O'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. One of the founding artists of gangsta rap, Ice Cube initially gained recognition as the primary songwriting and performing member of the seminal hip-hop groups C.I.A. and N.W.A, the latter of which gained extreme notoriety for pushing the boundaries of lyrical content in mainstream popular music, as well as visual imagery in music videos.
After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, Ice Cube embarked on a successful solo career, releasing the albums AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (1990) and Death Certificate (1991), both of which have attained platinum certification in the United States, while also being classed as defining albums of the 1990s. Much of his musical output has contained harsh socio-political commentary and storytelling, which has earned him several accolades from multiple publications and artists, often being cited as a consistent influence, as well as one of the best rappers of all time.
Following the release of Death Certificate, Ice Cube's popularity was further enhanced by his role in the critically acclaimed film Boyz n the Hood (1991), while also writing and starring in the Friday film series, largely reinventing his public image as a movie star. Ice Cube also featured in the Barbershop, Ride Along, and XXX film series, while also serving as a producer to several other films, including Straight Outta Compton (2015), a biographical film depicting the career of N.W.A.
As a businessman, Ice Cube has founded his clothing line, Solo by Cube, as well as the 3 on 3 basketball league BIG3, which predominately features retired NBA players.
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Early life
O'Shea Jackson was born on June 15, 1969, in Baldwin Hills, South Central Los Angeles, the son of Doris, a hospital clerk and custodian, and Hosea Jackson, who worked as a groundskeeper at UCLA and a machinist. He has an older brother as well as a half-sister who was murdered when Ice Cube was 12. His cousin is Teren Delvon Jones, also known as Del tha Funky Homosapien, who is a part of the rap group Hieroglyphics and who has also worked with Gorillaz; another cousin is Kam of rap group The Warzone. In his early teens, Ice Cube developed an interest in hip hop music, and began writing raps in Los Angeles George Washington Preparatory High School's typewriting class. Jackson penned his first rap song in the ninth grade after a friend named "Kiddo", challenged him to write a song during a typewriting class. Kiddo lost. On the origins of his rapper name, Ice Cube says that it came from his older brother. He is quoted as saying "He threatened to slam me into a freezer and pull me out when I was an ice cube. I just started using that name, and it just caught on."
At the age of 16, Jackson sold his first song to future N.W.A. member Eazy-E. Jackson also attended William Howard Taft High School in Woodland Hills, California. He enrolled at the Phoenix Institute of Technology in the fall of 1987 in Arizona. Being passionate about architecture, he studied architectural drafting. He completed his diploma within one year and returned to Los Angeles to pursue a rap career. Not sure of whether his rap career would work out, he would turn to become an architecture draftsman as a career backup.
With friend Sir Jinx, Ice Cube formed the C.I.A., and they performed at parties hosted by Dr. Dre. Dre soon entered the recording industry as a member of the World Class Wreckin' Cru. Dre saw Cube's potential as a writer and had him assist with writing Wreckin Cru's big L.A. hit track, "Cabbage Patch" as well as joining Cube on a side partnership which the duo called Stereo Crew. Stereo Crew produced a twelve-inch record, "She's a Skag" released on Epic Records in 1986.
While Dr. Dre was DJing at L.A. dance club Eve After Dark, Ice Cube would rap over his music, often parodying songs by other artists. One such example of this was the song "My Penis," a parody of Run-DMC's "My Adidas." In a 2015 interview, club-owner Alonzo Williams said that he felt that this song damaged his reputation and asked for it not to be performed.
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Music career
N.W.A: 1986-1989
In 1987, Ice Cube released the Dr. Dre produced single My Posse under with his group C.I.A. (Cru' In Action!). After the collaboration, Ice Cube showed Eazy-E the lyrics to "Boyz-n-the-Hood". Eazy-E, although initially rejecting the lyrics, eventually recorded the song for N.W.A. and the Posse, the debut album for the group N.W.A that also included Dr. Dre, MC Ren, and DJ Yella. Ice Cube was the only member of N.W.A who is not from Compton, California (where it was formed).
