Ice
Cube is an American rapper, actor and film director. 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
Kim Jackson, with whom he has four children. From the mid-1990s
onwards, Cube focused on acting, and his musical output has slowed
down. He remains one of the most visible West Coast rappers,
having helped originate gangsta rap. He is particularly well-known
for his incendiary rapping on political and racial topics. He
is one of the richest people in the hip hop industry, having
an estimated worth of $145 million (According to he was seventh
in their "Top Ten Richest People in Hip Hop 2006").
Early life
Ice Cube was born in Los Angeles. His mother - Doris Benjamin
is a hospital clerk, and his father Andrew Jackson is a machinist
and groundskeeper, both of whom came from the South. He was
raised in South Central Los Angeles. At sixteen, he developed
an interest in hip hop music, and began writing rap songs while
attending school at Taft High School. He attended the Phoenix
Institute of Technology in the fall of 1987, and studied Architectural
Drafting. Later Cube formed the group, C.I.A. with his friend
Sir Jinx.
Career
In N.W.A.
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 eventually recorded
the song, which debuted on N.W.A. and the Posse, the debut
N.W.A. album.
By this point Cube was a full-time member of N.W.A. along with
Dr.Dre and MC Ren. Cube wrote Dr. Dre and Eazy-E's rhymes for
the group's landmark album, Straight Outta Compton, released
in 1989. A year later he left 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.
Solo career
Cube recorded his debut solo album in New York City, with his
group Da Lench Mob, and the Bomb Squad. 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.
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
highly acclaimed album - Kill At Will. Kill At Will soon became
a hit becoming the first Hip Hop EP to go both Gold and Platinum,
and many praise it as being his best work.
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, anti-Semitic and homophobic.
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. Cube
appeared on the song "Children Of The Korn" by rock
group Korn, and lent his voice to British DJ Paul Oakenfold's
solo debut album, Bunkka, on the track "Get Em Up".
Cube released The Predator in November 1992. The album 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
the most successful release, with over three million copies sold
in the US.
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 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 2007 he's set to release his ninth studio album titlted Raw
Footage.
In Westside Connection
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.
Film Career
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.
Following, perhaps his most famous film 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.
In 1995, Cube had some breakthrough film roles, first in the
hit comedy Friday starring alongside then-upcoming comedian Chris
Tucker, which spawned two sequels: Next Friday and Friday after
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 2002, Ice
Cube starred in the commercially successful movie Barbershop,
as well as its 2004 sequel Barbershop 2: Back in Business. In
early 2005, Ice Cube came back to Hollywood and starred with
Samuel L. Jackson in the action movie XXX: State of the Union
and then alongside Nia Long in the family comedy, Are We There
Yet?.
Unfulfilled Ideas
After Dr. Dre's leaving the 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 "; 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," which would
later be taken by Suge and used for 2Pac's Death Row debut. Dre
began work on beats for the album, bouncing concepts off of an
increasingly disgruntled D.O.C., who wanted to rap, against Dre's
advice. 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 beat tapes meant for Helter Skelter, to record his own sophomore
album by the same name. With other personal and business commitments
by Dre, work on the album trailed off and eventually stopped.
Conflicts
In 1991, Ice Cube released the song, "Black Korea," which
attacks Korean store owners who were deemed "racist" in
their attitudes toward blacks, suspecting the blacks of violent
and criminal proclivities. One year later, in 1992, the Los Angeles
riots took place, in which over $1b of damage was caused, largely
by black looters, and with over 50% of the damages incurred by
Korean businesses.
Cube also had problems with Chicago MC Common,
over the rapper's 1994 single "I Used to Love H.E.R.".
In the song about the degradation of hip hop, Common made references
to the West Coast and Boyz N the Hood. With his Westside Connection
cohorts, Mack 10 and WC, Cube recorded the song "Westside
Slaughterhouse", which coincidently was their first track
together. The song contained the following lines directed at
Common:
Used to love her, mad cause we fucked her
Pussy whipped bitch with no common sense
Hip hop started in the west,
Ice Cube ballin' thru the East Without A Vest
Common responded with "The Bitch in Yoo", retorting "You
ain't made shit dope since AmeriKKKa's Most". Afterward
Louis Farrakhan called the two to a sit-down to negotiate a truce.
L.A. group Cypress Hill also had a feud with
Ice Cube when they felt that Ice Cube had taken the chorus from
the song "Throw Your Set in the Air" for the song "Friday".
Cypress Hill released a diss track entitled "No Rest For
the Wicked", which among other things, took shots at Ice
Cube for using pictures of an ornate marijuana pipe that had
belonged to DJ Muggs for the cover of his album The Predator
despite not smoking marijuana at that time. Ice Cube and the
Westside Connection retaliated with "King of the Hill", & " Cross
Em Out & Put a K", to which Cypress Hill responded with "Ice
Cube Killa".
Ice Cube had a falling out with Kam due to money
and personal issues, which led to Kam releasing the venomous
diss track "Whoop Whoop", as well as an altercation
that led to the theft of Ice Cube's necklace. Though the feud
has since ended, they never worked together again.
In May 2006 Ice Cube accused Oprah Winfrey of
not welcoming rappers on her show, and specifically, for not
inviting him to the show when the rest of the cast of the hit
show Black. White. were invited.
Rapping
Cube's rap technique is often straightforward, without the use
of many similes. He is known for the social commentary in his
songs, and implies that he just reports things how he sees
them, though some critics accuse him of racism for epithets
such as "caveman" and "devil". His solo
style never differed from his N.W.A. days, using defensive
and offensive violence or simply bragging, narratives and political
hip hop like several popular East Coast acts of the time.Ice
Cube's lyrics and themes are rich with metaphor.He is known
for the use of irony, as he does in "It Was a Good Day",
when he details a day that was good because nobody was shot
or sent to jail. He uses this as a commentary on life in the
ghetto.
Awards
Film award history
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
2005 Soul Train Music Awards
Lifetime Achievement Award
2000 Hip Hop Music Awards
Lifetime Achievement Award (with
Dr. Dre)
Discography
AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (1990)
Kill at Will (EP) (1990)
Death Certificate (1991)
The Predator (1992)
Lethal Injection (1993)
War & Peace - Volume 1 (The
War Disc) (1998)
War & Peace - Volume 2 (The
Peace Disc) (2000)
Laugh Now, Cry Later (2006)
Raw Footage (2007)
Filmography
Actor
Boyz n the Hood (1991) as "Doughboy" Darin
Elvidge
Trespass (1992) as Savon
CB4 (1993) as himself in segment
The Glass Shield (1994) as Teddy
Woods
Higher Learning (1995) as Fudge
Friday (1995) as Craig
Dangerous Ground (1997) as Vusi
Madlazi
Anaconda (1997) as Danny Rich
The Players Club (1998) as Reggie
I Got the Hook Up (1998) as Gun
Runner
Three Kings (1999) as SSgt. Chief
Elgin
Thicker Than Water (1999) as Slink
Next Friday (2000) as Craig
Ghosts of Mars (2001) as James
'Desolation' Williams
All About the Benjamins (2002)
as Bookum
BarberShop (2002) as Calvin Palmer
Friday After Next (2002) as Craig
Torque (2004) as Trey
BarberShop 2: Back in Business
(2004) as Calvin
Are We There Yet? (2005) as Nick
Persons
xXx: State of the Union (2005)
as Darius Stone
Are We Done Yet? (2007) as Nick
Persons
The Extractors (2008)
First Sunday (2008)
As 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)
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 |
