Ice Cube

About

Also known as: O. Jackson, O’Shea Jackson, O’Shea Jackson, Sr.

Few rappers can claim they helped invent a genre, but Ice Cube's pen was behind much of N.W.A's landmark 1988 album Straight Outta Compton, writing most of the lyrics that gave West Coast gangsta rap its raw, confrontational identity. After leaving N.W.A over a money dispute with manager Jerry Heller, he wasted no time going solo, dropping AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted in 1990 and following it with Death Certificate and The Predator in quick succession. All three went top 10, and singles like "It Was a Good Day" and "You Know How We Do It" became genuine classics. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of N.W.A in 2016. Beyond rap, Cube built a second career in film that proved just as durable. He acted in Boyz n the Hood, co wrote and starred in the comedy Friday, which spawned a whole franchise, and made his directorial debut with The Players Club in 1998. His acting credits range from Three Kings to the Barbershop series to 22 Jump Street, and he also served as executive producer on the 2015 N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton.