Ice Cube

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 (Niggas With 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.
O'Shea was born on June 15, 1969 in Los Angeles, in the South Central area, the son of Doris Jackson (née Benjamin), a hospital clerk and custodian with Danish roots, 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.

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