Ice Cube Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth & Biography

Ice Cube is an American rapper, actor and filmmaker best known as a founding member of the pioneering gangsta rap group N.W.A and as Craig Jones in the Friday film series, which he co-wrote. Born on June 15, 1969, in Los Angeles, California, Ice Cube, 57, went from writing some of the most controversial lyrics in hip-hop history to becoming a bankable film star and producer, with hits including Boyz n the Hood, Barbershop and Straight Outta Compton.

Quick Facts

Who Is Ice Cube?

Ice Cube is a rapper, actor and filmmaker whose work has shaped both hip-hop and Hollywood. As a founding member of N.W.A, alongside Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, MC Ren and DJ Yella, Ice Cube wrote many of the lyrics on the group’s landmark album Straight Outta Compton (1988), including the controversial song “Fuck tha Police,” and the album became one of the most influential records in hip-hop history. After leaving the group in 1989, he launched a successful solo career, releasing albums such as AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted (1990) and Death Certificate (1991).

Beyond music, Ice Cube has shown a wide range as an actor and filmmaker. He played Doughboy, a young man who is caught up in gang life, in Boyz n the Hood (1991), alongside Cuba Gooding Jr., and he co-wrote and starred as Craig Jones in Friday (1995), a comedy about a day in the life of two friends in South Central Los Angeles, which spawned two sequels. He starred in Barbershop (2002), in Are We There Yet? (2005), and in 21 Jump Street (2012), opposite Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, and he produced Straight Outta Compton (2015), the biographical film about N.W.A, in which his son, O’Shea Jackson Jr., played him.

Early Life & Background

O’Shea Jackson Sr. was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Doris, a hospital clerk, and Hosea Jackson, a machinist and groundskeeper at UCLA. He grew up in the South Central neighborhood of Los Angeles, where he attended William Howard Taft High School in Woodland Hills, California. He began writing rap lyrics as a teenager, and he formed the group C.I.A. with Dr. Dre, before joining N.W.A in 1987.

He studied architectural drafting at the Phoenix Institute of Technology in Arizona, earning a diploma in 1988, and he continued to write and perform music. He wrote the lyrics for Eazy-E’s solo album Eazy-Duz-It (1988), and he co-wrote many of the songs on N.W.A’s Straight Outta Compton. He left N.W.A in 1989, over a dispute about payment, and he launched a solo career, releasing AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted, which was produced by the Bomb Squad, the production team behind Public Enemy.

Career

Ice Cube’s career in music includes the albums AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted, Death Certificate, 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), and I Am the West (2010). He formed the supergroup Westside Connection with WC and Mack 10, releasing the album Bow Down (1996), and he founded the BIG3, a professional 3-on-3 basketball league, in 2017.

His career in film includes Boyz n the Hood, Trespass (1992), The Glass Shield (1994), Higher Learning (1995), Friday, Anaconda (1997), The Players Club (1998), which he wrote and directed, Three Kings (1999), Next Friday (2000), Friday After Next (2002), Barbershop, Are We There Yet?, 21 Jump Street, 22 Jump Street (2014), and Ride Along (2014), opposite Kevin Hart. He has been nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance, and he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016, as a member of N.W.A. He married Kimberly Woodruff in 1992, and they have four children together: O’Shea Jr., Darrell, Kareema and Shareef.

Facts About Ice Cube

• He was a founding member of N.W.A and wrote many of the lyrics on Straight Outta Compton (1988).
• He co-wrote and starred as Craig Jones in Friday (1995).
• He played Doughboy in Boyz n the Hood (1991) and Calvin Palmer Jr. in Barbershop (2002).
• He founded the BIG3, a professional 3-on-3 basketball league, in 2017.
• He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016, as a member of N.W.A.

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