No. 7: Ice Cube

Kids today know Ice Cube primarily as a movie star and TV producer — but long before he even made the first Friday film, O'Shea Jackson was well established as one of the most influential figures in hip-hop history.

As a teenager, Ice Cube got hooked up with a young Dr. Dre, and the two began making music together as a group called CIA. Shortly thereafter, the duo joined forces with Eazy-E to form N.W.A., and Cube was credited with penning the bulk of the group's rhymes (you didn't think Eazy and Dre wrote their own verses, did you?).

N.W.A.'s second LP, Straight Outta Compton, is considered by some to be the best rap record ever. At worst, it's a top-10 effort that blazed a trail across the country allowing for the commercial success of "gangsta" rap and west coast hip-hop in general. Cube again did the heavy lifting lyrically, and his high-energy delivery set the tone for the album early on the leadoff verses for the title song and "Fuck Tha Police."

The album's success caused friction among group members, though, and after feeling he got the short end of the stick financially, Ice Cube broke away and embarked on a solo career. He immediately put together another classic, dropping AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted in 1990 to massive critical acclaim.

"That guy who does family movies?"

His follow-up LP, 1991's Death Certificate, was at least as strong, giving Cube a string of three bona fide classics that few, if any, emcees have been able to match. The album ran the full spectrum between comedy ("Nappy Dugout") and consciousness ("Us"), and also featured one of the best battle records ever put together — "No Vaseline," the kill shot in his battle with his former N.W.A. brethren.

After two more decent albums, Predator and Lethal Injection, Ice Cube began to focus more of his energy on making movies, starring in the Friday and Barbershop films before working his way into kiddie flicks after the turn of the century. He continued to make music, but it wasn't the same without the hungry rage that had fueled his rise from 1988 through the early '90s.

As an aside...one of my favorite things about Cube in his prime was that he always knew how to set the mood for an album. The first track on each LP during his apex was always a fiery, hardcore cut that got the blood flowing. Listen to "Straight Outta Compton," "The N**** You Love To Hate," "The Wrong N**** to Fuck Wit" or "When Will They Shoot?" and try not to get hyped up.

He can be forgiven for his later musical failures — you can count on one hand the rappers who never fell off — and his peak performances are almost unrivaled. No matter how many movies he makes in the coming years, I'm going to make absolutely certain that my son knows Ice Cube was an emcee first.

I'm pretty sure his music will have more staying power than Are We There Yet? anyway.