If Eazy-E was the visionary behind N.W.A, Ice Cube was the gangsta group's mouthpiece. After famously penning most of the lyrics on 1988's Straight Outta Compton album, he left the crew in a dispute and headed east to hook up with the Bomb Squad for 1990's solo debut, AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted. Backed by pummelling beats, Cube dropped incendiary social commentary before moving into the realm of concept albums with '91's Death Certificate. When it comes to uncompromising hip-hop content, no one does it better than O'Shea.