Trivia: One of the most powerful and uncompromising artists in rap music, Ice Cube enjoyed a surprisingly smooth transition into a career in motion pictures, first distinguishing himself as an actor and later branching out into writing, producing, and directing. Born O'Shea Jackson in South Central Los Angeles on June 15, 1969, Ice Cube came from a working class family, with both his father and mother employed by U.C.L.A. Ice Cube began writing lyrics when he was in ninth grade; a friend in a high school typing class challenged him to see who could come up with a better rap, and when he won the contest, Cube began honing his hip-hop skills in earnest. Before long, Ice Cube had formed a rap group called CIA with a friend, a DJ known as Sir Jinx. CIA began playing parties organized by Dr. Dre (born Andre Young), a member of a popular local hip-hop group called The World Class Wrecking Cru, and Cube and Dre both got to know Eazy-E (born Eric Wright), a rapper with a group called HBO who had started his own record company, financed by his successful career as a drug dealer. In time, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Eazy-E joined forces with DJ Yella (born Antoine Carraby) and MC Ren (born Lorenzo Patterson) to form the group N.W.A. With their 1988 album Straight Outta Compton, N.W.A.'s profane and provocative lyrics (particularly the infamous "F -- -- Tha Police") made them one of the most controversial groups in the history of rap music, and if they weren't the first gangsta rappers, they certainly brought the sound to a mass audience for the first time. In 1989, Cube, dissatisfied with N.W.A.'s management (and the fact he had been paid a mere 30,000 dollars for writing and performing on an album which sold three million copies), decided to leave the group and strike out on his own. He released his first solo album, AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, in 1990, and the disc's blunt, forceful sound and aggressive blend of street life and political commentary proved there was life for the rapper after N.W.A.. The following year, after releasing the follow-up EP Kill at Will, and a second album, Death Certificate, Cube made his acting debut in John Singleton's gritty look at life in South Central Los Angeles, Boyz N The Hood, which drew its name from an early N.W.A. track. Cube received strong reviews for his performance as ex-con Doughboy, and a year later starred opposite fellow rap trailblazer Ice-T in Walter Hill's Trespass. In 1995, Cube reunited with Singleton for the drama Higher Learning, and, later that year, expanded his repertoire by starring in Friday, a comedy he also wrote and produced. With his career in the movies on the rise, Cube spent less and less time in the recording studio, although he often contributed to the soundtracks of the films in which he appeared, and recorded with the L.A. all-star group Westside Connection. In 1998, Cube added directing to his list of accomplishments with The Players Club, for which he also served as screenwriter and executive producer, as well as played a supporting role as Reggie. The same year, he released his first solo album in four years, War and Peace, Vol. One: The War Disc. Cube went on to write and produce sequels to both Friday and All About the Benjamins, which co-starred his Friday sidekick, Mike Epps. He also continued to work in films for other writers and filmmakers, including Three Kings, Ghosts of Mars, and the extremely successful urban comedy Barbershop.In 2004, Cube's career continued to pick up steam. He appeared in the motor-cycle action thriller Torque, as well as Barbershop 2: Back in Business. By the next year, he was taking over for Vin Diesel, starring in XXX: State of the Union, as well as branching into the realm of family comedy with Are We There Yet?. Both were box office gold, and Cube went on to follow up the latter with 2007's sequel Are We Done Yet?.He tried his hand at an inspirational sports drama producing and starring in The Longshots in 2008. His love of sports found full flower in his 2010 documentary Straight Outta L.A., which he made as part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series. The film examined the relationship between sports and hip-hop culture in The City of Angels during the heyday of N.W.A. He appeared in the corrupt cop drama Rampart, and had a funny turn as the Captain to the undercover agents working out of 21 Jump Street.

