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O'Shea Jackson (born June 15, 1969), better known by his stage name, Ice Cube (The Don-Mega) is an American MC, songwriter, actor, screenwriter and film director. Regarded as one of the greatest hip hop artists, he began his career as a founding member of the famously controversial rap group N.W.A, and later launched a successful solo career in music and cinema. In 1992, he married Kimberly Woodruff, with whom he has four children. In 1992, he converted to Islam.From the mid-1990s onwards, Cube focused on acting, and his musical output has slowed down considerably. He remains one of the most visible West Coast rappers, having helped originate gangsta rap. He is particularly well-known for his incendiary raps on political and racial topics, particularly the treatment of blacks in the United States. The driving lyrical force that helped put West Coast gangsta rap on the map, O’Shea “Ice Cube” Jackson grew up in South Central Los Angeles and while still a teenager teamed with Eazy-E and Dr. Dre to form the groundbreaking N.W.A., writing "F*** the Police" for their debut album "Straight Outta Compton" (1989), a song which won him no friends among Policeman's Benevolent Societies but endeared him to his target audience. After leaving the group in a dispute over money, he made two extremely explosive solo albums—"AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted" (1990) and "Kill at Will" (1991)—angry accusatory records that decried social conditions. But Ice Cube was also ready to prove that the man behind the trademark scowl was much more than the message. He had always stood out among his peers as a great natural storyteller with a tremendous presence onstage, and filmmakers recognized his potential in spite of the unruly outlaw image. And with several additional acting, writing and producing projects in the works, it looked like the rapper with little pop appeal would prove a different and far more rare crossover—a musician who could make his mark both in front of and behind the movie camera. Ice Cube was born as O'Shea Jackson in South Central Los Angeles, where he was raised, the son of Doris (née Benjamin), a hospital clerk, and Andrew Jackson, who later worked at UCLA. At age sixteen, he 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, Cube formed the C.I.A., and they performed at parties hosted by Dr. Dre. In 1987 Cube and Dr. Dre released the EP My Posse, under the alias CIA. After the collaboration, 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 (short for Niggaz With Attitude) that included him, Cube, Dre, and other rappers MC Ren and DJ Yella. By this point Cube was a full-time member of N.W.A along with Dr. Dre and (to a lesser extent) MC Ren. Cube wrote Dr. Dre and Eazy-E's rhymes for the group's landmark album, Straight Outta Compton, released in 1988. However, as 1990 approached, Cube found himself at odds with the group's manager, Jerry Heller, after Heller responded to the group's financial questions by drafting up a new arrangement. As he explains in his book: "Heller gave me this contract, and I said I wanted a lawyer to see it. He almost fell out of his chair. I guess he figure, how this young muthafucka turn down all this money? [$75,000] Everybody else signed. I told them I wanted to make sure my shit was right first." Since Cube wrote the lyrics to approximately half of both Straight Outta Compton, and Eazy-E's solo album, Eazy-Duz-It, Cube was advised of the amounts he was truly owed by Heller, and proceeded to take legal action, soon after leaving the group. In response, the remaining N.W.A members attacked Cube on the EP 100 Miles and Runnin', as well as their next and final album, Efil4zaggin. Ice Cube made his celebrated feature debut as Dough Boy, the sensitive, doomed ex-con gangbanger in writer-director John Singleton's South Central masterpiece, "Boyz 'N the Hood" (1991). The title for the film was taken from Cube's N.W.A. song of the same name and the part of Dough Boy written for him by Singleton. He followed with Walter Hill's "Trespass" (1992), playing a hotheaded subordinate to fellow rapper Ice-T's crime lord, and though he played a man unjustly accused of murder in "The Glass Shield" and reunited with Singleton for "Higher Learning" (both 1995), Ice Cube had his sites set on being more than just an actor. With musical cohort DJ Pooh, he wrote the screenplay for "Friday" (also 1995), a comedy about life in the "hood" that owed much in tone to the lunacy of the old Cheech & Chong movies. The low-budget movie, which first-time executive producer Ice Cube almost directed before F. Gary Gray became available, became a cult favorite and brought in more than ten times its original investment. Ice Cube acquired experience at the helm of thirteen music videos, including ones for Prince and Color Me Badd, and viewed a lot of Scorsese and "A Clockwork Orange" (1971) with his mentor Singleton before tackling "The Players Club" (1998), his solo screenwriting and directing debut. Focusing on Diana, a lovely African-American single mother who lands a job stripping at a club to pay for her college tuition, the director convincingly evoked the seedy strip joint milieu in an episodic comedy-drama that made up in vigor what it lacked in polish. Despite its lack of crossover appeal, "The Players Club" demonstrated Ice Cube's command of the medium, guaranteeing his return behind the camera. He also co-starred in the corny horror film "Anaconda" and, in a departure from his usual street tough roles, played