Ice Cube

O'Shea Jackson, known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His efforts on N.W.A's 1989 album Straight Outta Compton contributed to gangsta rap's popularity, and his political rap solo albums AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (1990), Death Certificate (1991), and The Predator (1992) were all critically and commercially successful.

The architect of N.W.A's lyrical brutality, Ice Cube penned most of the group's catalog before a 1989 money dispute sent him into solo orbit—and straight into hip-hop history. His first three albums, AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, Death Certificate, and The Predator, weaponized gangsta rap with pointed political commentary that separated him from peers who treated the genre as pure spectacle. The "No Vaseline" diss of Eazy-E remains one of rap's most surgical takedowns, while his later beef with Common over artistic direction proved Ice Cube wouldn't soften his ideological stance for critical approval. Founding Westside Connection with Mack 10 and WC cemented his role as West Coast godfather, and his eventual reconciliation with Dr. Dre acknowledged their shared legacy even as both men moved beyond the group that made them dangerous.