From west coast rapper to globally acclaimed actor and film-maker, Ice Cube remains an enduring and formidable pop culture presence. In December he will embark on his biggest tour of the UK and Ireland yet (accompanied by fellow hip-hop mainstays Cypress Hill and the Game) and to mark the announcement, he will join us to answer your questions about anything in his varied career, which you can post in the comments section below.
Ice Cube, real name O’Shea Jackson Sr, started rapping in high school after being challenged to a battle by a friend during class. The interest stuck: aged 16, he banded with K-Dee and Sir Jinx in the rap trio CIA, who would cut their teeth performing at parties hosted by Dr Dre. By the following year, he had joined the latter’s group NWA and became a major creative force on critically acclaimed 1988 debut Straight Outta Compton. His lyrics, which explored the “war on drugs” and anti-Black state violence, supercharged the popularity of gangsta rap and its legacy continues: Ice Cube was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame two decades later in 2016.
A dispute over royalties cut his NWA stint short and he pursued a rampant solo career at the turn of the 1990s, releasing four albums in four years. 1992’s The Predator sold more than 3m copies in the US and became the first album to ever debut at No 1 on both the R&B/hip-hop and pop charts; its single It Was a Good Day, with its smooth Isley Brothers sample, is considered one of the greatest hip-hop songs of all time.
He also branched into the film industry in 1991 and since his debut performance as Doughboy in Boyz N the Hood he has acted in nearly 40 films, including the Barbershop, Friday, Jump Street and Are We There Yet series. He’s also worked as a director, soundtrack curator and voiceover artist and, in 2015, he co-produced the NWA biographical film Straight Outta Compton alongside his fellow members. His music continues, too – last year, he released a collaborative album with Snoop Dogg, E-40 and Too Short as the supergroup Mt Westmore.
Ahead of his return to the road, we’re asking readers to submit their questions for the west coast trailblazer. Maybe you want to hear about his early days in NWA, or his later collaborations with David Bowie and Nine Inch Nails? Or perhaps you’re curious about his career in the film industry: what’s it like recreating the west coast scene in real time for Boyz N the Hood, or having your son later play you in a biopic? Post them below by 2pm BST on Tuesday and he’ll answer as many as possible.
