Ice-T began his career as an underground rapper in the 1980s and was signed to Sire Records in 1987, when he released his debut album Rhyme Pays.
59 Facts About Ice-T
2.
Ice-T co-founded the heavy metal band Body Count, which he introduced on his 1991 rap album OG.
3.
Ice-T encountered controversy over his track "Cop Killer", the lyrics of which discussed killing police officers.
4.
Ice-T asked to be released from his contract with Warner Bros.
5.
Body Count's next album, Born Dead, was released in 1994, and Ice-T released two more albums in the late 1990s.
6.
Ice-T received top billing for his role in Surviving the Game and has appeared in small roles in TV series and other films throughout the 1990s.
7.
Ice-T's mother died of a heart attack when he was in third grade.
8.
Ice-T attended Palms Junior High, which was predominantly made up of white students, and included black students who traveled by bus from South Central to attend.
9.
Ice-T then attended Crenshaw High School, which was almost entirely made up of black students.
10.
Ice-T sold cannabis and stole car stereos to earn extra cash, but he was not making enough to support his pregnant girlfriend.
11.
Ice-T heard The Sugarhill Gang's newly released single "Rapper's Delight", which inspired him to perform his own raps over the instrumentals of this and other early hip-hop records.
12.
Ice-T stated that he owed a debt of gratitude to Sean because his prison time allowed him to pursue a career as a rapper.
13.
In 1982, Ice-T met producer Willie Strong from Saturn Records.
14.
That same year, Ice-T released "Body Rock", another electro hip-hop single that found popularity in clubs.
15.
Ice-T enjoyed the single's sound and delivery, as well as its vague references to gang life, although the real life gang, Park Side Killers, was not named in the song.
16.
Ice-T decided to adopt Schoolly D's style, and wrote the lyrics to his first gangsta rap song, "6 in the Mornin'", in his Hollywood apartment, and created a minimal beat with a Roland TR-808.
17.
Ice-T compared the sound of the song, which was recorded as a B-side on the single "Dog'n The Wax", to that of the Beastie Boys.
18.
Ice-T intentionally did not represent any particular gang, and wore a mixture of red and blue clothing and shoes to avoid antagonizing gang-affiliated listeners, who debated his true affiliation.
19.
Ice-T finally landed a deal with a major label Sire Records.
20.
When label founder and president Seymour Stein heard his demo, he said Ice-T sounded like Bob Dylan.
21.
Ice-T's next album Power was released in 1988, under his own label Rhyme Syndicate, and it was a more assured and impressive record, earning him strong reviews and his second gold record.
22.
Ice-T toured with Body Count on the first annual Lollapalooza concert tour in 1991, gaining him appeal among middle-class teenagers and fans of alternative music genres.
23.
Consequently, Time Warner Music refused to release Ice-T's upcoming album Home Invasion because of the controversy surrounding "Cop Killer".
24.
Ice-T then reactivated Rhyme Syndicate and formed a deal with Priority Records for distribution.
25.
Ice-T had collaborated with certain other heavy metal bands during this time period.
26.
In 1995, Ice-T made a guest performance on Forbidden by Black Sabbath.
27.
Besides fronting his own band and rap projects, Ice-T has collaborated with other hard rock and metal bands, such as Icepick, Motorhead, Slayer, Megadeth, Pro-Pain, and Six Feet Under.
28.
Ice-T has covered songs by hardcore punk bands such as the Exploited, Jello Biafra, and Black Flag.
29.
Ice-T made an appearance at Insane Clown Posse's Gathering of the Juggalos.
30.
Ice-T was a judge for the 7th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists.
31.
In July 2019, Ice-T released his first solo hip hop track in 10 years, titled "Feds in My Rearview".
32.
Ice-T has since stated he considers the films and his own performance in them to be "wack".
33.
Ice-T was interviewed in the Brent Owens documentary Pimps Up, Ho's Down, in which he claims to have had an extensive pimping background before getting into rap.
34.
In 1997, Ice-T had a pay-per-view special titled Ice-T's Extreme Babes which appeared on Action PPV, formerly owned by BET Networks.
35.
In 1999, Ice-T starred in the HBO film Stealth Fighter as a United States Naval Aviator who fakes his own death, steals an F-117 stealth fighter, and threatens to destroy United States military bases.
36.
Ice-T acted in the film Sonic Impact, released the same year.
37.
Ice-T made an appearance on the comedy television series Chappelle's Show as himself presenting the award for "Player Hater of the Year" at the "Player-Haters Ball", a parody of his own appearance at the Players Ball.
38.
In 2007, Ice-T appeared as a celebrity guest star on the MTV sketch comedy show Short Circuitz.
39.
Ice-T was interviewed for the Cannibal Corpse retrospective documentary Centuries of Torment, as well as appearing in Chris Rock's 2009 documentary Good Hair, in which he reminisced about going to school in hair curlers.
40.
In 2020, Ice-T competed on The Masked Singer spin-off The Masked Dancer where he portrayed "Disco Ball" and was the first to be eliminated.
41.
Ice-T's voice acting roles include Madd Dogg in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, as well as Agent Cain in Sanity: Aiken's Artifact.
42.
Ice-T appears as himself in Def Jam: Fight for NY and UFC: Tapout fighting video games.
43.
Ice-T voiced the character Aaron Griffin in the video game Gears of War 3.
44.
On December 27,2013, Ice-T announced that he was entering podcasting in a deal with the Paragon Collective.
45.
On October 20,2006, Ice-T's Rap School aired and was a reality television show on VH1.
46.
Each week, Ice-T gives them assignments and they compete for an imitation gold chain with a microphone on it.
47.
Ice-T cites writer Iceberg Slim and rapper Schoolly D as influences, with Iceberg Slim's novels guiding his skills as a lyricist.
48.
Ice-T drew on the fusion of rock and hip hop by Rick Rubin-produced acts such as Beastie Boys, Run-DMC, and LL Cool J, who featured rock samples in their songs.
49.
Ice-T married swimsuit model Nicole "Coco" Austin in January 2002.
50.
Ice-T has stated on numerous occasions that he is a teetotaler, and lives a straight edge lifestyle.
51.
Ice-T is a long time practitioner of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and boxing, and is a big fan of the UFC.
52.
On June 5,2008, Ice-T joked that he would be voting for John McCain in the 2008 American elections, speculating that his past affiliation with Body Count could hurt Barack Obama's chances if he endorsed him, so he would choose instead to ruin McCain's campaign by saying he supported him.
53.
On September 22,2022, Ice-T narrated an advertisement for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
54.
Ice-T had a feud with LL Cool J in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
55.
Ice-T recorded disses against LL on his 1988 album Power.
56.
Ice-T then devoted the third verse of the song to dissing Ice-T, mocking his rap ability, his background, and his style.
57.
Ice-T suggested that the success of Power was due to the appearance of Ice-T's girlfriend Darlene on the album cover.
58.
Ice-T appeared to have ignored the insults and he had defended LL Cool J after his arrest in the song "Freedom of Speech".
59.
One of the comments exchanged was Ice-T telling Way to "eat a dick".