Ice Cube, born O'Shea Jackson in Los Angeles in 1969, wrote much of N.W.A's Straight Outta Compton before going solo in 1989. AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (1990) and Death Certificate (1991) are cornerstones of West Coast hip hop — furious, sharp, essential. Browse Ice Cube vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
O'Shea Jackson, performing as Ice Cube, was born in Los Angeles, California on June 15, 1969. He was a founding member of N.W.A (1986-1989) alongside Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, MC Ren, and DJ Yella, writing extensive material on Straight Outta Compton (1988). He left N.W.A in late 1989 in a financial dispute with manager Jerry Heller and launched his solo career with AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (1990, produced largely by the Bomb Squad of Public Enemy). His 1990s solo run produced one of the most important catalogs in gangsta rap and conscious hip hop. He has pursued parallel film acting and producing work - including the Friday franchise (1995-), Boyz n the Hood (1991), Barbershop franchise, and many others. The 2015 N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton was produced by Ice Cube, with his son O'Shea Jackson Jr. portraying him.
Ice Cube's sound combines gangsta rap, West Coast hip hop, hardcore hip hop, and conscious hip hop with his distinctive direct vocal delivery and lyrical content engaging extensively with American racism, urban poverty, and social justice. His work has been a defining template for gangsta rap and political West Coast hip hop.
Original Priority pressings of the early Ice Cube catalog are foundational items in hip hop collecting. Multiple anniversary editions, including 25th and 30th anniversary editions of AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted and Death Certificate, have been released.
Listeners new to Ice Cube typically start with AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (1990) or Death Certificate (1991).