Vusi, a South African living in Los Angeles who returns to his homeland and finds his missing brother, in "Dangerous Ground" (both 1997). Cube recorded his debut solo album in New York City, with his group Da Lench Mob, and the Bomb Squad (Public Enemy's production team). AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted was released in 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 Cube was accused of misogyny, and anti-white racism. Cube subsequently 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. The film began the rapper's increasing tendency to star in action movies as time went on. In the same year as AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, Cube released the acclaimed EP, Kill At Will. Kill At Will sold well becoming the first hip hop EP to go both Gold and Platinum. Cube's 1991 follow-up, Death Certificate was regarded as more focused, yet even more controversial, and critics accused him again of being anti-white, anti-female, and anti-Semitic. The album is thematically divided into 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 L.A. riots, but also interpreted as racist by many; it was still being cited years after its release. Cube toured with Lollapalooza in 1992, which widened his fan base. During that year, he converted to Islam. I ask whether - having converted in the early 90s - he's still muslim himself. "Yeah. Oh yeah." And still involved with Nation of Islam, the the militant faction he once called "the best place for any young black male"? This time he hesitates. "Ah, when you say involved with the Nation, it's tricky. I never was in the Nation of Islam... I mean, what I call myself is 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." Cube released The Predator in November 1992, which had been recorded amidst the LA uprising of 1992. Referring specifically to the riots, in the first single, "Wicked", Cube 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 Cube's most successful release, with over three million copies sold in the US. However, after The Predator, Cube's rap audience slowly began to diminish. Lethal Injection which was released in the end of 1993 and represented 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, such as Mack 10, and Mr. Short Khop. In 1998, Cube released his long-awaited solo album, War & Peace Volume 1. The delayed second part, War & Peace 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 weren't on par with his past work, especially the second volume. In 2000, Cube also joined Dr. Dre, Eminem & Snoop Dogg on the Up In Smoke Tour. In 1999, the rapper-actor reached a larger audience and proved quite a talented actor with a challenging role as one of a group of disenfranchised US soldiers in David O. Russell's acclaimed Gulf War comedy-drama "Three Kings". The following year, his success as a screenwriter, producer and star of "Friday" proved no fluke when his humble follow-up "Next Friday" brought in $19 million in its opening weekend—without the help of its predecessor's co-star Chris Tucker, who was replaced as sidekick by lesser-known comedian Mike Epps. Ice Cube again turned in a solid straight man performance in the often very funny sequel. The soundtrack featured the single rack "Chin Check" by the newly-regrouped N.W.A., with Dr. Dre protege Snoop Dogg standing in for late original member Eazy-E. Though the misfire sci-fi thriller "John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars" marked Ice Cube's only acting outing of 2001 (the same year the rapper released his long-awaited "Greatest Hits" collection), he would more than make up for it the following year by writing, producing and starring in the comedy releases "All About the Benjamins" and "Friday After Next"—both films would reunite him with Mike Epps, with the duo playing a bounty hunter and bumbling criminal in the former and reprising their "Next Friday" roles in the holiday-themed latter. Cube's next effort, "Barbershop" (2002), which cast the rapper as Calvin Palmer, the inheritor of a downtrodden South Side Chicago barbershop where colorful local characters gather to exchange gossip and opinions, proved to be a runaway hit and spawned the 2004 sequel "Barbershop 2: Back in Business." Cube also provided one of the few precious merits of the lame videogame-like motorcycle action flick, "Torque"(2004). In “Are We There Yet?" (2005), Ice Cube toned down his hard image by appealing to moms and dads in this family-friendly road comedy. Though he was charismatic and watchable per usual, the movie failed to warm the hearts of critics—which, in the end, mattered not: “Are We There Yet?” opened number one and subsequently took in a hefty sum at the box office. In 2006, Ice Cube released his 8th solo album, Laugh Now, Cry Later, on his Da 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". In 1994, Cube formed Westside Connection with Mack 10, and WC, and together they released an album called Bow Down. Most of the album was used to engage in the war of words between the East and West Coasts of the 90s. The album's eponymous single reached number twenty-one 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 instill a sense of pride in West Coast rap fans and to start a larger movement that anyone who felt underappreciated might identify with. Songs like "Bow Down" and "Gangstas Make the World Go 'Round" make reference to this. Ice cube even made ammends with Eazy-e in november of 1994 several months before eazy's death about bringing N.W.A back but unfortunately eazy was taken from us too soon. 