Ice Cube: From Gangsta Rapper to Movie Mogul

Rapper, Ice Cube sure has come a long way since his NWA debut.

He began as the frontman for the group as he wrote most of the songs and performed most of the lyrics.

Ice Cube wrote every member of the group’s lines for their 1988 album, Straight Outta Compton.

However, by 1990, Cube was at odds with the group’s manager, Jerry Heller, and group founder, Eazy-E. Heller had offered Ice Cube a new contract for $75,000 and Cube would not sign until a lawyer saw the proposal.

Ice Cube had not only wrote the lyrics for the group’s album, but also the lyrics for Eazy-E’s solo album, Eazy-Duz-It.

After not receiving the proper compensation for his services, he took legal action, leaving the group and the label.

In 1990, Cube recorded and released his debut album, AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted.

Soon after this, he made his film debut in the John Singleton film, Boyz n The Hood, as ‘Doughboy.’

Ice Cube still continued to release albums, but his interest seemed to turn from rapping to making movies. In 1992, he starred with Ice T in the film, Trespass.

In 1995, he starred in the crime drama film, The Glass Shield, with Michael Boatman.

Later, in 1995, Ice Cube created and starred in the hit comedy film, Friday, with Chris Tucker. The film was produced on a $3.5 million budget, but grossed $28 million.

In 1998, he directed the film, The Players Club, and had a starring role in the critically-acclaimed film, Three Kings.

In 2000, he wrote and appeared in his film, Next Friday, with newcomer, Mike Epps.

In 2002, he had roles in such movies as All About The Benjamins, Friday After Next, and Barbershop.

Also, he produced a sitcom in 2005 for HBO entitled, “Barbershop: The Series,” based off of his hit film, Barbershop.

In 2007, he produced a sitcom for MTV2 based off of his Friday trilogy, “Friday: The Animated Series.”

In 2009, he has some new projects lined up that should debut later this year or sometime in the coming years. He is working on a buddy cop sitcom for NBC.

One thing that is clear is the fact that Ice Cube is no longer the controversial figure that he once was. He has now become a mainstream movie mogul. Ice Cube is one of the few rappers that successfully cross over.