Burn Hollywood Burn: Ice Cube's Takeover
NWA's gangsta MC goes from predator to family guy.
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Hollywood's Most Wanted - It's been over 25 years since Ice Cube and Big Daddy Kane joined forces with Public Enemy on the track "Burn Hollywood Burn" where they called out Tinseltown's racist stereotypes and uncivilized depictions of Black people on the screen.Figuring the best way to change the system was from the inside, Ice Cube has become one of Hollywood's bankable stars and producers and showed the diversity of African-American males with his vast array of roles and characters.Peep game as we look at how Cube went from a gangsta in Boyz N The Hood to the hilarious and loveable family guy that moms and grandmas adore, making Hollywood bow down with his new biopic on his N.W.A crew, Straight Outta Compton. -Michael Harris (@IceBlueVA)(Photo: Todd MacMillan/Universal Pictures)
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Boyz N The Hood (1991) - Ice Cube made his acting debut starring in John Singleton's classic urban drama and hasn't looked back since. Cube's character "Doughboy" was reminiscent of the gangstas that he rapped about and his gang banging life style eventually caught up with him in a story that was unfortunately too real. Hollywood took notice of the gangsta that you just had to love and Boyz N The Hood.has grossed nearly $58 million to date.(Photo: Columbia Pictures)
Photo By Photo: Columbia Pictures
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Trespass (1992) - Cube and Ice-T went on a hunt for gold with a crew of murdering gangsters in his second outing and it looked like he was on his way to being type cast as a hood as his menacing roles increased. (Photo: Universal Pictures)
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xXx: State Of The Union (2005) - Breaking out of his gangsta type cast, Cube showed he could be banked on for action films too when he replaced Vin Diesel and joined Samuel L. Jackson in the xXx sequel. His new gangsta persona was a jailed Navy officer who is freed and then saves the country and the president. The mayhem and destruction he left along the way made him one of Cube's illest roles to date.(Photo: Columbia Pictures)
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The Players Club (1998) - Cube first showed whiff of his comedic side when he wrote and directed his first film The Player's Club. Making a power play behind the scenes, O'Shea grossed $23 million for Tinseltown, brightened Jamie Foxx and Bernie Mac's stars, and introduced LisaRaye to the game. Cube's character "Reggie" goes down as a scumbag, though, after he arranges for a dancer to get raped at a bachelor party. Dirty macking at it's core. (Photo: New Line Cinema)
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Three Kings (1999) - Always in search for the loot, The Don Mega teamed up with Mark Wahlberg and George Clooney as Persian Gulf war soldiers taking a side mission to search for gold. Everyone loves a soldier so Cube's war crimes were forgiven as he and his squad saved the day. Go Cube!(Photo: Warner Bros, Village Roadshow Pictures)
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Anaconda (1997) - The Predator proved to be quite deadly when Cube showed the giant python and the box office who was boss with its two week run at number one and eventually grossing over $65 million. (Photo: Columbia Pictures)
Photo By Photo: Columbia Pictures
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The Glass Shield (1995) - Making more efforts to expand his range, Cube and his cast shed light on L.A.'s corrupt sheriff department scandals involving murder and setups. O'Shea fought for his life after being framed for a killing in this chilling drama which mirrors today's law enforcement scandals making the news. (Photo: Miramax)
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All About The Benjamins (2002) - Ice Cube and Mike Epps' collaborations make them one of the best comedic actor/straight man duos of all time. Picking back off with the banter they created in the Friday franchises, this action comedy was also written and produced by the N.W.A lyricist and showed the West Coast king shedding his gangster shell even more. (Photo: New Line Cinema)
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Rampart (2011) - Cube suited up as a detective assigned to take down dirty cops and made a 360 from the gangsta you love to hate in this crime drama, which took a look at the real life corruption in the Los Angeles police department in the 90s. (Photo: Millenium Entertainment)
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Black. White. (2006) - AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted was never shy about spitting on race relations in the U.S.A. and after making millions on the big screen, he placed his bets on television and put a magnifying glass to our country's problem.After getting his Hollywood weight up, Cube created and produced the ground breaking series Black. White. in 2006, which followed two families –– with the help of makeup experts –– as they experienced what life was like in the other race's shoes. (Photo: Fox Movie channel)