By this point Ice Cube was a full-time member of N.W.A along with Dr. Dre and MC Ren. Ice Cube wrote Dr. Dre's and Eazy-E's rhymes for the group's landmark album, Straight Outta Compton, released in 1988. However, towards the end of 1989, Ice Cube found himself at odds with the group's manager, Jerry Heller, after rejecting Heller's proposed contract terms.
Ice Cube wrote the lyrics to approximately half of both Straight Outta Compton, and Eazy-E's solo album, Eazy-Duz-It, but he was only paid $32,000 and his contract did not confirm that he was an official member of N.W.A. This led Ice Cube to leave the group and bring a private lawsuit against Jerry Heller, which was later settled out of court. In response, the remaining N.W.A members attacked him on the EP 100 Miles and Runnin', and on their next and final album, Niggaz4Life.
Solo career: 1989-present
In 1989, Ice Cube recorded his debut solo album, AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, in New York with the Bomb Squad (Public Enemy's production team). It was released in May 1990 and was an instant hit, riding and contributing to the rising tide of rap's popularity in mainstream society. The album was charged with controversy, and he was accused of misogyny and racism. Subsequently, Ice Cube appointed the female rapper Yo-Yo (who appeared on AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted) to the head of his own record label and helped produce her debut album, Make Way for the Motherlode. This was followed by a critically acclaimed role as Doughboy in John Singleton's violent crime drama, Boyz n the Hood. In the same year as AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, Ice Cube released the acclaimed EP, Kill At Will which sold well, becoming the first hip hop EP to go Platinum.
His second album Death Certificate was released in 1991. The album was regarded as more focused, yet even more controversial, and critics accused him again of being anti-white, misogynist, and antisemitic. The album is thematically divided into two sides: the 'Death Side' ("a vision of where we are today") and the 'Life Side' ("a vision of where we need to go"). It features "No Vaseline", a scathing response to N.W.A's ''100 Miles and Runnin'' as well as "Black Korea," a track regarded by some as prophetic of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, but also interpreted as racist by many. Ice Cube toured with Lollapalooza in 1992, which widened his fan base.
Ice Cube released his third album, The Predator, in November 1992. Referring specifically to that year's Los Angeles riots, in the first single, "Wicked", he rapped "April 29 was power to the people, and we might just see a sequel". The Predator debuted at number one on both the pop and R&B charts, the first album in history to do so. Singles from The Predator included "It Was a Good Day" and "Check Yo Self", and the songs had a two-part music video. The album was generally well received by critics and remains his most successful release commercially, with over three million copies sold in the US. However, after The Predator, Ice Cube's rap audience diminished. Cube's fourth album Lethal Injection, which was released at the end of 1993 and represented Ice Cube's first attempt at imitating the G-Funk sound of Dr. Dre's The Chronic, was not well received by critics. He had more successful hits from Lethal Injection, including "Really Doe", "Bop Gun (One Nation)", "You Know How We Do It" & "What Can I Do?". After 1994, he took a hiatus from music and concentrated on film work and developing the careers of other rap musicians, Mack 10, Mr. Short Khop, Kausion, and Da Lench Mob.
In 1994, Ice Cube had reunited with former N.W.A member Dr. Dre, who was now part of Death Row Records, in their duet "Natural Born Killaz". In 1998, he released his long-awaited fifth solo album, War & Peace Vol. 1 (The War Disc). The delayed sixth album Volume 2, was released in 2000. The albums featured appearances from Westside Connection as well as a reunion with fellow N.W.A members, Dr. Dre and MC Ren, though many fans maintained that the two albums were not on par with his past work, especially the second volume. In 2000, Ice Cube also joined Dr. Dre, Eminem & Snoop Dogg for the Up in Smoke Tour.
