Ice Cube

When rap exploded creatively and commercially in the late 1980s, Ice Cube was at the forefront of the expansion. As the lyrical brains behind N.W.A, the Los Angeles-based rapper instantly became a major player in the music game by leading a musical revolution with brutal, profane, politically-infused music that, for the first time in the genre's history, sold millions of albums with N.W.A's Straight Outta Compton. As a solo artist, Ice Cube became rap's premier act with the release of the searing masterpieces AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted and Death Certificate. Now, after becoming Hollywood's most bankable actor thanks to his Barbershop and Friday franchises, Ice Cube returns to his first artistic love, rapping. "Laugh Now, Cry Later", the multi-platinum, award-winning music icon's first solo album in six years, simmers with celebration, as well as the rage, reflection and introspection that are the hallmarks of timeless music.