Ice Cube Video Honors Slain Teen

By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 4, 2008 4:05 PM CDT
Ice Cube Video Honors Slain Teen
US rap artist Ice Cube performs on stage in concert as part of his 'Straight outta Compton' tour at The Forum on September 3, 3007 in Melbourne, Australia.   (Getty Images)

The unlikely stars of Ice Cube's new video are the grieving relatives of a 17-year-old high school football star shot to death outside his home. The song "Why Me?" speaks out against senseless violence and gun crime devastating communities. "It just was a tragic, tragic story of why," Cube says. "Young people are dying for no reason all over the world that don't know why. It's ugly, everywhere."

Jamiel Jr. Shaw had been on track for a scholarship when he was killed near his LA home, possibly because he refused to join a gang. The suspect is an illegal immigrant, which has raised the case's profile. The rap video begins with the tightly framed, sorrow-filled faces of Shaw's parents and aunt. "To drive this home, it was only right to use real family and not use a bunch of actors," Cube says. (More Ice Cube stories.)

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