In 2006, Ice Cube released his seventh solo album, Laugh Now, Cry Later, on his Lench Mob Records label, debuting at number four on the Billboard Charts and selling 144,000 units in the first week. The album featured production from Lil Jon and Scott Storch, who produced the lead single "Why We Thugs". He released his eighth studio album, Raw Footage, on August 19, 2008, featuring the controversial single "Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It".
On October 12, 2009, he released a non-album track called 'Raider Nation' in tribute to the Oakland Raiders.
On May 11, 2010, Ice Cube released a 30 for 30 documentary, "Straight Outta L.A.", for ESPN on the relationship between the gangsta rap scene in Los Angeles and the tenure of the Raiders there. He has been voted as eighth of MTV's "greatest emcees of all time."
On September 28, 2010, Ice Cube released his ninth solo album, I Am the West. The album featured the single "I Rep That West". It debuted at #22 on the Billboard 200 and sold 22,000 copies in its first week.
In September 2012, Ice Cube released his second anthem for the Oakland Raiders, "Come and Get It", as a part of Pepsi's NFL Anthems campaign.
Westside Connection: 1996-2007
In 1996, Ice Cube formed Westside Connection with Mack 10 and WC, and together they released an album called Bow Down. Some of the album was used to engage in the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry of the 1990s. The album's eponymous single reached number 21 on the singles charts, and the album itself was certified Platinum by the end of 1996. With Bow Down, Westside Connection brought their own agenda to the hip hop scene. Ice Cube, Mack 10 and WC had grown tired of being overlooked by most East Coast media outlets; the album was designed to instil a sense of pride in West Coast hip hop fans and to start a larger movement that some people who felt underappreciated might identify with. Songs like "Bow Down" and "Gangstas Make the World Go 'Round" make reference to this. Ice Cube would also eventually make amends with Eazy-E shortly before his death in March 1995.
After a seven-year hiatus, Westside Connection returned with their second effort Terrorist Threats in 2003. The album fared well critically, but its sales fell short of Bow Down. "Gangsta Nation" was the only single released from the album, which was produced by Fredwreck and featured Nate Dogg; it was a radio hit. After a rift between Ice Cube and Mack 10 about Ice Cube's commitments to film work rather than touring with the group, Westside Connection disbanded.
Collaborations: 1992-present
In 1992, Ice Cube assisted on debut albums from Del the Funky Homosapien (I Wish My Brother George Was Here), Da Lench Mob (Guerillas in tha Mist, 1992) and Kam (Neva Again, 1993), all of which enjoyed critical acclaim and some moderate commercial success. He handled most of the production on Guerillas in tha Mist.
In 1993, Lench Mob member, J-Dee, was sentenced to life imprisonment for attempted murder, and Ice Cube did not produce their next album, Planet of tha Apes. Around this time in 1993, he also worked with Tupac Shakur on his album Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z., appearing on the track "Last Wordz" with Ice-T. He also did a song with Dr. Dre for the first time since he left N.W.A: "Natural Born Killaz", for the Murder Was The Case soundtrack, and also contributed to the Office Space soundtrack. He also featured on Kool G Rap's song "Two To The Head" from the Kool G Rap & DJ Polo album "Live And Let Die". He also collaborated with David Bowie and Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails for a remix of Bowie's "I'm Afraid of Americans". Ice Cube appeared on the song "Children of the Korn" by the band Korn, joining them on the Family Values Tour 1998, and they also collaborated on 'Fuck Dying' from Cube's fifth album. He also lent his voice to British DJ Paul Oakenfold's solo debut album, Bunkka, on the track "Get Em Up". Ice Cube appeared in several songs in WC Guilty by Affiliation like "Keep it 100", "80's babies" and "Jack and the bean stalk". Ice Cube also appeared in D.A.Z. in the song "Iz You Ready to die" and in DJ Quik in the song "Boogie Till You Conk Out" in 2011.
