Metta Sandiford-Artest was born Ronald William Artest Jr. on November 13, 1979, and raised in Queensbridge in Long Island City, Queens, New York.

[6][3] In 1999, he led the Red Storm to a 14–4 record in the Big East Conference and 28–9 overall and the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division I Tournament, losing to Ohio State.

[9] Midway through the 2001–02 season, Artest was traded by Chicago to the Indiana Pacers along with Ron Mercer, Brad Miller, and Kevin Ollie, for Jalen Rose, Travis Best, Norman Richardson, and a second-round draft pick.

[10] On January 27, 2003, Artest got into a verbal altercation with Miami Heat head coach Pat Riley and flashed an obscene gesture into the crowd and was suspended for four games.

[14] After playing 16 games early in the 2005–06 season, Artest demanded a trade from the Indiana Pacers, and he was placed on the team's inactive roster.

This prompted ESPN to declare that "Ron Artest has breathed new life in the Sacramento Kings and enhanced their chances of reaching the playoffs for the ninth straight year.

"[17] He was suspended for Game 2 of the team's first-round series against the San Antonio Spurs following a flagrant foul (elbow to the head) on Manu Ginóbili.

After the playoffs, Artest offered to donate his entire salary to keep teammate Bonzi Wells, who became a free agent after the 2005–06 NBA season, with the team.

[21] In response to the trade, Yao Ming was generally positive, but jokingly expressed hope that Artest is "not fighting anymore and going after a guy in the stands."

"[23] On October 30, 2008, Artest received his first technical as a Houston Rocket, as he raced towards a group of Dallas Mavericks players and then quickly went to Yao Ming who bumped Josh Howard after play stopped.

The TNT broadcast crew felt that this technical was unwarranted and reckoned it was based upon Artest's prior reputation as a feisty player in the league.

After being called for an offensive foul, Artest was indignant and proceeded to antagonize Bryant after the play, which eventually led to an ejection by Joe Crawford.

[30] In Game 5 of the 2010 Western Conference Finals, Artest hit a game-winning shot at the buzzer after grabbing a last second offensive rebound.

Artest scored 20 points in the clincher and sank the team's last field goal – a three-pointer late in the fourth quarter – to virtually seal the victory.

[37] On April 22, 2012, in a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, World Peace elbowed James Harden in the head as he was celebrating a dunk.

[48] Due to the Lakers' other injuries, World Peace played in Game 3 in spite of running with discomfort after having fluid drained from a cyst behind his surgically repaired left knee.

"[51] On July 11, 2013, after four seasons with the Lakers, the team waived World Peace via the amnesty clause to gain relief from the salary cap.

[65] On April 11, 2017, World Peace scored a team-leading 18 points in the second half to help the Lakers extend its longest winning streak in four years to five games with a 108–96 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.

[67] In 2019, World Peace signed a one-day contract with the San Diego Kings of the American Basketball Association to bolster their squad against the four-time defending league champion Jacksonville Giants.

He played under the name Ron Artest at the request of league co-founder Ice Cube, who wanted to "turn back the clock a little bit.

Entitled Lovable Badass,[73] the show featured work by 30 Canadian and American artists, illustrators, painters and sculptors inspired by the athlete.

In September 2013, he made the first in a recurring series of skits on the Comedy Central sketch show Key and Peele called "Metta World News," in which he plays a newscaster.

In 2023, Metta World Peace competed in season ten of The Masked Singer as the wild card contestant "Cuddle Monster" who Nick Cannon called the largest costume in this series.

Established in 2010, the brand management company's clients include himself and music artists Vinita, Deacon, Sade Artest, Rugby, and Emmaline Cleary.

Authorities were quick to recognize their mistake after World Peace explained that the armed individuals were actors shooting a "life on the streets"-styled movie for his group.

[86] In a December 2009 Sporting News interview, Artest admitted he led a "wild" lifestyle as a young player, and drank Hennessy cognac in the locker room at halftime while with the Bulls.

Wallace, upset at being fouled hard when the game was effectively over (the Pacers led 97–82 with less than 50 seconds to go), responded by shoving Artest in the face, leading to an altercation near the scorer's table.

Artest jumped into the front-row seats and confronted a man he incorrectly believed to be responsible, which in turn erupted into a brawl between Pistons fans and several of the Pacers.

His publicist, Courtney Barnes, said that World Peace chose Metta as his first name because it is a traditional Buddhist word that means loving kindness and friendliness towards all.

[107] In March 2023, Sandiford-Artest was announced as a partner in MOORvision Technologies and Ucam, a camera built to capture athlete's point of view during games.