A Tahltan beader has received a special thank you from the rapper Ice Cube – something she says, was “straight outta dream.”
On Tuesday, the hip hop star made a Facebook post thanking Carmen Dennis for a beaded medallion she made bearing his image.
“Thank you for spending your time and talent on me,” the post reads. “I will cherish this forever.”
Dennis described the acknowledgment as “the best feeling ever.”
“Anything I say right now would be an understatement, feels like a dream,” she told APTN News. “To feel so much love from everywhere and then to receive such a wonderful acknowledgment from one of your favorite artists is over the moon insane.”
Dennis, an artist from Dease Lake in far northern B.C., has gone viral on social media after the medallion found its way on stage at a Feb. 20 show in Abbotsford, B.C.
Ice Cube is best known for his work with the group NWA and for songs like Straight Outta Compton and It Was a Good Day, as well as film roles like Boyz n the Hood.
“He’s one of my favorites. He really is one of my favorite artists,” Dennis said.
She said that’s why she travelled more than 1,500 km to attend the rapper’s concert along with family and friends. That also meant wearing something to celebrate seeing one of her all-time favorite rappers.
With 14 years of beading experience under her belt, Dennis decided on a black and white medallion bearing Ice Cube’s face.
While she didn’t have high hopes the piece would make its way to the rapper, her daughter and niece, who were also in attendance and closer to the stage, encouraged her to pass it to them.
They held the medallion up which caught the eye of others in the crowd who pointed at it while Ice Cube performed.
During his final song Today Was A Good Day, Dennis’ daughter threw it on stage where it caught the rapper’s attention.
“We told her not to throw it earlier that evening, but I’m kind of glad she didn’t listen to me and she threw it,” Dennis said.
A video she posted to Facebook shows Ice Cube thanking the person who made the medallion as he puts it on for the remainder of the song. Dennis said the moment left her shaking.
“We started jumping. We weren’t even aware of anybody around us. We were just so happy. And when he put it over his neck and he started singing Today Was A Good Day. That was just the best,” she said.
Dennis is now hoping to attend another Ice Cube show in Prince George, B.C., in April, which is closer to her home community of Dease Lake.
She said the experience has been a positive one.
“This is just really unreal and it’s wonderful. It really kind of nice seeing all these wonderful comments and yeah, it’s a good feeling.”
Ice Cube currently has several shows lined up in the coming months for his Straight Into Canada tour.
