Ice Cube
Ice Cube | |
|---|---|
Ice Cube in 2024 | |
| Born | O'Shea Jackson June 15, 1969 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Education | Taft High School Phoenix Institute of Technology |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Organization(s) | Lench Mob Records Cube Vision Big3 |
| Spouse |
Kimberly Woodruff
(m. 1992) |
| Children | 4, including O'Shea Jr. |
| Relatives | Del tha Funky Homosapien (cousin) Kam (cousin) |
| Musical career | |
| Genres |
|
| Labels |
|
| Member of | Mt. Westmore |
| Formerly of |
|
| Website | icecube |
| Signature | |
O'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His efforts on N.W.A's 1989 album Straight Outta Compton contributed to gangsta rap's popularity,[3][4][5] and his political rap solo albums AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (1990), Death Certificate (1991), and The Predator (1992) were all critically and commercially successful.[5][6][7][8] He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of N.W.A in 2016.[9]
A native of Los Angeles, Ice Cube formed his first rap group called C.I.A. in 1986.[10] In 1987, with Eazy-E and Dr. Dre, he formed the gangsta rap group N.W.A.[10] As its lead rapper, Ice Cube also wrote most of the lyrics on Straight Outta Compton,[3][5] a landmark album that shaped West Coast hip hop's early violent and controversial identity and helped differentiate it from East Coast rap.[4][3][10] After a monetary dispute over the group's management by Eazy-E and Jerry Heller, Ice Cube left N.W.A in late 1989 and embarked on a solo career, releasing eleven albums, with seven charting within the top-10 on the U.S. Billboard 200. His singles "Straight Outta Compton", "It Was a Good Day", "Check Yo Self", "You Know How We Do It", "Bop Gun (One Nation)", "Pushin' Weight", and "You Can Do It" all charted in the top-40 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.[10]
Ice Cube has also had an active film career since the early 1990s.[11][12] His first acting role was in the hood film Boyz n the Hood (1991), named after a 1987 N.W.A. song he wrote.[4][11] He also co-wrote and starred in the 1995 comedy film Friday,[13] which spawned a franchise and reshaped his public image into an actor.[12] He made his directorial debut with the 1998 film The Players Club, and also produced and curated the film's accompanying soundtrack.[14] His film credits including the comedies Three Kings (1999), the Barbershop and Are We There Yet? franchises, 21 Jump Street (2012), 22 Jump Street, Ride Along (both 2014) and Ride Along 2 (2016). He has also appeared in the XXX franchise, the crime drama Rampart (2012), the animated fantasy The Book of Life (2014), and the thriller War of the Worlds (2025).[13] Ice Cube has also acted as executive producer, including for the 2015 biopic Straight Outta Compton.
- ^ J-23 (September 22, 2002). "Ice Cube speaks on Dre & Aftermath". Hip Hop DX. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Davey D (September 16, 2002). "Ice Cube Is No. 1 Joins Dr Dre's Aftermath". Davey D. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
- ^ a b c Steve Huey, "N.W.A: Straight Outta Compton", AllMusic.com, Netaktion LLC, visited 14 Jun 2020.
- ^ a b c Loren Kajikawa, "Compton via New York", Sounding Race in Rap Songs (Oakland: University of California Press, 2015), pp 91–93.
- ^ a b c Todd Boyd, Am I Black Enough for You?: Popular Culture from the 'Hood and Beyond (Bloomington & Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1997), p 75 skims Ice Cube's early successes in music, while indexing "Ice Cube" reveals analysis of his political rap.
- ^ Lakeyta M. Bonnette, Pulse of the People: Political Rap Music and Black Politics (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015), p 71.
- ^ Allen Gordon, "Ice Cube: Death Certificate (Street Knowledge/Priority, 1991)", in Oliver Wang, ed., Classic Material: The Hip-hop Album Guide (Toronto: ECW Press, 2003), p 87.
- ^ Preezy Brown, "18 socio-political lyrics from Ice Cube's 'Death Certificate' that still resonate in 2016", Vibe.com, Prometheus Global Media, LLC., 1 Nov 2016.
- ^ "N.W.A | Rock & Roll Hall of Fame". www.rockhall.com. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
- ^ a b c d Steven Otfinoski, "Ice Cube", African Americans in the Performing Arts (New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2003), p 108.
- ^ a b Gail Hilson Woldu, The Words and Music of Ice Cube (Westport, CT & London, UK: Praeger Publishers, 2008), pp 44–45.
- ^ a b David J. Leonard, "Ice Cube", in Mickey Hess, ed., Icons of Hip Hop: An Encyclopedia of the Movement, Music, and Culture (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2007), p 311.
- ^ a b Cashmore, Pete (November 30, 2018). "Frozen in time: Why does nobody want to hear Ice Cube rap any more?". The Guardian.
- ^ Kubernik, Harvey (2006). Hollywood Shack Job: Rock Music in Film and on Your Screen. UNM Press. ISBN 978-0-8263-3542-5.