There are few people in the world of rock’n’roll who live up to their name as perfectly as Ice-T does. Cooler than a chilled beer on a hot summer’s day, he has been there, done that, and come out the other side looking… well, cool. Maybe it’s the voice, that distinctive timbre, recognisable in an instant as belonging to no other, but more likely it’s that he has lived a life like no other.
Born Tracy Lauren Marrow, in Newark, New Jersey, February 16, 1958, he moved, at the age of 12, to live with his aunt in South Central Los Angeles after the deaths of his parents, and grew up in the heart of gang territory. By 17 years old he was out on his own, selling weed and stolen car stereos to make ends meet, before joining the U.S. army as a means of escape. Despite going to military jail for his involvement in the theft of an infantry rug, and going absent without leave, he received an honourable discharge in 1979, returning to a life of crime, including pimping and robbing jewellery stores.
Like so many others from the wrong side of town, Ice (who earned his nickname by reciting the works of author Iceberg Slim) could have easily ended up incarcerated for the rest of his life. Instead, when many of his friends were sent to prison, he decided to make his name as a DJ and then a rapper, winning an open mic competition in 1982 and ultimately becoming a platinum-selling artist in his own right. Not content with dominating one genre, he formed the metal band Body Count in 1990, stoking controversy with the song Cop Killer on their self-titled debut album, and later worked with legends as distinguished as Slayer, Motörhead and Black Sabbath.
Oh, and then there’s an acting career that has seen him in everything from New Jack City and Tank Girl, to 30 Rock and Law & Order, playing roles as diverse as a cop, a kangaroo and er, a cop again. He had his own successful reality show, Ice Loves Coco, with his wife, former model Nicole ‘Coco’ Austin. And while it may only be 13 miles from South Central to Hollywood, the gulf between the two is far greater. Ice-T has bridged it on his own terms. If anyone knows a thing or two about the ways of the world, it’s him…