Early work In 1986, at the age of 16, Ice Cube began rapping in the trio
C.I.A. but soon joined the newly formed rap group
N.W.A. He was N.W.A's lead rapper and main ghostwriter on its official debut album, 1989's
Straight Outta Compton. Due to a financial dispute, he left the group by the start of 1990. During 1990, his debut solo album, ''
AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted'', found him also leading a featured rap group,
Da Lench Mob.
1986: C.I.A. With friend
Sir Jinx, Ice Cube formed the rap group
C.I.A., and performed at parties hosted by
Dr. Dre. Since 1984, Dre had been a member of a popular DJ crew, the
World Class Wreckin' Cru, which by 1985 was also performing and recording electro rap. Dre had Cube help write the Wreckin Cru's hit song "Cabbage Patch". Dre also joined Cube on a side project, a duo called Stereo Crew, which made a 12-inch record, "She's a Skag", released on
Epic Records in 1986. In 1987, C.I.A. released the
Dr. Dre-produced single "
My Posse". Meanwhile, the Wreckin' Cru's home base was the Eve After Dark nightclub, about a quarter of a mile outside of the city of Compton in Los Angeles County. While Dre was on the turntable, Ice Cube would rap, often parodying other artists' songs. In one instance, Cube's rendition was "My Penis", parodying Run-DMC's "
My Adidas". In 2015, the nightclub's co-owner and Wreckin' leader
Alonzo Williams would recall feeling his reputation damaged by this and asking it not to be repeated.
1986–1990: N.W.A At 16, Cube sold his first song to Eric Wright, soon dubbed
Eazy-E, who was forming
Ruthless Records and the musical team
N.W.A, based in
Compton, California. which soon gained
MC Ren. Cube wrote some of Dre's and nearly all of Eazy's lyrics on N.W.A's official debut album,
Straight Outta Compton, released in January 1989. Yet by the end of the year, Cube questioned his compensation and N.W.A's management by
Jerry Heller. Cube also wrote most of Eazy-E's debut album
Eazy-Duz-It. He received a total pay of $32,000, and the contract that Heller presented in 1989 did not confirm that he was officially an N.W.A member. After leaving the group in January 1990, Cube sued Heller, and the lawsuit was later settled out of court. His second album
Death Certificate was released in 1991. The album was thought to be more focused, yet even more controversial, triggering accusations of anti-white, antisemitic, and misogynistic content. The album was split into two themes: the Death Side, "a vision of where we are today", and the Life Side, "a vision of where we need to go". The track "
No Vaseline" scathingly retorts insults directed at him by N.W.A's
1990 EP and
1991 album, which call him a traitor. Besides calling for hanging Eazy-E as a "house nigga", the track blames N.W.A's manager
Jerry Heller for exploiting the group, mentions that he is a Jew, and calls for his murder. It was also at this time that Cube began collaborating outside the rap genre. In 1997, he worked with
David Bowie and
Nine Inch Nails singer
Trent Reznor on a remix of Bowie's "
I'm Afraid of Americans". In 1998, Cube was featured on the band
Korn's song "
Children of the Korn", and joined them on their
Family Values Tour 1998.
1998–2006: War & Peace Vol. 1 & 2 and Westside Connection reunion In November 1998, Cube released his long-awaited fifth solo album
War & Peace Vol. 1 (The War Disc). The delayed sixth album,
Volume 2, arrived in 2000. These albums feature the
Westside Connection and a reunion with his old N.W.A members Dr. Dre and MC Ren. Cube also received a return favor from Korn, as they appeared on his song "Fuck Dying" from
Vol. 1. Many fans maintained that these two albums, especially the second, were lesser in quality to his earlier work. In 2000, Cube also joined Dr. Dre,
Eminem, and
Snoop Dogg for the
Up in Smoke Tour. In 2002, Cube appeared on British DJ
Paul Oakenfold's solo debut album,
Bunkka, on the track "Get Em Up". Released in 2003, Westside Connection's second album,
Terrorist Threats, fared well critically, but saw lesser sales. "Gangsta Nation" (featuring
Nate Dogg), the only single released, was a radio hit. After a rift between Cube and Mack 10 about Cube's film work minimizing the group's touring, the Westside Connection disbanded in 2005. In 2004, Cube featured on the song "
Real Nigga Roll Call" by
Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, the then-leaders of rap's
crunk subgenre.