2004-2012
In 2004, he appeared in the Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz song, "Real Nigga Roll Call". In late 2005, Ice Cube and R. J. Cutler teamed up to create the six-part documentary series titled Black. White., which was broadcast on cable network FX. In May 2006 Ice Cube complained that Oprah Winfrey would not welcome him and other rappers on her show. Ice Cube's other movie projects include Teacher of the Year, released in 2007, and The Extractors, released in 2008.
He has signed on to star in and produce Welcome Back, Kotter, a big-screen adaptation of the 1970s television series. Ice Cube will play the title character, originally portrayed by Gabe Kaplan and his film company, Cube Vision Productions, has sealed a deal with Dimension Films to bring the show to the big screen.
In October 2006, Xzibit, Lil Jon and WC from the Westside Connection honored Ice Cube at VH1's Annual Hip Hop Honors, performing some classic Ice Cube tracks, and Ice Cube also performed "Why We Thugs" and "Go To Church" from his album Laugh Now, Cry Later, where the New York crowd were greeted with Cube's vintage Cali sound. After launching that comeback album, Ice Cube toured across the world to promote it. The tour is known as "Straight Outta Compton Tour", and accompanying him is his friend and fellow rapper WC from the Westside Connection. Some places he has recently performed include the Paradiso in Amsterdam and various venues in England. After touring the U.S. and Europe, he performed all around Australia, from Sydney's Enmore Theatre to The Forum Arena in Melbourne, before heading to Japan.
Ice Cube collaborated with Tech N9ne on the song "Blackboy" that appears on Tech N9ne's July 2008 album Killer. The eighth Ice Cube studio LP, titled Raw Footage, was released on August 19, 2008, and featured the singles Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It and Do Ya Thang. Ice Cube appeared on a song by rapper The Game titled "State of Emergency" off The Game's album, L.A.X. In 2009, Ice Cube performed at the Gathering of the Juggalos, and returned to perform at the 2011 festival.
Despite rumors of conflicts with other rappers in 2010, Ice Cube stated in an interview with DJ Whoo Kid on Sirius Shade 45 that he has "no beef."
Ice Cube's ninth studio album I Am the West was released on September 28, 2010. Ice Cube has stated this album has a different direction than any one of his other albums. He received beats from West coast veteran producers such as DJ Quik, Dr. Dre, E-A-Ski, and Sir Jinx, not having worked on a solo album with the latter in nearly 20 years. The album was released independently under his label Lench Mob. Ice Cube has stated that "being independent is beautiful because we can do things 'out the box' He also signed a upcoming recording artist named 7Tre The Ghost, that record companies would usually frown at. Instead of working from a ready-made cookie-cutter marketing plan, we can tailor make a marketing plan specifically for me."
In November 2011, Ice Cube stated via Twitter that he was seven songs into the current album he's recording. He also stated he "always got an album coming out" which suggests that he isn't thinking of rap retirement to focus on acting in the near future.
Everythang's Corrupt: 2012-present
In 2012, Ice Cube recorded a verse for a remix of the Insane Clown Posse song "Chris Benoit", from ICP's The Mighty Death Pop! album, appearing on the album Mike E. Clark's Extra Pop Emporium. Also in 2012, Ice Cube had released more details on his upcoming tenth studio album titled, Everythang's Corrupt. A music video for the album's first single of the same name was released on the day before the 2012 USA Election. Ice Cube explained the inspiration and reason for the song saying, "You know, this record is for the political heads. This to me is more a leak at the right time, in time, to drop it. We could have dropped a more catchier tune, but the time wouldn't have been right. The time is right for "Everythang's Corrupt," so that's what we wanted to do. We wanted to drop it at this point and time, and then come with a visual to highlight what we're saying in the music." Everythang's Corrupt was released on iTunes in January 2013. The second single "Crowded" was released to iTunes on March 29. Ice Cube confirmed on his Twitter account that the album will be released in the fall of 2013 and will also be released via Lench Mob Records. However, the album would be pushed back once again with no release date currently set.
