Hip Hop legend Ice Cube coming straight into Oshawa tour stop

One of the most historic voices in hip-hop is coming straight into Oshawa.

NWA founder, solo artist and prolific actor Ice Cube has added a second leg to his sold-out Straight Into Canada tour. This second leg includes a stop at the Tribute Community Centre on May 9. Tickets for the show go on sale on Feb. 23.

Ice Cube, born O’Shea Jackson, launched his music career at age 16 and quickly founded the iconic NWA. He was the primary lyricist on the group’s debut album, Straight Outta Compton.

The iconic record cemented the “gangsta rap” subgenre and moved the Los Angeles music scene toward more serious depictions of urban culture. It also prompted significant backlash, including a warning from the FBI and a total ban from MTV.

“Self-styled as ‘the world’s most dangerous group,’ Straight Outta Compton not only depicts the violence, brutality and racism experienced by those living in the L.A. suburb of Compton, but it threatened to incite it. N.W.A. took the bourgeoning subgenre of Gangsta Rap and made it their own,” wrote Rolling Stone magazine, ranking the album the 70th greatest of all time.

However, Ice Cube left NWA shortly after the album dropped due to a pay dispute with member Easy-E. He launched his solo career in 1990 with AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted. While also acclaimed, Ice Cube’s follow up was equally controversial. The record further honed Ice Cube’s incisive lyrics examining socio-political themes.

AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted has maintained a significant legacy as well, predicting Compton’s role in the later Rodney King riots. Rolling Stone ranked it 187th on the same list.

Ice Cube continued to pump out acclaimed and controversial records throughout the early 90s, broadening his music into G-Funk and collaborations with rockstars like David Bowie and Nine Inch Nails’ Trant Reznor. He continues to release music and collaborate with numerous other artists (Snoop Dogg, Eminem and reunions with NWA’s Dr. Dre and MC Ren) to this day.

Starting after AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted, Ice Cube also jumped into film. He’s since appeared in more than 40 films in the past 25 years, mostly comedies and action films. Many of these have been critically acclaimed, including Boyz in the Hood, Friday (which Ice Cube also wrote), Barbershop, and 21 and 22 Jump Street.

He most recently appeared as the villainous Superfly in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. In 2015, he produced his own biopic, Straight Outta Compton. He’s received numerous honours over the years, including Grammy Awards, a star Hollywood Walk of Fame and induction into the Rock and Roll History Museum.

Tickets go on sale online at 10 a.m. on Feb. 23. The show is scheduled for May 9 at 7 p.m.