From rap-battle beef to Barbershop: How Ice Cube and Common made nice

Anyone who checked out EW, People, and ESSENCE’s first look at Barbershop: The Next Cut or the trailer that dropped the following day might have noticed that the third movie in the series brings two major players from the hip-hop world together on the big screen for the first time.

The Next Cut will introduce Jabari, the character played by Common and one of the new employees in the shop owned by Calvin (Ice Cube).

The pairing might surprise hip-hop fans, who may remember the dis-track exchange that Cube and Common shared in the ‘90s, which began with the latter’s song “I Used to Love H.E.R.” in 1994.

But that was a long time ago, and according to Malcolm D. Lee, the director of Barbershop: The Next Cut, there was no sign of lingering hard feelings on set.

“There was a lot of mutual respect between Cube and Common. I know there was a rap battle beef in the past, but you would never know that on set,” Lee says. “Ice Cube welcomed Common with open arms. And Common, he’s a consummate professional.”

In fact, their history might have even help the movie.

“Common’s character and Cube’s character have a past,” Lee says, “so that dynamic and that chemistry came through very well on set.”

Barbershop: The Next Cut is set to open in theaters on April 15.