Although NFL team, the Oakland Raiders, have been in the Bay Area for years now, it still has its hardcore fanbase in Los Angeles. Some even feel the silver-n-black are still L.A.’s home team, no matter where they’re located now.

Rapper Ice Cube agrees with that 100 percent.

“The silver and black may have another home,” Cube told the Los Angeles Times recently, “but the Raiders will always belong to the people of Los Angeles.”

The legendary west coast rapper recently played the role of producer for the latest in ESPN’s documentary series, “30 for 30,” in which several noted filmmakers produce specials about a specific athlete, team or sports story.

In the upcoming ESPN-doc, titled “Straight Outta L.A. (a play on the title of N.W.A.’s Straight Outta Compton), Ice Cube “chronicles how the Raiders — between 1982 and the team’s announced departure in 1995 — were embraced by gangsta rappers as hip-hop exploded on the music scene,” the paper reports.

The team’s black and silver colors and eye patch-wearing pirate logo became the trademark for hip-hop’s toughest characters in the late 80s and 90s. According to Cube, the  colors, uniform, and the team’s mentality drew in characters such as himself, and other gangster rappers.

“The Raiders had a cast of characters that looked like a gang of pirates,” he said. “Any kind of outlaw mentality we loved. It wasn’t that they were bad. They just played by their own rules.”

Cube’s dedication to the team has been there for years. While he’s still very much a Raiders fan today, he was excited when they made the move to L.A. in 1982, and even bought season tickets when N.W.A. blew up.

“We’d come with the family, and with all the homies in their gear. The crowd was everything, from rowdy to tame. If you had the courage to be here, you belonged in Raider Nation,” remembers the rapper.

At the start of this NFL season, Cube showed his loyalty when he dropped a new team anthem called “Raider Nation.” Despite their losing record, the rapper says he’s a diehard fan for life.

“It’s like when your woman leaves you even after treating you bad,” Cube tells the paper. “You hope she’s doing well, then you find out she’s going out with someone else. And you wish she was back.”

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