- Born
- Birth nameTracy Lauren Marrow
- Nicknames
- Ice-T
- Crazy Tray
- Height5′ 11″ (1.80 m)
- The legendary gangsta hip-hop emcee Ice-T was born Tracy Marrow on
February 16, 1958, in Newark, New Jersey. He moved to Los Angeles,
California, to live with his paternal aunt after the death of his
father while he was in the sixth grade; his mother had died earlier
when he was in the third grade. His aunt lived in the South Los Angeles
district of Crenshaw, colloquially referred to as South Central. He
became immersed in the street life of the inner-city and eventually
became a member of the West Side Rollin 30s Original Harlem Crips.
In 1979, Marrow joined the Army after leaving Crenshaw High School, but
his 4-year hitch was enough for him, as he was a leader, not a
follower. "I didn't like total submission to a leader other than
myself," he said. After ETSing from the Army in 1983, he returned to
South Central with the intention of becoming a hip-hop musician. More
than music, his life got caught up in street life as as a jewel thief
and as a pimp. (His nomme de guerre, Ice T, is an homage to the fabled
pimp and raconteur Iceberg Slim (Robert Beck). He committed himself totally
to his music after a 1985 car crash.
As a musician, Ice-T played a major role in the creation of the gangsta
incarnation of hip-hop music and was a colossus of the West Coast
hip-hop scene, despite his East Coast, greater New York, origins.
Though his music displays a political consciousness, like the
indictments of racism that were a hallmark of seminal hip-hop group
Public Enemy, it also is nihilistic as befits a chronicler of street life.
His most infamous song, the heavy metal "Cop Killer," was one of the
major battle in the cultural wars of the 1990s, in which cultural
conservatives enlisted the Moses of the right wing, Charlton Heston, to get
Ice-T dropped from his then-label, Sire/Warner Bros.
The charismatic Ice-T has also achieved success as an actor in movies
and on TV. He plays Detective Odafin Tutuola on the TV series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999),
which is ironic for someone famous for "Cop Killer" and his feud with
the L.A.P.D. Ice-T currently resides in North Bergen, New Jersey, with
his wife, Coco Austin.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Jon C. Hopwood
- SpouseCoco Austin(December 31, 2005 - present) (1 child)
- ChildrenChanel Nicole Marrow
- Often reflects himself in his songs
- His instantly recognizable nasal voice
- Has played the same character (Detective Odafin 'Fin' Tutuola) in four different series: Law & Order (1990), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999), 30 Rock (2006) and Chicago P.D. (2014).
- While his cousin Earl Marrow was preparing to leave for college, Ice-T shared a bedroom with him. Earl was a huge fan of rock music and listened only to the local radio rock stations; sharing a with him sparked Ice-T's interest in heavy metal music.
- Chose his pseudonym in honor of author Iceberg Slim (pen name of Robert Maupin Beck, 1918-1992; a.k.a., Robert Beck), an ex-pimp turned author whose heavy-hitting novels detailed the hard life of the criminal underworld.
- Almost didn't accept the role of Scottie in the film New Jack City (1991) because he feared that in case the film was a flop, this would negatively affect his already hot hip-hop career. This turned out to be his breakthrough role and began him on his acting career.
- His feud with former LAPD chief Daryl Gates was widely reported by the American press.
- [on the controversy created by "Cop Killer"] When the President (of the United States) mentions your name in anger, you KNOW the s--t has hit the fan!"
- [on the 1992 Los Angeles riots] Los Angeles is a microcosm of the United States. If L.A. falls, the country falls.
- [on his Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) co-star, Richard Belzer] Belzer's the best. He's Jewish and I'm Black, so the Klan's after both of us. Belzer is a G, an old-school cat who knows the game. He's very controversial in his comedy, and me in my music. So I think we just naturally clicked.
- I can tell you how to become a millionaire in as much time as it takes a woman to have a baby. One catch: the nine-month plan ends in a funeral.
- [on his contribution to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999)] I bring a lot of shit to the show. I'm the only person on the show probably anybody under 20 knows who they are. I bring black people and ethnic people. I bring an edge to the show, because at any moment I might smack the shit out of somebody.
When I got on the show, it was in the 40s. Now it's top 10. So I brought something.
- Tank Girl (1995) - $1,000,000
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