Ice Cube’s children were born into a life of luxury.
By the time he had his first kid at the age of 22, Ice Cube was already an up-and-coming rap star.
Are Ice Cube’s Kids ‘Nepo Babies’?
So, his children grew up with everything they needed and more.
Obviously, being the kid of a famous artist comes with other perks, too.
If they want to follow in their parent’s footsteps and become a star themselves, they often have a gateway into the industry.
Which is why the children of celebrities who then grew up to become performers themselves have come to be known as nepo babies.
Think about entertainers like Lily-Rose Depp, Rumer Willis, Scott Eastwood, Dan Levy, and Lily Collins.
They all have famous parents.
But does that mean that they just followed their parents’ footsteps and automatically got to have successful Hollywood careers without really earning them?
O’Shea Jackson Jr.’s Big Break
Or did they still have to work hard to get there?
According to actor O’Shea Jackson Jr., Ice Cube’s eldest son, being the child of a famous parent doesn’t necessarily mean that everything is handed to you.
The Independent reported that he didn’t agree with the title ‘nepo baby’ that media outlets like Vulture classed him as.
He claimed that his movie career was up to him.
O’Shea got his big break by playing his father in 2015’s Straight Outta Compton, a movie that received critical acclaim and grossed more than 200 million all over the world.
It was executively produced by Ice Cube.
O’Shea Jackson Jr. Defends Himself
O’Shea took to Twitter to join the nepo baby debate and defended himself against the idea that the lead role was just handed to him on a silver platter.
He explained that his dad told him that in a perfect world, he would play him in Straight Outta Compton.
He was already in college for screenwriting at USC, and he ‘accepted the challenge.’
In a Q&A session, the director of the movie shared that when casting for it, they weren’t really looking for actors who looked like the members of the rap group N.W.A.
They placed more importance on performance skills and if the actors could really portray the characters well.
So, O’Shea had to audition for the part of Ice Cube, just like everybody else.
O’Shea Jackson Jr. Was Put Through The Wringer
In an interview with PEOPLE, he said that he was put through the wringer.
According to Ice Cube, he did not give his son any special treatment during the casting process.
He told the outlet that he knew that people would think that he just gave him the job, so he wanted O’Shea to be more than ready.
He said he wanted him to be a great actor by the time they started to shoot.
For two years, O’Shea was going to acting classes, learning techniques, and going to auditions and callbacks.
It was only after going through all of that effort that he finally got the part.
It was a lot of work, but O’Shea shared that it was worth it because he wouldn’t have been able to sit in a theater and watch as someone was portraying his father the wrong way.
After Straight Outta Compton, it was up to him.
He wrote on Twitter that Ice Cube couldn’t hold his hand through his career.
He said that he had to put his nose to the grindstone and make it work.
O’Shea Acknowledges Father For Paving The Way
Though he wanted the world to know that he didn’t have things just handed to him, he also acknowledged that he wouldn’t have gotten to where he’d gotten without his dad’s help.
He wrote: “None of that happens that way without the love of my father. The work he put in to get us to a place of opportunity”.
O’Shea admitted that for him to ignore that, or not to accept and use it as a guide, would’ve been foolish and disrespectful.
He shared that he was grateful and he used Ice Cube’s teachings every day.
The actor went on to advise other entertainers to not let anyone get it in their head that they should feel bad or that their accomplishments were less than.
He encouraged them to keep working hard.
He finished with: “It is not a shadow for you to get out of! It is an empire to which you are growing!”
O’Shea Jackson Jr. Calls Father Ice Cube His ‘Hero’
The subject of nepo babies came up when O’Shea was on The Kelly Clarkson Show too.
He told the show’s host that he was forever grateful for everything that his dad had done to give him the opportunities that he’s gotten.
And if he was to run away from that or shy away from it in any way, then that would be disrespectful to everything that he’d had to go through.
So, when he’d meet people for the first time and they’d recognize him as Ice Cube’s son, he’d welcome it by saying that he 100% was, and that his dad was his hero.
O’Shea Jackson Jr. Said ‘I Pride Myself On My Professionalism’
O’Shea went on to say that having a famous parent meant that doors were open to their kids, but it was up to them to walk through them.
He talked about how a lot of people had this idea of who he was before they’d even met him just because he was the son of Ice Cube.
So, they’d expect him to walk up to a movie set with an entourage and a sense of entitlement.
But he would prove them wrong by arriving at the job with a strong work ethic.
He told Kelly: “I pride myself on my professionalism.”
After Straight Outta Compton, O’Shea continued to make a name for himself as an actor with movies like Den Of Thieves, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and Just Mercy.
He also made Ice Cube and his wife, Kimberly Woodruff, grandparents when he welcomed a daughter named Jordan Jackson in 2017.
Ice Cube’s Son Darrell Follows Father’s Footsteps
Ice Cube’s second son, Darrell, is two years younger than O’Shea.
Taking a page out of his father’s book, he too decided to pursue a career as a rapper, under the stage name Doughboy.
It’s the same name as the character in Boyz n The Hood that Ice Cube played.
He’s even rapped on songs with both his dad and his older brother.
Darrell reportedly works for his dad’s record label, Lench Mob Records, per PEOPLE.
He’s also part of the family’s other business, Cube Vision, the film and TV production company that his father created.
Darrell even got to be a part of the Straight Outta Compton movie.
He was credited as an associate producer.
Basketball is another passion of his.
He’s reportedly involved with Big 3, a pro basketball league which was also founded by his dad.
Darrell tied the knot in 2022.
Ice Cube’s Daughter Karima
Ice Cube’s only daughter is named Karima.
Not much is known about her since she stays out of the limelight and stopped posting on her Instagram in 2018.
An interview with The Guardian in 2020 revealed that Karima was still living at home with her parents at that time.
She would’ve been 26.
Every now and then, she’s spotted at Hollywood events.
PEOPLE revealed that she was photographed on a red carpet with her older brother O’Shea at an Obi-Wan Kenobi screening.
Ice Cube’s Youngest Son Shareef
Ice Cube’s youngest son is named Shareef.
Like his sister, he’s pretty much stayed out of the spotlight.
It’s been reported that he is a sports fan, though, and he has often been photographed wearing NBA clothing.
Shareef frequently goes to watch a lot of basketball, baseball, and football games with his dad, too.
Ice Cube Speaks Out About Fatherhood
Over the years, Ice Cube has spoken a lot about what it’s like to be a father.
In an interview with Access Hollywood, he said that the thing he was most proud of his kids for was that they were all good people, who weren’t trying to wrong anybody.
When he was asked what his biggest failure as a dad was, he confessed that he wanted to be there more for his children when they were growing up, but being who he was, it was impossible for him to not miss out on some special occasions in their lives.
Ice Cube also shared that fatherhood changed him by turning him from a boy into a man, and it also helped him realize what was most important in life.
