Ice Cube was born O'Shea Jackson on June 15, 1969, in South Central Los Angeles, California.

Ice Cube's sister, Beverly Jean Brown, was shot to death by her husband inside their home just miles away from where the future hip hop legend lived. "America is built on the gun," Cube later said. "America is in love with the gun. It's a sick love affair. But it's just hard to break."

Cube implicates his older brother: "He's about nine years older than me. He used to have all kind of women calling the house and I would try to get at them. He got mad at that and said he was going to slam me in the freezer one day, and turn me into an ice cube. I said, 'You know what? That's a badge of honor.'"

Drunk as hell, but no throwin' up
Halfway home and my pager still blowin' up
Today I didn't even have to use my AK
I gotta say, it was a good day

At the age of 16, Cube sold his first song to Eric Wright, soon dubbed Eazy-E, who was forming Ruthless Records.

The original N.W.A. lineup, formed in early 1987, consisted of Arabian Prince, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, and Ice Cube, with DJ Yella and MC Ren joining later that year. The group was among the earliest and most significant popularizers of the gangsta rap subgenre.

Ice Cube played Doughboy in director John Singleton's feature debut Boyz n the Hood, a 1991 drama named after a 1987 rap song that Cube wrote. The film also kickstarted the acting careers of Cuba Gooding Jr., Morris Chestnut, and Nia Long.

After attending the Phoenix Institute of Technology, Cube returned to Los Angeles with a diploma in architectural drafting. He rejoined N.W.A, but kept a career in architecture as a backup plan.

In July 1989, despite its scarce radio play beyond the Los Angeles area, Straight Outta Compton received gangsta rap's first platinum certification, with one million copies sold. That year, the album peaked at #9 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and at #37 on the Billboard 200.

Questioned about his religion in 2017, he said, "I'm gonna live a long life, and I might change religions three or four times before I die. I'm on the Islam tip--but I'm on the Christian tip, too. I'm on the Buddhist tip as well. Everyone has something to offer to the world."