on set with the iconic hip-hop innovator.
The former child star was a guest on sports commentator personality Shannon Sharpe’s infamous Club Shay Shay podcast to promote her upcoming second memoir, Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative.
During the interview, she recalled the time when Cube gave her some poignant advice on set of the 2008 Fred Durst-directed film The Longshots which “stuck with her” throughout her career.
“He was very cool, very chill,” she began. “He didn’t say too much: a man of few words, but very nice. One day, they were like, ‘Ice Cube wants to speak to you,’ and I’m like, ‘OK…’ So they call me into a room and he’s way far distant from me and it’s some bodyguards there. And I’m [thinking], ‘What we about to talk about?’”
Palmer continued: “He’s like, ‘I just want to tell you, Keke. You’re a beautiful young lady, and I see how kind you are and how nice you are to everybody on the set. But, I want you to know you’re growing into a young woman, and a lot of times the way that people see you – the way that these men see you on set – it’s not the way you see yourself. So protect yourself, be careful and don’t let them take advantage of you. Know who you are and know what you have, so people can’t use it against you.”
The 31-year-old revealed that she was thankful for the words of wisdom, although she “didn’t understand it because [she] was like 14 at the time.”
“It was so important for him to say to me,” she concluded. “He’s a father; he’s someone who has seen a lot in this industry, especially with young entertainers. I always remember that, and I was always so grateful to him for that. I haven’t seen him since but I would love to tell him that really stuck with me all these years and thank you for reminding me.”
The Longshots was Cube and Palmer’s second film together – their first time on screen together was in the 2004 cult classic Barbershop 2: Back In Business.
Palmer also recalled the advice given to her by rapper Nicki Minaj at this year’s Met Gala while appearing on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
With a thick New York drawl, Palmer imitated the Queens rapper, saying: “Look, I don’t read the press. I don’t know everything that’s going on, but I just want to tell you: nobody knows what it’s like when we turn off the lights and we gotta be with ourselves. So, you do whatever you need to do to be good with you.”
Minaj jokingly said she would hit the entertainment polymath with a “cease and desist” for impersonating her on X/Twitter, saying she was ruining her “bad guy thing”.
Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso honored Shyne with a key to the city during a ceremony held at the East Flatbush Young Men’s Mentorship Expo on Saturday. The recognition highlighted both his influence in hip hop and his contributions as a public figure and advocate. Reynoso also declared April 25, 2026 as “Shyne Day” in Brooklyn.
“Shyne embodies what is possible when a community believes in its young people, and the magic that can happen when young people are given the resources they need to thrive. East Flatbush raised Shyne, and it only made sense to present him with the Key to Brooklyn as we team up to deliver hope and opportunity to dozens of young men today,” Reynoso said at the event, as caught by BK Reader.
Shyne also addressed the crowd. “This is the community that raised me, and it’s important for me to pass that love forward,” he said. “There couldn’t be a better way to celebrate this milestone than coming back home and pouring into the next generation.” He also revealed that everyone in attendance would receive complimentary tickets to his 25th anniversary concert on May 2 at the Kings Theatre.
The show will mark 25 years since the release of his self titled debut studio album, which arrived on September 26, 2000. Even while Shyne was incarcerated at the time, the project debuted and reached number five on the Billboard 200 chart. It moved close to 160,000 units in its opening week.
Earlier this week, Shyne posted a video of himself standing outside the Kings Theatre on Instagram while promoting the upcoming performance. "Can’t wait to see you this Saturday, May 2 @kingsbklyn as we celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Shyne Album…..the celebration will continue @crownhilltheatre where I will meet, take pictures and party with you, my loyal supporters, who’ve made Shyne a Rap Legend," he captioned the post. Fans filled the comments with fire emojis in response.
