Ice Cube Biography

O'Shea Jackson (born June 15, 1969), better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American hip hop artist, record producer, actor, screenwriter, film producer, and director. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined N.W.A (Niggaz Wit Attitudes). After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer, director, actor and producer in cinema. Additionally, he has served as one of the producers of the Showtime television series Barbershop and the TBS series Are We There Yet?, both of which are based upon films in which he portrayed the lead character.

Cube is noted as a proficient lyricist and storyteller and is regarded as a brutally honest rapper; his lyrics are often political as well as violent, and he is considered one of the founding artists in gangsta rap. He was ranked #8 on MTV's list of the 10 Greatest MCs of All Time, while fellow rapper Snoop Dogg ranked Ice Cube as the greatest MC of all time. About.com ranked him #11 on its list of the "Top 50 Greatest MCs of Our Time." Allmusic has called him one of hip-hop's best and most controversial artists, as well as "one of rap's greatest storytellers." In 2012, The Source ranked him #14 on their list of the Top 50 Lyricists of All Time.

Early life

O'Shea was born on June 15, 1969 in Los Angeles, in the South Central area, the son of Doris Jackson ( Benjamin), a hospital clerk and custodian, and Hosea Jackson, who worked as a groundskeeper at UCLA. According to a 2005 interview with Teenink, O'Shea's half-sister was murdered by her boyfriend in a murder–suicide when he was 12 years old. His cousins are Teren Delvon Jones, also known as Del tha Funkee Homosapien, who is a part of the rap group Hieroglyphics and who has also worked with Gorillaz; and Kam of rap group The Warzone. In his early teens, Ice Cube developed an interest in hip hop music, and began writing raps in Taft High School's keyboarding class. He attended the Phoenix Institute of Technology in the fall of 1987, and studied architectural drafting. With friend Sir Jinx, Ice Cube formed the C.I.A., and they performed at parties hosted by Dr. Dre. Young Ice Cube met Dr. Dre in 1984, who was 19 at the time. Dre soon entered the recording industry; working on records with 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.

Music career

N.W.A: 1987–1989

In 1987, Ice Cube and Dr. Dre released the single My Posse under the alias CIA. 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 included himself, Dr. Dre, MC Ren and DJ Yella.

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 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.

Since Ice Cube wrote the lyrics to approximately half of both Straight Outta Compton, and Eazy-E's solo album, Eazy-Duz-It, he was advised of the amounts he was truly owed by Heller, and took legal action soon after leaving the group and the label. 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 Los Angeles 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 hood-based 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 attacks and "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 the "Check Yo Self" remix, and the songs had a two-part music video. The album remains his most successful release, 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 2001, Ice Cube also joined Dr. Dre, Eminem & Snoop Dogg on 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, 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.

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 90s. 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 rap 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 the latter's death in 1995.

After a seven-year hiatus, Westside Connection returned with their second effort Terrorist Threats in 2003. The album fared well critically, but its commercial reception was less than that 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. WC, did release a new solo album on Lench Mob Records entitled Guilty by Affiliation on August 14, 2007.

Collaborations 1992–present

In 1992, Ice Cube assisted on debut albums from Del the Funkee 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-present

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 honoured 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 will return 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.

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.

Ice Cube released a new single off Everythang's Corrupt after a lengthy break since "Crowded." The new single, which dropped Monday, February 10th, 2014 is called "Sic Them Youngins On 'Em" and is also available on iTunes. The music video for the new single is expected to drop on February 11th, 2014.

Other ventures

Film and television career

Following his role as 'Doughboy' in Boyz n the Hood, in 1992 he 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 in 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. (On March 9, 2011 he announced that he was making the final sequel called Last Friday). That year, he also starred in his second collaboration with John Singleton, Higher Learning, as world-weary university student "Fudge"; a role for which he earned award nominations.

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 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). 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 the family comedies Are We There Yet? and Are We Done Yet?, co-starring Nia Long.

In early April 2007, Ice Cube was a guest on Angie Martinez' 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 cheque." 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 have 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 made an appearance in 21 Jump 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.

Personal life

Family

On 26 April 1992, he married Kimberly Woodruff, with whom he has four children.