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 featured Nate Dogg and was a radio hit. After a rift occurred between Cube and Mack 10, regarding Cube's commitments to film work rather than touring with the group, Westside Connection disbanded. WC, however is still friends with Ice Cube and released a new solo album on Lench Mob Records entitled Guilty by Affiliation on August 14 2007. In 1992, while taking a break from his own output, Cube assisted on debut albums from Da Lench Mob (Guerillas in tha Mist, 1992) and Kam (Neva Again, 1993), both 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 Cube did not produce their next album, Planet of tha Apes. Around this time in 1993, Cube also worked with Tupac Shakur on his album Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z., appearing on the track "Last Words" 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. Cube appeared on the song "Children of the Korn" by the band Korn, and lent his voice to British DJ Paul Oakenfold's solo debut album, Bunkka, on the track "Get Em Up". 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. John Singleton had encouraged 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-upcoming comedian Chris Tucker. Friday became a hit, earning $28 million worldwide on a $3.5 million budget. 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. He had a supporting role in 1997's Anaconda. 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, Ice Cube starred in the action movie XXX: State of the Union and then went soft in the family friendly comedy, Are We There 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 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.", In the Movies is a compilation album of Ice Cube songs that have appeared in movie soundtracks, which was released on September 4, 2007. In 2004, his hit singles "Check Yo Self", "It Was a Good Day" and affiliated song "Guerrillas in tha Mist" with Da Lench Mob appeared on popular video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas playing on fictional radio stations. Also, the brother of the main character "CJ", "Sweet", was possibly influenced by and modeled on Ice Cube. In late 2005, Ice Cube and Emmy Award winning film maker R. J. Cutler, teamed up to create the six-part documentary series titled Black. White., which was broadcast on cable network FX. Cube's upcoming movie projects include The Extractors and Teacher of the Year, scheduled to be released in 2006. Cube has also begun production on Are We Done Yet?, the sequel to 2005s Are We There Yet?. He has also signed on to star in and produce Welcome Back, Kotter, a big screen adaptation of the 1970s television series. Cube will play the title character, who was originally portrayed by Gabe Kaplan. Cube’s film company, Cube Vision Productions, has sealed a deal with Dimension Films to bring the show to the big screen. In an interview in London, he revealed he is in talks of a collaboration with Gorillaz after speaking to front man Damon Albarn. In October 2006, Ice Cube was an honoree at VH1's Annual Hip Hop Honors. Ice Cube was honored by Xzibit, Lil Jon and W.C from the Westside Connection, all hitting the stage to perform some of Cube's classic tracks, and Ice Cube also performed "Why We Thugs" and "Go To Church" from his latest album, Laugh Now, Cry Later, where the strong N.Y.C crowd were greeted with Cube's vintage Cali sound. Father of four, 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." After, launching his new come-back album Laugh Now, Cry Later, Ice Cube has been touring right-across the world, to promote the new album. The Tour is known as "Straight Outta Compton Tour", and accompanying him along the way is his fellow friend and rapper WC from the Westside Connection. Some places he has toured, include Europe, like at the Paradiso Arena in Amsterdam, and in various venues in England. After touring all over the US and Europe, his next destination was to the Asia/Oceania area, countries including Australia, New Zealand and Japan. He performed, all around Australia, with his vintage no holds barred West side Cali Sound, from the memorable 3 shows in Sydney at the Enmore Theatre, to The Forum arena in Melbourne. After, finishing with Australia, he headed to Japan. Ice Cube recently came out with the street single and music video "Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It". After Dr. Dre left N.W.A and Ruthless Records, he and Cube fostered a brief reunion. They planned a new project together, Helter Skelter, also to include appearances by MC Ren and Snoop Dogg with writing from The D.O.C.. Tiring of his label's gangster rap image, Dre admonished Cube to follow an "end of the world type of [concept]". When reporters asked the pair what they were working on in Dre's studio, they joked N.W.E. - Niggaz Without Eazy. The two quickly recorded a heavily P-Funk-influenced song with George Clinton called "You Can't See Me"; the song would later be taken by Suge and used for 2Pac's Death Row debut, which Dre had been neglecting. Dre instead began work on beats for Helter Skelter, bouncing concepts off of an increasingly disgruntled D.O.C. who, despite severed vocal cords and Dre's advice, wanted to rap. Eventually he got fed up and moved out of Dre's house to Atlanta, taking his possessions with him - as well as the reels of music - to record his own version of Helter Skelter. With other personal and business commitments by Dre, work on the album trailed off and eventually stopped. |
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