Ice Cube (real name O’Shea Jackson) is legendary in the world of Hip Hop, and today [June 15, 2016] we’re celebrating the California native on his 47th birthday.
Cube’s prominence in Hip Hop is only the premise to the rest of his accomplishments. The rapper began to make a name for himself as a member of C.I.A, and later the well-known group N.W.A (N*ggaz Wit Attitudes). The group debuted an album titled Straight Outta Compton consisting of Cube, Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, MC Ren, and DJ Yella and became instant super stars.
Ice Cube is credited for writing rhymes for Eazy-E and Dr. Dre on their debut album, which he was reportedly underpaid for. Tensions between he and the group’s manager, Jerry Heller were the catalyst for the rapper’s solo career.
Cube took off as a solo artist, debuting his first solo album AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted which was very well received critically and commercially, although it did consist of heavy content pertaining to social and political issues and eventually became clouded with controversy.
Ice Cube then brought female emcee Yo-Yo on to be head of his label while producing her debut album Make Way for the Motherlode. He also released an EP that was the first in Hip Hop to go Platinum, Kill At Will.
Cube had begun making name for himself as being extremely controversial, with his sophomore album Death Certificate continuing his “fight the power” theme (heavily influenced by Public Enemy and working with the Bomb Squad, too). Success became a pattern for the rapper as his third album, The Predator debuted at number one on the R&B and Pop charts. Hit songs from the album included “It Was a Good Day” and “Check Yo Self.” The album sold over three million copies.
After a fourth album, Lethal Injection, Cube shifted his focus to film, starring in classic films such as Boyz In The Hood, Poetic Justice, Friday, Next Friday, Friday After Next, Barbershop and more.
Cube is continuing to take the world by storm as he’s still performing to this day and has just released his latest film Barbershop: The Next Cut back in April this year. Today, we celebrate the legacy of a defining artist in Hip Hop.
Happy Birthday, Ice Cube!
