Released: October 29, 1991

Songwriter: Ice Cube

Producer: Boogiemen Ice Cube

[O'Shea! O'Shea! Get your ass in here, boy You hear me calling you? O'Shea!]

When I was young I used to hang with the seventh graders
Little bad motherfucker playing Space Invaders
Fucking with the girls in the fourth grade
Either feeling on they butts or pulling on they braids
Working with the schoolhouse bully
By doing that, I had a lot of pull, G
Cheating on tests, making a mess
Cussing like a sailor at recess
It must a been a half-moon
'Cause you'll catch me running out the little girls' bathroom
Chewing on Good and Plenties
Got my gamble on at lunch pitching pennies
Yo I was living like the class clown
Pulling all the hokes, making all the jokes man
When you young it's hard to see
That it's wrong throwing rocks at the RTD
Popping out your window with a BB gun
Better yet knocking on your door and run
Playing hide-and-go-get-it for a little stank
Even though I was still shooting blanks
As soon as the dark hit
I was stealing candy out the corner market
Until I got my ass whipped
'Cause I was ten years old, doing dumb shit

Thirteen, that's how old I was
When my jimmy started getting a little peach fuzz
And I was looking at any butt and ass
Me and my homies started cutting class
Going up to the high school
Looking for any bitch I could lie to
Tell em I was older than I really was
Smoked my first joint and got really buzzed
That's what a mack's made of
But when I got my first piece of pussy I fell in love
Hard as a rock the long way
And then I put the rubber on the wrong way
But I still gotta have it
Overexcited and fucking like a jackrabbit
Goddamn I was hype
A virgin but I still knew how to lay the pipe
Even though the ho worked me
I still knocked the boots from here to Albuquerque
Then the shit got strange, money
I started shaking and jimmy felt funny
Then the nut came gushing
I jumped up got dressed and start pushing
'Cause I thought the bitch broke my dick
'Cause I was still young doing dumb shit

At 17 got my first Volkswagen
And mastered the life-long art of dragging
To the women in college
Hung out with the OG's and got some street knowledge
Breaking in cars and all that
Hitting punk fools with a baseball bat
Fucking at a real fast rate
Til they said that I might not graduate
Then I said, "Fuck the dumb shit
'Cause Pops'll fuck me up quick
If things continue."
So I start rapping about shit I been through
And I got real good
Now I look at all the kids in the neighborhood
Trying to be baby macks
Doing shit that I did seven years back
Going through a stage
But before they can grow up they on the front page
And they moms is having a fit
'Cause they died young, doing dumb shit

Ice Cube

Straight outta South Central Los Angeles, Ice Cube became one of the most respected rappers in hip-hop, helping to usher in the era of gangsta rap with N.W.A and as a solo artist. He has gone on to become a mogul in Hollywood but still remains true to the game that brought him his success.

Born O'Shea Jackson on June 15, 1969, Ice Cube got his name from his older brother, who threatened to put him in a freezer and pull him out when he was an ice cube. He began rapping in high school and started his rap career as a member of Stereo Crew, which released the single “She’s a Skag” through Epic Records in 1986, and C.I.A. with the 1987 track “My Posse.” Both groups featured producer Sir Jinx, the cousin of DJ/producer Dr. Dre.

Ice Cube’s big break came when he wrote the song “Boyz n the Hood” for Eazy-E, which led to the formation of N.W.A. as a group. After the release of the 1987 compilation N.W.A. and the Posse, the group released their classic debut Straight Outta Compton in 1988. A financial dispute caused Cube to leave the group in 1989 and start his successful solo career, starting with his 1990 platinum debut Amerikkka’s Most Wanted.