2006–2012: Laugh Now, Cry Later, Raw Footage, and I Am the West In 2006, Cube released his seventh solo album,
Laugh Now, Cry Later, selling 144,000 units in the first week.
Lil Jon and
Scott Storch produced the lead single, "
Why We Thugs". In October, Ice Cube was honored at VH1's Annual Hip Hop Honors, and performed it and also the track "Go to Church". Cube soon toured globally in the Straight Outta Compton Tour—accompanied by rapper WC from the Westside Connection—playing in America, Europe, Australia, and Japan. Amid Cube's many features and brief collaborations, September 2007 brought
In the Movies, a compilation album of Ice Cube songs on soundtracks. Cube's eighth studio album,
Raw Footage, arrived on August 19, 2008, yielding the singles "
Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It" and "
Do Ya Thang". Also in 2008, Cube helped on
Tech N9ne's song "
Blackboy", and was featured on
The Game's song "
State of Emergency". As a fan of the
NFL football team the Raiders, Cube released in October 2009 a tribute song, "Raider Nation". In 2009, Ice Cube performed at the
Gathering of the Juggalos, and returned to perform at the 2011 festival. On September 28, 2010, his ninth solo album,
I Am the West, arrived with, Cube says, a direction different from any one of his other albums. Its producers include West Coast veterans like
DJ Quik,
Dr. Dre,
E-A-Ski, and, after nearly 20 years, again Cube's onetime C.I.A groupmate
Sir Jinx. Offering the single "I Rep That West", the album debuted at No. 22 on the
Billboard 200 and sold 22,000 copies in its first week. Also in 2010, Cube signed up-and-coming recording artist named 7Tre The Ghost, deemed likely to be either skipped or given the cookie-cutter treatment by most record companies. In 2011, Cube featured on
Daz Dillinger's
song "Iz You Ready to Die" and on
DJ Quik's song "Boogie Till You Conk Out". In 2012, Ice Cube recorded a verse for a remix of the
Insane Clown Posse song "
Chris Benoit", from ICP's
The Mighty Death Pop! album, appearing on the album ''
Mike E. Clark's Extra Pop Emporium''. In September 2012, during
Pepsi's NFL Anthems campaign, Cube released his second Raiders anthem "Come and Get It".
2012–present: ''Everythang's Corrupt, Mount Westmore, Man Down and Man Up'' In November 2012, Cube released more details on his forthcoming, tenth studio album, ''
Everythang's Corrupt''. Releasing its title track near the 2012 elections, he added, "You know, this record is for the political heads." But the album's release was delayed. On February 10, 2014, iTunes brought another single from it, "
Sic Them Youngins on 'Em", and a music video followed the next day. Despite a couple of more song releases, the album's release was delayed even beyond Cube's work on the 2015 film
Straight Outta Compton. After a statement setting release to 2017, the album finally arrived on December 7, 2018. In 2014, Cube appeared on
MC Ren's remix "
Rebel Music", their first collaboration since the N.W.A reunion in 2000. In 2020, Cube joined rappers
Snoop Dogg,
E-40,
Too Short and formed the supergroup
Mount Westmore. The group's debut album was released on June 7, 2022. Throughout early 2024, Ice Cube toured across
Canada as part of his Straight Into Canada tour. Ice Cube's eleventh studio album and his first new album in six years,
Man Down, was released on November 22, 2024. The album was preceded by the singles "It's My Ego", "Ego Maniacs (featuring
Busta Rhymes and
Killer Mike)" and "So Sensitive". On August 29, 2025, Ice Cube announced that his twelfth studio album,
Man Up, would be released in 2025 and will be preceded by the first single "Before Hip Hop" on September 5, 2025. ==Film and television career==