A father of four, Ice Cube was asked by Fresh Air's Terry Gross to provide some perspective on the relationship between his work and his family. When asked whether or not 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," 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 on you." Two of his sons (O'Shea Jr. and Darrel) are also rappers under the names OMG and Doughboy. They were featured on his latest album I Am the West.

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 only 18.

Religion

In an interview with British newspaper The Guardian, Ice Cube stated that he is a Muslim, having converted in the 1990s. He described his true Muslim faith as a simple, personal one that does not involve attending prayer services or following rituals. Although he has spoken favorably of the Nation of Islam, he denied ever being in the organization.

Discography

Studio albums

• 1990: AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted
• 1991: Death Certificate
• 1992: The Predator
• 1993: Lethal Injection
• 1998: War & Peace Vol. 1 (The War Disc)
• 2000: War & Peace Vol. 2 (The Peace Disc)
• 2006: Laugh Now, Cry Later
• 2008: Raw Footage
• 2010: I Am the West
• 2014: Everythang's Corrupt

Extended Plays

• 1990: Kill at Will

with N.W.A

• 1987 N.W.A. and the Posse
• 1988 Straight Outta Compton

with Westside Connection

• 1996 Bow Down
• 2003 Terrorist Threats

Filmography

As an actor

Films

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
1991	Boyz n the Hood	Darin "Doughboy" Baker	Main Role
1992	Trespass	Savon	Main Role
1993	CB4	Himself	Cameo
1994	The Glass Shield	Teddy Woods	Main Role
1995	Higher Learning	Fudge	Main Role
	Friday	Craig Jones	Main Role
1997	Dangerous Ground	Vusi Madlazi	Main Role
	Anaconda	Danny Rich	Main Role
1998	The Players Club	Reggie	Minor Role
	I Got The Hook Up	Gun Runner	Minor Role
1999	Three Kings	SSgt. Chief Elgin	Main Role
	Thicker Than Water	Slink	Supporting Role
2000	Next Friday	Craig Jones	Main Role
2001	Ghosts of Mars	James 'Desolation' Williams	Main Role
2002	All About The Benjamins	Bucum	Main Role
	BarberShop	Calvin Palmer	Main Role
	Friday After Next	Craig Jones	Main Role
2004	Torque	Trey	Main Role
	BarberShop 2: Back in Business	Calvin Palmer	Main Role
2005	Are We There Yet?	Nick Persons	Main Role
	XXX: State of the Union	Darius Stone	Main Role
2007	Are We Done Yet?	Nick Persons	Main Role
2008	First Sunday	Durell	Main Role
	The Longshots	Curtis Plummer	Main Role
2009	Janky Promoters	Russell Redds	Main Role
2010	Lottery Ticket	Jerome "Thump" Washington	Supporting Role
2011	Rampart	Kyle Timkins	Supporting Role
2012	21 Jump Street	Capt. Dickson	Supporting Role
2014	Ride Along	Detective James	Lead Role
	22 Jump Street	Capt. Dickson	Supporting Role

Television

Title	Year	Role	Other notes
Are We There Yet? TV series	2010-2012	Terrence Kingston	Recurring Role

Video games

Title	Year	Role	Other notes
Call of Duty: Black Ops	2010	Chief Petty Officer Joseph Bowman/SOG multiplayer announcer	Voice and likeness actor
Doom 3: BFG Edition	2012	Screaming Marines/Infected Carriers	Uncredited

As director/writer/producer

• Friday (1995) writer, executive producer
• Dangerous Ground (1997) executive producer
• The Players Club (1998) writer, director, executive producer
• Next Friday (2000) writer, producer
• All About The Benjamins (2002) writer, producer
• Friday After Next (2002) writer, producer
• BarberShop 2: Back in Business (2004) executive producer
• BarberShop: The Series (2005) executive producer
• Are We There Yet? (2005) producer
• Beauty Shop (2005) executive producer
• Black. White. (2006) executive producer
• Are We Done Yet? (2007) producer
• Friday: The Animated Series (2007) executive producer
• Pirate Island (2008) producer
• The Longshots (2008) producer
• First Sunday (2008) producer
• Straight Outta L.A. (2010) director
• Are We There Yet? (TV series) (2010) executive producer
• Last Friday (TBA) producer

Awards

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