Ice Cube Says a 'Coward' Set Fire to Crew Bus in Portland: 'Everybody Was Upstairs Sleeping'

Ice Cube spoke out after a crew bus caught fire in the Portland area.

Ice Cube performing on stage, wearing sunglasses and a black jersey with his name. The background is lit with purple lights.
Image via Getty/Andrew Chin

Ice Cube says he believes “a coward set fire” to a crew bus traveling through Portland as part of his Truth to Power: Four Decades of Attitude tour.

In an X update on Saturday, Sept. 27, the Man Up artist spoke out amid the chatter surrounding recent reports of a bus fire in the Oregon city. Some reports have referred to the vehicle as Cube’s own personal bus, though Cube himself has since disputed this.

“Wasn’t my bus,” Cube wrote on X, as seen below. “It was a crew bus. Parked in front of the hotel. Everybody was upstairs sleeping. Nobody hurt. No equipment damaged. A coward set fire to the bus. My bus was actually in Oakland getting serviced.”

Previously, Cube gave similar remarks to regional outlet KGW.

“I’m not taking this incident as a personal attack,” Cube told the Portland-based station. “A coward like that would burn anybody’s property that was out there at the time.”

When reached for comment by Complex, a rep for Portland Fire & Rescue confirmed the agency responded to “reports of a vehicle/charter bus fire” on the morning of Sept. 23. Upon arrival, the front passenger side tire was observed “aflame,” at which point the fire was extinguished and smoke was ventilated from inside the vehicle.

“The charter bus is owned by a professional agency and not privately owned,” the rep told Complex. “I cannot confirm the party who had chartered the bus as I have not been updated by our investigations unit. This incident is still open and active with the investigators attempting to gather footage from area security cameras to identify the cause of the fire.”

Cube’s North America tour continues this week with scheduled stops in Glendale, Fort Worth, and Oklahoma City. The run is currently slated to close with a show at Houston’s Toyota Center arena in October.

ComplexCon returns to Las Vegas on October 25–26, 2025, with over 300 brands and live performances by Young Thug, YEAT & Friends, Peso Pluma, Central Cee, Ken Carson, and more. Get your tickets now.

Related News

Stay ahead on Exclusives

Download the Complex App