In 2014, Ice Cube appeared on MC Ren's remix for Rebel Music. This was the first time the duo had worked together since the N.W.A reunion in 2000.
Ice Cube released a new single off Everythang's Corrupt after a lengthy break since "Crowded." The new single, which was released on Monday, February 10, 2014 is called Sic Them Youngins On 'Em and is also available on iTunes. The music video for the new single was released on February 11, 2014. Ice Cube will release a new Music Video for his upcoming single Drop Girl featuring Redfoo and 2 Chainz which is directed by Will Kindrick. On July 22, 2014 Ice Cube released the video to his Club Banger Drop Girl featuring Redfoo and 2 Chainz. During an interview with Hallway Productionz Ice Cube stated that Everythang's Corrupt would be pushed back again, because he was focused on completing Straight Outta Compton. In October 2016, Billboard reported that the album would be released in 2017.
Other ventures
Film and television career
Following his role as Doughboy in Boyz n the Hood in 1991, he then starred alongside Ice-T, and Bill Paxton in Walter Hill's action film, Trespass, and then in The Glass Shield.
Ice Cube was offered a co-star role with Janet Jackson for the 1993 romantic film Poetic Justice, but he refused to play the role, which was given to Tupac Shakur instead.
John Singleton had encouraged Ice Cube to try his hand at screenwriting, telling him, "If you can write a record, you can write a movie." With this encouragement, Ice Cube wrote the screenplay for what became the 1995 comedy Friday, in which he also starred, alongside then up-and-coming comedian Chris Tucker. Friday earned $28 million worldwide on a $3.5 million budget, and spawned two sequels, Next Friday and Friday After Next. In 1995, he also starred in his second collaboration with John Singleton, Higher Learning, as university student Fudge.
In 1997, Ice Cube starred in the action thriller Dangerous Ground as a South African exiled to America who returns 15 years later. He also had a supporting role in the film Anaconda that same year. He wrote, executive produced, and made his directorial debut in The Players Club in 1998. and in 1999 starred alongside George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg in the critically acclaimed Three Kings. In 2000, he wrote, produced and appeared in the Friday sequel Next Friday. In 2002, Ice Cube starred in the commercially successful movie Barbershop, as well as All About the Benjamins and the third film in the Friday trilogy, Friday After Next (which he again wrote and produced). In 2004, he appeared in Barbershop 2: Back in Business, and Torque; in 2005, he starred in the action movie XXX: State of the Union as well as his cameo appearance in XXx: Return of Xander Cage and the family comedy Are We There Yet?, a role he reprised in its 2007 sequel, Are We Done Yet? Ice Cube also starred in the 2014 box office hit Ride Along, alongside comedian Kevin Hart, and reprised his role in the sequel Ride Along 2 (2016). Also in 2016, he returned to his Barbershop role for a 3rd installment called Barbershop: The Next Cut. In 2017, he starred alongside Charlie Day in the comedy film Fist Fight.
In early April 2007, Ice Cube was a guest on Angie Martinez's Hot97 radio show and stated that he was interested in bringing back Chris Tucker as Smokey in a possible Friday sequel, but that was only possible "if New Line cuts the check." In an interview with BlackFilm.com, Ice Cube stated that he would be interested in involving all major characters from the Friday franchise in a possible sequel, but added "I know I'm not going to get Chris [Tucker] back, but I'd love to get everybody else back." As of December 2011, Chris Tucker has agreed to be in Last Friday.
In the Movies is a compilation album of Ice Cube songs that have appeared in movie soundtracks, which was released on September 4, 2007.