Trivia: Mike Epps' name has become synonymous with a particular style of humor, through his appearance with several other African-American artists in the same genre. Epps earned a large portion of his fame through his credits in several Ice Cube films, including Next Friday (also starring Chris Tucker), How High (with Redman and Method Man), Friday After Next, and All About the Benjamins. Aside from featuring Ice Cube, the common thread of these films was the hilarious prominence of marijuana-smoking comic characters like the ones portrayed by Epps.Born in Indianapolis, IN, into a large family, Epps' natural comedic ability was encouraged at an early age, and he began performing standup as a teenager. He moved to Atlanta where he worked at the Comedy Act Theater, before moving to New York City to star in Def Comedy Jam in 1995. His first major film role came just two years later when he starred in Vin Diesel's Strays, a dramatic portrayal of relationships and drugs. In 1999, he made an appearance on the HBO mafia series The Sopranos.In addition to his aforementioned film work with Ice Cube, Epps had several other feature-film appearances. In 2000, he was featured in Bait, starring Jamie Foxx and David Morse, and in the jail-comedy 3 Strikes. He performed the voice of Sonny in Dr. Dolittle 2, starring Eddie Murphy, in 2001. As he gained more recognition, his comedic talent began to blossom, as demonstrated in his two 2002 features: Kevin Bray's All About the Benjamins, an action-packed comedy, and the sequel-to-the-sequel, Friday After Next, in which he starred as Day-Day. He took over the part of Ed Norton in the big-screen remake of The Honeymooners, and had a major supporting role in the Petey Green biopic Talk to Me. He had a part in the smash 2009 comedy The Hangover, had a big part in Next Day Air, and a turn in Lottery Ticket. In addition to his acting, he kept churning out comedy specials.In 2012 he was one of the stars of Whitney Houston's last movie Sparkle, and played a teacher in the comedy Mac + Devin Go to High School. He reprised his role in The Hangover Part III and played the love interest in the HBO film Bessie. Epps also had a presence in TV, appearing in series like Survivor's Remose and Being Mary Jane, and playing the title role in the remake of Uncle Buck.

Trivia: Funnyman John Witherspoon has parlayed a successful career as a standup comic into a series of memorable film roles. Born in Detroit, MI, Witherspoon began his show business career as a model in the early '70s before striking out on his own as a comedian. His first big break came in 1977 when he landed a regular spot on Richard Pryor's short-lived television variety series, and he began playing supporting roles on such shows as What's Happening!, Good Times, and WKRP in Cincinnati. In 1980, Witherspoon made his film debut playing a nightclub MC in Neil Diamond's 1980 remake of The Jazz Singer. Witherspoon's big-screen breakthrough, however, came in Robert Townsend's comedy Hollywood Shuffle, in which Witherspoon played Mr. Jones, the manager of the Winky Dinky Dog hot-dog stand. The surprise success of Hollywood Shuffle led to a string of film parts and recurring roles on two television series -- the short-lived Townsend Television in 1993 and 1995's The Wayans Bros., which ran for four years, with Witherspoon playing "Pop" Williams. In 1995, Witherspoon also played ill-tempered dogcatcher Mr. Jones in Ice Cube's urban comedy Friday. John Witherspoon still tours as a standup comic when he's not busy with film and television work. Witherspoon played a recurring part on the sitcom The Wayans Brothers, and appeared in small roles in a variety of films including I Got the Hook Up, The Ladies Man, and Fakin' Da Funk. In addition to appearing in multiple sequels to Friday, Witherspoon teamed up with old colleagues when he played a part for the Wayans brothers in Little Man. Witherspoon also brought his caustic sensibility to his voice work on the animated television adaptation of the controversial comic strip The Boondocks.

Trivia: Moved to California when he was one year old.Began his acting career at the age of 12 when he was cast as a street dancer after being discovered breakdancing in a schoolyard.Won the ALMA Award for Emerging Artist of the Year in 1995.While working on the movie Flight of the Phoenix (2004), helped co-star Hugh Laurie record his audition tape for House.Founder of the production company Third Son Productions, Inc.

Trivia: Hardly diminutive, Tommy "Tiny" Lister Jr. has made his imposing presence felt in a multitude of films since the mid-'80s. Originally a professional wrestler nicknamed Zeus and Z-Gangsta, the 6' 5" 275 lb. Lister retired in 1985 to pursue an acting career. After making his movie debut in director Hal Ashby's final film 8 Million Ways to Die (1985), Lister spent the rest of the 1980s working primarily in A and B movies heavy on action, including Runaway Train (1985), Beverly Hills Cop II (1987), and Walter Hill's Extreme Prejudice (1987). Lister earned his first starring role playing his wrestling alter ego Zeus in the Hulk Hogan vehicle No Holds Barred (1989). Lister continued his run of B films in the early '90s, as well as appearing in Walter Hill's higher profile actioner Trespass (1992) with future co-star Ice Cube, and Jean-Claude Van Damme's Universal Soldier (1992). As the 1990s went on, Lister played roles in a more varied assortment of films, including the quirky Johnny Depp/Marlon Brando/Faye Dunaway romantic fantasy Don Juan DeMarco (1995) and the Quentin Tarantino-wannabe noir Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995). Lister got to act for Tarantino himself in Jackie Brown, as well as play the President in Luc Besson's The Fifth Element. Lister's 1990s career also benefited from the decade's surge in African-American filmmaking, beginning with his starring role in Mario Van Peebles' Western Posse (1993). Lister subsequently starred as neighborhood bully Deebo opposite Ice Cube in the sleeper hit comedy Friday (1995). After appearing in comedian Martin Lawrence's A Thin Line Between Love and Hate (1996), Lister played a supporting role in Ice Cube's directorial debut The Players Club (1998), and starred as a hood in Master P's I Got the Hook-Up (1998). Adding to his eclectic credits in 2000, Lister notched another hit reprising his role as Deebo in the sequel Next Friday (2000), and co-starred as one of Satan's sons in the Adam Sandler comedy Little Nicky (2000).

