The celebration was still fresh when flames started licking the front of Ice Cube’s tour bus. Just hours after the hip-hop legend had commanded the Moda Center stage, his vehicle sat engulfed in fire at the corner of Southwest Oak Street and Broadway, smoke billowing into Portland’s night sky.
It was Sept. 23, and Ice Cube had just marked four decades in entertainment with a performance that reminded everyone why he remains vital. But as fans filtered out of the arena, his tour bus became the center of a different kind of attention—one that sparked immediate questions about whether someone had deliberately targeted the rap icon.
Random act or calculated attack
Portland Fire & Rescue arrived quickly, dousing the flames that had consumed the front passenger-side tire and clearing smoke from inside the vehicle. Nobody was hurt. Ice Cube wasn’t even on the bus when it happened, a fortunate detail that likely prevented injuries.
The timing seemed suspicious enough to fuel speculation across social media. Had someone waited for the show to end before making a move? Was this about Ice Cube specifically, an artist whose unflinching commentary on race and policing has never shied from controversy?…