Ice Cube Says Street Background Helped Develop His Comedic Chops: If ‘You Don’t Laugh, You Will Cry’

Ice Cube is hilarious as an angry police captain alongside Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill in the big screen reboot of “21 Jump Street,” and despite his hardcore rap start with N.W.A., he’s always enjoyed making people laugh.

“We was always cracking jokes — even with N.W.A.,” Ice Cube told Billy Bush and Kit Hoover on Friday’s Access Hollywood Live, when asked if he was a funny kid growing up. “The thing is, [when] you come from the neighborhood, [if] you don’t laugh, you will cry.

“So, we used to make fun of everything and laugh about everything… We had funny skits we used to do with each other,” he added. “We had a ball — it just wasn’t all hard core.”

And the set of “21 Jump Street” was no different – the rapper/actor said filming and promoting the movie with Channing and Jonah kept him in stitches.

“We had a ball. Seeing Jonah on a jet drunk — we should have [made] a movie about that!” he said, laughing.

“He just seems funny to me, like anything Jonah does [is funny],” Kit said.

“He’s incredible,” Ice Cube agreed. “He’s an incredible comedic actor, incredible dramatic actor now. This dude can do it all. So we’re just riding a wave.”

“21 Jump Street” is in theaters now.