O’Shea Jackson, born June 15, 1969, in Los Angeles, in the South Central area is better known by his stage name Ice Cube.

He is the son of Doris Jackson (née Benjamin), a hospital clerk and custodian, and Hosea Jackson, who worked as a groundskeeper at UCLA.

Ice Cube is an American rapper, actor, screenwriter, film director, and producer. He began his career as a member of C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer, director, actor and producer in cinema. Additionally, he has served as one of the producers of the Showtime television series Barbershop and the TBS series Are We There Yet? Both of which are based upon films in which he portrayed the lead character.

At 16, Jackson developed an interest in hip hop music, and began writing raps in Taft High School’s keyboarding class. He attended the Phoenix Institute of Technology in the fall of 1987, and studied Architectural Drafting.

In late 1989, Jackson recorded his debut solo album in Los Angeles, released in May 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 he was accused of misogyny and racism.

Jackson’s ninth studio album ‘I am the west’ was released on September 28, 2010. Ice Cube has stated this album has a different direction than any one of his other albums. Although Jackson has made references of going to church and mosque, he has indicated that he is a deist, without following religious "rituals and traditions”

In 1997 Ice Cube starred in the action thriller Dangerous Grounds as a South African exiled to America who returns 15 years later. He also had a supporting role in the film Anaconda that same year. He has a licensed clothing line, SOLO by Cube, which features hooded sweatshirts with built -in headphones in the hood strings.

He married Kimberly Woodruff in 1992, with whom he has four children (three boys, one girl).

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