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Ice Cube rose to fame in the late 1980s as a member of the rap group N.W.A before enjoying success as a solo artist and actor.Who Is Ice Cube?Actor and rapper Ice Cube was born in South Central Los Angeles in 1969. With fellow rappers Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, DJ Yella and MC Ren, he rocketed to fame in the late 1980s as a member of the hard-hitting gangsta rap group, N.W.A After breaking off on his own in '89, Cube has put together a successful recording and acting career, having appeared in the films Friday (1995), Barbershop (2002) and 21 Jump Street (2012).Early LifeIce Cube was born O'Shea Jackson on June 15, 1969, in South Central Los Angeles, California. Ice Cube was raised by his mother, Doris, who worked
as a hospital clerk, while his father, Hosea, was a groundskeeper at the University of California, Los Angeles.With a set of strong parents behind him,
Cube was able to navigate the tricky landscape that was his neighborhood, which became increasingly shaped by drugs, guns and violence. Cube was a good student who was passionate about football and music.When Cube reached his teens, his parents pulled him out of his local school and bussed him to a suburban high school in the San Fernando Valley. For the young Cube, who'd known little beyond the deteriorating South Central L.A., the affluence and stability that marked his new surroundings left a deep impression. He saw his hometown in a new light and wondered why the violence and drugs that were wreaking havoc on it weren't generating more attention.As he saw more of his friends get killed or go to jail, Cube became determined to create a better life for himself.