O'Shea Jackson grew up in South Central Los Angeles, where his mother kicked him out of his home at the age of 15 because he didn't have a job. He tried to earn his money by rapping and founded the hip-hop group C.I.A. together with Sir Jinx. He mainly performed at house parties given by Dr. Dre from World Class Wrekcin' Cru. In 1985, Dr. Dre introduced him to Eazy E, after which Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E and DJ Yella form the hip-hop group N.W.A.
In 1987 came the first release of N.W.A. and songs from Eazy-E's previous group H.B.O.. N.W.A. we're the first to start the genre of Gangsta rap, a musicgenre with raps about the violent life that existed in the ghetto. In 1988 they went 4x platinum with the Straight Outta Compton album. In 1989, Ice Cube left the group due to an argument with manager Jerry Heller over payments.
His first solo album AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted was released in the early 1990s. The release of his second album Kill At Will, Sir Jinx made the beats. In 1991m Ice Cube released Death Certificate, a political album with protests against poverty and the violence of corrupt police officers in the ghetto. The remaining members of N.W.A. come simultaneously with an album in which they portray Ice Cube as an American traitor. Ice Cube responds to this with the song 'No Vaseline', which is one of the hardest and heaviest diss tracks ever released. Da Lench Mob's album 'Guerillas in tha Mist' was also released around this period. A group that Ice Cube as part of.'
In 1996 the group Westside Connection was founded with rappers WC and Mack 10. The debut album 'Bow Down' mainly focuses on the rivalry between east and west coast.
