How did Ice Cube get his name?
Ice Cube is one of the greatest rappers ever and has one of hip-hop’s most iconic stage names. The rapper, born O’Shea Jackson in Los Angeles on June 15th, 1969, is responsible for classic albums as a solo artist and through his work with NWA.
Cube grew up on Van Wick Street in the Westmont section of South Los Angeles with a custodian mother, machinist father, and an older brother. He began writing lyrics in typewriting class after his friend tasked him with putting together some raps.
He attended William Howard Taft High School in the Woodland Hills area of LA, which was around 40 miles from his home. Before becoming a hip-hop heavyweight, Cube studied at the Phoenix Institute of Technology in Phoenix, Arizona, and earned a diploma in architectural drafting.
Cube got his start rapping as a trio in CIA (short for Cru’In Action!) alongside K-Dee and Sir Jinx, but went on to join NWA shortly after. He was a group member between 1987 and 1989, teaming up with Dr Dre, Eazy-E, DJ Yella and MC Ren for the classic Straight Outta Compton album.
He went on to leave the group due to a financial dispute, releasing acclaimed solo albums of his own in 1990’s AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted and 1991’s Death Certificate.
So, how did Ice Cube get his name?
Ice Cube opened up about the origins of his stage name during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in 2017. He revealed that his brother, Clyde Jackson, gave him his name when he was a sneaky 13-year-old kid trying to make moves with his brother’s girlfriends.
“My brother gave me that name,” he began. “He’s older than me, so I used to try to talk to his girlfriends when they called and he got tired. Back in the day, when you had an old refrigerator, you’d push it on the curb and guys would come by and pick it up.
“Well, my brother was like, ‘Yo, that refrigerator down the street? I’m gonna take you down there, I’m slammin’ you in the freezer and when they pull you out, you’re gonna be an ice cube.’ So that day, when I went outside, I told everybody, ‘Man, don’t call me O’Shea no more, my new name is Cube. Call me Ice Cube.'”
He added, “And from then on, it just snowballed. Now, the joke is on you, Clyde! Look, I’m making money with it! Making money with it, Clyde! Look! Who’s Ice Cube now?!”
When asked about rolling with a rap name, Cube said you must own the title first and foremost. “You gotta lean into it, you can’t play with it,” he told Stephen Colbert on his chat show. “Most guys, when they do a rap name, guys like yourself, they’ll say, ‘My name is SC,’ or something real weak like that. But I’mma call you Daddy Colbert. Daddy Colbert, that’s dope. And if you really wanna lean into it, you go to Pimp Daddy Colbert.”