Ice Cube

O'Shea Jackson formed his first rap group in Los Angeles in 1986, then joined Eazy-E and Dr. Dre to create N.W.A the following year. As lead rapper, he wrote most of the lyrics on Straight Outta Compton, the 1989 landmark that shaped West Coast hip-hop's early violent identity and set it apart from the East Coast sound. A monetary dispute with Eazy-E and Jerry Heller sent him solo in late 1989, where he released the politically charged AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, Death Certificate, and The Predator to critical and commercial success. His first film role came in Boyz n the Hood (1991), named after a song he'd written, but it was co-writing and starring in Friday that reshaped him as a comedic actor and launched a franchise. He's since appeared in the Barbershop films, both Ride Along and Jump Street sequels, and served as executive producer on the 2015 biopic of his old group, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the year after.