Trivia: Hosted her own travel show, Amy's Japan, while living in Japan. Worked with the Asian American Theater Company in San Francisco. Trained at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. Appeared in Lincoln Center's stage production of Twelfth Night. Created and performed a three-part one woman show in the 1990s, based on her childhood and her mother's life.

Trivia: Actress Tamala Jones launched her career as a model, appearing in magazine ads and television commercials, before landing her first acting job on an episode of the preteen sitcom California Dreams, but her interest in the craft goes back to early childhood, when Jones and her cousin would stage backyard shows. Los Angeles-born and raised, Jones first studied drama in the sixth grade. As a young woman, she guest starred on series ranging from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to E.R. to The Wayans Brothers. She had her first regular television role playing a student in the ABC network's short-lived drama Dangerous Minds. Jones entered feature films with a small role in How to Make an American Quilt (1995) and had her first starring film role in Booty Call (1997). In 1998, Jones starred in the short-lived NBC summer replacement sitcom For Your Love. After appearing in Blue Streak and The Wood the following year, Jones began to gain even more momentum in 2000 with roles in Ice Cube's Next Friday and the Tim Meadows SNL vehicle The Ladies Man. Jones would later share the limelight with a talented cast in Kingdom Come in 2001. She continued to work steadily in a variety of projects including Head of State, Daddy Day Camp, Who's Your Caddy?, and What Love Is before being cast on the television show Castle as Lanie Paris. In 2010 she starred in and co-produced the romantic comedy 35 & Ticking.

Trivia: Also known as Sticky Fingaz, Sticky, and sometimes credited as Kirk `Sticky' Jones. Began musical career as frontman for the hardcore rap group Onyx in 1992. Released his first solo album, Black Trash: The Autobiography of Kirk Jones, in 2000. In addition to guest spots on numerous television series, landed the title role on Spike's Blade: The Series in 2006.

Trivia: Few actors possess the range required to craft some of the most colorful villains ever committed to celluloid before turning around to portray such a benevolent and beloved leader as Martin Luther King Jr., and it's a testament to Clifton Powell's skills as a performer that he could be equally believable doing both. It was during the early '90s that Powell first began to rise to prominence in television and film, with standout roles in Bill Duke's Deep Cover and In the Heat of the Night preceding a pair of memorable supporting roles for the Hughes Brothers in Menace II Society and Dead Presidents. Though Powell would continue to appear in features, it was on the small screen that he gained most of his exposure in the early years. After gradually climbing the credits on such shows as Murder, She Wrote, The Jamie Foxx Show, and NYPD Blue, Powell would leave an indelible mark on viewers with his thoughtful portrayal of Martin Luther King Jr. in director Charles Burnett's Selma, Lord, Selma. With versatile, everyman looks that were something of a blessing and a curse, Powell quickly established himself as an actor capable of truly disappearing into his characters -- sometimes to a fault. While a slew of roles on screens big and small kept Powell a considerably busy man in the mid-'90s, later roles in such efforts as Lockdown, Civil Brand, and Never Die Alone proved that his persistence, talent, and dedication were beginning to pay off. In 2004, Powell and the cast of the wildly popular biopic Ray would be honored with a Screen Actor's Guild nomination, and though they didn't take home the prize it was obvious Powell was finally on the verge of breaking big. His dark turn in the T.D. Jakes screen-adaptation Woman Thou Art Loosed was followed by a series of small-screen appearances in House, M.D., CSI, and Day Break, and in 2007 alone Powell's name would be attached to no less than eight films being prepared for the big screen .

Trivia: Was born abroad because her parents were missionaries. Was a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Started out as a teacher in Compton, CA, before becoming an actor. Owns a production company called Kwick Whit Productions. Regularly performs stand-up comedy in and around Los Angeles.

Trivia: Best known for his work in the Friday franchise. His father worked as a pastor at a church is Chicago. Hosted the BET's Comic View in 2013.