O'Shea Jackson (born June 15, 1969), better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American hip hop artist, record producer, actor, screenwriter, film producer, and director. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined N.W.A (Niggaz Wit Attitudes). After leaving N.W.A in December 1989,[2] he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer, director, actor and producer in cinema. Additionally, he has served as one of the producers of the Showtime television series Barbershop and the TBS series Are We There Yet?, both of which are based upon the films in which he portrayed the lead character. As of July 2014, Ice Cube sold over 38 million records in the United States.