How Ice Cube Harnessed Controversy to Become a Master Storyteller

In 1983, a 14-year-old in Compton, California with a gift for the written word had an idea. Initially recognized for his storytelling abilities in the fifth grade, O’Shea Jackson took up rapping in high school, taking the stage name Ice Cube. The group he co-founded as a teenager, N.W.A, would revolutionize music, and Cube’s ability to craft compelling narratives would provide the foundation for a decades long career spanning music, movies, and sports. And it all started with one idea. Chapters: 0:00 - 3:59 Intro 4:00 - 5:39 Childhood and Growing Up 5:40 - 7:29 Starting to Write Raps 7:30 - 8:28 Meeting Eazy-E 8:29 - 11:59 Emergence of N.W.A 12:00 - 13:29 Discovering Bad Contracts 13:30 - 17:43 Going Solo 17:44 - 22:29 Meeting John Singleton, Friday, and Hollywood 22:30 - 26:29 Reinventing His Image 26:30 - 28:29 Music Industry vs. Film Industry 28:30 - 33:49 Creating BIG3 33:50 - 36:09 Building a Fan Base / Receiving Criticism 36:10 - 40:39 New Album 'Man Down' 40:40 - 42:09 Maintaining Discipline / The Creative Process 42:10 What's Next? IDEA GENERATION is a 360° media platform catering to the creative class which exists to educate and inspire the mavericks of tomorrow. Follow IDEA GENERATION on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ideageneration/ Subscribe to IDEA GENERATION’s The Spark Newsletter for creative entrepreneurs: https://ideageneration.substack.com/