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Higher Learning (1995) - John Singleton put Cube in the acting game and made sure he didn't leave his homey out in the cold when it came time for his third film. Making sure O'Shea Jackson wasn't type cast, Cube played a militant college student this go 'round with thoughts of rebuilding a Black Wall Street while facing racist skin heads and a racial profiling university. Co-starring Omar Epps, Laurence Fishburne, Tyra Banks, Busta Rhymes and Michael Rapaport, Higher Learning has grossed nearly $40 million and topped the box office in January 1995 as Cube proved he was bankable once more.(Photo: Columbia Pctures)
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Ride Along (2014) - The N.W.A exterior was completely shed by the time the Lethal Injection creator hooked up with Kevin Hart to play cops and robbers and ride around the city. From the guy who first made noise saying "F**k Tha Police," Cube made a lot of money playing one as Ride Along grossed over $135 million and was immediately green lighted for a sequel scheduled for release next year.(Photo: Cube Vision, Rainforest Films)
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Friday (1995) - Cube bossed up when he wrote the weed consuming Friday and called up music video director F. Gary Gray (Straight Outta Compton director) and blessed him with his Hollywood directorial debut.Cube's "Craig" character was far from a gangsta but delivered a knockout as Tinseltown got it's first look at a lighter side of the South Central MC. Ice Cube also learned that he earned more paper with a friendly demeanor as the franchise went on to make over $120 million and birthed the acting careers of comedians Chris Tucker, Katt Williams and Mike Epps.(Photo: New Line Cinema)
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21 Jump Street (2012) - O'Shea was pushing movies like weight and had become a Hollywood shot caller when he signed on to play police "Captain Dickson" and bust Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill's chops in the comedy 21 Jump Street. Nothing was hood about Cube here who was called back for the sequel which topped the box office too as the franchise has gone on to gross over $329 million.(Photo: Columbia Pictures)
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First Sunday (2008) / Janky Promoters (2009) - Teaming up again with Katt Williams, Mike Epps and Tracy Morgan for more laughs, Cube produced and helped pen these two comedies, adding to his CubeVusion production company's portfolio. (Photos from Left: Screen Gems, Dimension Films)
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Lottery Ticket (2010) - By 2010, the West Coast Don was a pro at negotiating in a Hollywood boardroom and got Warner Bros. to green light the Bow Wow starring comedy. Going for the hood laughs once more, Cube saved the day as a retired boxer who showed he still packed a punch in his golden age. Families didn't have to worry about the brother you love to hate in this one but the local hoods did. (Photo: Warner Bros Pictures)
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Barbershop (2002) - Hollywood executives had already taken a liking to the man who once killed at will and banked on the Cali lyricist to run the show as a cool headed barber surrounded by his hilarious cohorts Cedric The Entertainer, Eve and Michael Ealy in 2002. Making his transition successfully from music to acting at this point, Cube topped the box office for two weeks with Barbershop and the film eventually grossed over $75 million. The sequel came two years later and pulled in another $65 mill and the third installment is in production now as O'Shea Jackson established himself as a franchise movie player. (Photo: MGM)
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The Longshots (2008) - Cube had long doused the movie industry with his ice and in 2008 no longer wanted to see Hollywood burn. Producing and starring in this family-drama football flick with KeKe Palmer, Cube remained true to the game as a rough around the edges caring uncle as they told the story of Jasmine Plummer, the first girl to participate in the Pop Warner football tournament. It was quiet on the set while we watched him go from the steady mobbing G to the wholesome family guy.(Photo: Dimension Films)
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Are We There Yet? (2005) - After declaring war and then peace with Hollywood, Ice Cube came full circle in the acting arena and certified himself as a family movie star. Leaving his khakis and Chucks far behind, Cube's wholesome comedy reunited him with his Boyz N the Hood co-star Nia Long as they grossed over $82 million with this kid approved flick. Two years later they dropped another $50 million in the pot as Cube burned Hollywood down and rebuilt it back up to his liking.(Photo: Columbia TriStar)
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