Ice Cube and basketball star LeBron James paired up to pitch a one-hour special to ABC based on James' life. Ice Cube's Are We There Yet? television series premiered on TBS on June 2, 2010. Based on the 2005 feature film of the same name, the show revolves around a family adjusting to the matriarch's new husband (Terry Crews) and trying to deal with normal family situations. On August 16, 2010, Are We There Yet? was renewed for 90 additional episodes. In an August 2010 interview with UrbLife.com, Ice Cube expressed excitement about the show being picked up for the run, which will pan out to around six seasons. He also credits Tyler Perry for opening the door for him at TBS. He also had a role in 21 Jump Street and in its sequel 22 Jump Street. In 2014, he appeared with Elmo as a guest on PBS children's show Sesame Street.
Clothing line
Ice Cube has licensed a clothing line, Solo by Cube, which features hooded sweatshirts with built-in headphones in the hood strings.
Endorsements
Since 2011, Ice Cube has appeared in advertisements for Coors Light beer. He was previously a spokesman for St. Ides malt liquor.
BIG3
On January 11, 2017, Ice Cube announced BIG3, a 3-on-3 concept professional basketball league featuring former NBA greats and players. Play began in June and featured 8 teams, with an 8-week regular schedule, a playoff system and a championship game.
Personal life
On April 26, 1992, he married Kimberly Woodruff (47), with whom he has four children, O'Shea Jr. (27), Darrell (25), Kareema (24), and Shareef (22). His son O'Shea, Jr. played his father in the 2015 N.W.A. biopic, Straight Outta Compton.
When Ice Cube, a father of four, was asked in January 2005 on NPR by Fresh Air's Terry Gross whether he allowed his children to listen to his music, he responded: "What's worked for me is instilling in my kids a level of self-respect", and helping them to understand the content of not just music but the violence found on the evening news. When asked what he tells his children about profanity, he recalled telling his kids that there are "appropriate times to use any kind of language. ... Adults should never hear you use these words. If you want to use these words around your friends, that's really all on you."
Jackson is also the cousin of rapper Del the Funky Homosapien who started his career writing for Jackson's group Da Lench Mob. With Cube's help Del released his debut album I Wish My Brother George Was Here when he was 18.
In the mid-1990s, Ice Cube converted to Islam, and was associated at that time with the Nation of Islam, although he denies ever being a part of it. He does not regularly attend services at a mosque, and calls himself a "... natural Muslim, 'cause it's just me and God. You know, going to the mosque, the ritual and the tradition, it's just not in me to do. So I don't do it." When asked in a 2017 interview if he was a practicing Muslim, Ice Cube replied, "Yeah. But, you know, I'm gonna live a long life, and I might change religions three or four times before I die. I'm on the Islam tip--but I'm on the Christian tip, too. I'm on the Buddhist tip as well. Everyone has something to offer to the world, and to be honest, we're not fighting over religions, man. We're fighting over resources. That's just a smokescreen. And it's not just oil, too--it's water, it's land, it's everything. It's greed."
In a 2016 web video for Wired magazine, he stated that his favorite movie is Jaws, and that his favorite song overall and to perform live is "It Was a Good Day".
Discography
Studio albums
- AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (1990)
- Death Certificate (1991)
- The Predator (1992)
- Lethal Injection (1993)
- War & Peace Vol. 1 (The War Disc) (1998)
- War & Peace Vol. 2 (The Peace Disc) (2000)
- Laugh Now, Cry Later (2006)
- Raw Footage (2008)
- I Am the West (2010)
Collaborative albums
- N.W.A. and the Posse (with N.W.A) (1987)
- Straight Outta Compton (with N.W.A) (1988)
- Bow Down (with Westside Connection) (1996)
- Terrorist Threats (with Westside Connection) (2003)
Extended plays
- Kill at Will (1990)
Filmography
Films
Television
Video games
Awards and nominations
Film award history
Ice Cube has received nominations for several films in the past. To date, he has won two awards:
- 2000: Blockbuster Entertainment Award: Favorite Action Team (for Three Kings)
- 2002: MECCA Movie Award: Acting Award
Music awards
- VH1 Hip Hop Honors 2006
- 2006 Honoree Snoop Dogg
- BET Hip-Hop Awards 2009
- BET Honores 2014
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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