The Predator is the third studio album by Ice Cube. Released within months of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, many songs comment on the racial tensions. The title is in part reference to the movie Predator 2, and the album itself includes samples from the film. Though not his most critically successful album, commercially The Predator is Ice Cube's most successful album, reaching double platinum status in the United States, and it contains his most well-known single, "It Was a Good Day." The Predator is his only number one album on the Billboard 200 to date, selling 193,000 copies in its first week. It has sold 2,210,283 to date, according to Nielsen Soundscan.The Predator is the third studio album by Ice Cube. Released within months of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, many songs comment on the racial tensions. The title is in part reference to the movie Predator 2, and the album itself includes samples from the film. Though not his most critically successful album, commercially The Predator is Ice Cube's most successful album, reaching double platinum status in the United States, and it contains his most well-known single, "It Was a Good Day." The Predator is his only number one album on the Billboard 200 to date, selling 193,000 copies in its first week. It has sold 2,210,283 to date, according to Nielsen Soundscan.false2025-10-04 00:37:14The Predator20032003-03-252003-03-2572Hip Hop111804211471410efc188-342d-4d94-841b-2f5b588f4d081d11e2a1-4531-4d61-a8c7-7b5c6a608fd22e904c43-e060-3a4c-aa6d-7e4cd8f7cde8/media/data/media2/Music/Ice Cube/The Predator/folder.jpgIce CubeIce Cube feat. Das EFXIce CubeO'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1988 album Straight Outta Compton contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popularity, and his political rap solo albums AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (1990), Death Certificate (1991), and The Predator (1992) were all critically and commercially successful. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of N.W.A in 2016.
A native of Los Angeles, Ice Cube formed his first rap group called C.I.A. in 1986. In 1987, with Eazy-E and Dr. Dre, he formed the gangsta rap group N.W.A. As its lead rapper, he wrote some of Dre's and most of Eazy's lyrics on Straight Outta Compton, a landmark album that shaped West Coast hip hop's early identity and helped differentiate it from East Coast rap. N.W.A was also known for their violent lyrics, threatening to attack abusive police which stirred controversy. After a monetary dispute over the group's management by Eazy-E and Jerry Heller, Cube left N.W.A in late 1989, teaming with New York artists and launching a solo rap career.
Ice Cube has also had an active film career since the early 1990s. He entered cinema by playing Doughboy in director John Singleton's feature debut Boyz n the Hood, a 1991 drama named after a 1987 rap song that Ice Cube wrote. He also co-wrote and starred in the 1995 comedy film Friday, which spawned a successful franchise and reshaped his public image into a bankable movie star. He made his directorial debut with the 1998 film The Players Club, and also produced and curated the film's accompanying soundtrack. As of 2020, he has appeared in about 40 films, including the 1999 war comedy Three Kings, family comedies like the Barbershop series, and buddy cop comedies 21 Jump Street, 22 Jump Street, and Ride Along. He was an executive producer of many of these films, as well as of the 2015 biopic Straight Outta Compton.