Ice Cube's ‘Check Yo Self’ T-Shirts Raise Money For Underfunded Hospitals, Including In South LA

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"Check Yo Self" is one of rapper Ice Cube’s biggest hits. Now the L.A. native hopes it can do some good during the coronavirus pandemic.

Ice Cube announced this week that he's created T-shirts with the song's refrain: “Check Yo Self Before You Wreck Yo Self.” The net proceeds will go to help underfinanced hospitals and nurses in inner cities and rural areas — including Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital in South L.A.

He talked today with our newsroom in an interview with Nick Roman, who hosts KPCC's All Things Considered show on 89.3 FM.

Ice Cube told us he designated that the hospital because it's in the heart of the community where he grew up.

"They’re always understaffed and underfunded. And I'm pretty sure [there’s] a lot of medical centers across the country that [are] in the same position,” he said. "So I wanted to make sure the money went directly to those kinds of hospitals, the ones that really need it."

Ice Cube also talked about growing up with family members who worked at UCLA as patient escorts and groundskeepers.