He does not drink or use drugs but he was a polished criminal who sought refuge in music. He has a lot of rage and he releases it at every opportunity, it's enough to listen to one or two of his songs...
(Photo: Steve Vaccariello)
1. His full name is Tracy Lauren Marrow and he was born on February 16, 1958.
2. He is the son of an African-American father and a Louisiana mother and he grew up in New Jersey. Both his parents passed away as a result of a heart attack when he was 8 years old (his mother) and when he was 13 years old (his father).
3. Already at the age of 7 he discovered what racism was when his white friends behaved in a degrading way towards black children, an event that left a deep imprint on him as he was perceived as white because of the light color of his skin.
4. He attended Crenshaw High School which consisted mainly of black people. The Crips and Bloods gangs ruled the school but Ice was not part of any of them. He also stood out for not drinking alcohol or consuming drugs, unlike his friends.
5. He used to recite sentences from the book of the famous pimp "Iceberg Slim". In doing so he became an attraction at school and often would stand in the corridors and recite whole sentences. (Reminds us of Samuel Jackson in "Pulp Fiction").
6. From there he got his famous nickname ICE-T.
(Photo: Jackson Kalos)
7. Back then he also started his first band "The Precious Few of Crenshaw High School". They performed in clubs with a live band and dancers.
8. At age 17 he was selling cannabis and stolen Hi-Fis for a living. When his girlfriend became pregnant and gave birth to their daughter he could not afford the expenses and enlisted in the army to bring money home.
9. He served in the 25th Infantry Brigade serving in Hawaii, he served for two years and two months during which he also purchased DJ equipment and began learning to DJ and Rap.
10. In 1980, after his release from the army, he joined the criminal life and began robbing jewelry stores and banks while in the evenings he made a name for himself as a DJ and rapper in local clubs.
11. During one of the robberies he was involved in a serious car accident and was hospitalized for several days. After his release, he decided to leave the crime life and invest in his music career.
(Photo: Glen E. Friedman)
12. He started recording electro-hip-hop-style singles on his own and from single to single, his beats improved and his lyrics sharpened.
13. One of his standout singles at the time was “6 In The Mornin” which was the first single to speak so blatantly, transparently, and in detail about gang life in Los Angeles.
14. In 1987 he released his first album "Rhyme Pays". The album was a success and very quickly received the title of Gold Certification. This is the first album to receive the sticker - "Explicit Lyrics" invented that year.
15. A year later he released his second album "Power", releasing it under the new label he founded called Rhyme Syndicate. This album also gained momentum and reached Gold Certification.
16. He released a third album and in 1991 he released his fourth album "O.G. Original Gangster." An album that became a milestone in Rap music and became one of the albums that defined the Gangsta Rap style. On this album, he also introduced his band "Body Count".
17. His metal band "Body Count" was formed that year together with guitarist Ernie C, with the two writing the music and lyrics together.
(Photo: Dirk Behlau)
18. In 1992 came out the debut album of the cruel metal hip-hop band that bears the band name. The album was a huge success and received high exposure not only because of its music but also because of one specific song called "Cop Killer".
19. The song was perceived by the government as inciting against law enforcement and encouraging violence against police officers, a huge media storm raged around the song and it put the band and the album in the news headlines. Ice claimed the song was about aggressive police violence from the eyes of a black criminal.
20. In 1993 he released his fifth solo album "Home Invasion" which reached number 14 on Billboard.
21. That same year he collaborated with the band "Slayer" and recorded a string of three cover songs by the Scottish punk-rock band "Exploited", which will be included in the soundtrack of the movie "Judgment Night".
22. He has released three more albums in his solo career: "Ice-T VI: Return of the Real" (1996), "The Seventh Deadly Sin" (1999), and "Gangsta Rap" (2006).
(Photo: Terje Dokken)
23. In 1993, "Body Count" recorded a cover of Jimmy Hendrix's song "Hey Joe" for the Jimi Hendrix tribute album "Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix". The cover was a great success and gained many plays around the world.
24. A year later the second album "Born Dead" was released and in 1997 the third album "Violent Demise: The Last Days" was released.
25. In 2006 the band's fourth album was released not long before Ice and Ernie lost three members of the band. Two died as a result of a serious illness and the third by gunfire from a passing vehicle.
For Ice, it was a period of being or ceasing and the band went out for a hiatus.
26. Eight years later the two reunite and brought "Body Count" back to life. They released their fifth album "Manslaughter".
27. In 2017 the sixth album "Bloodlust" was released, the band was a resounding success, conquering charts in the US and Europe and even gaining Grammy nominations. This album hosts a number of major musicians from the metal world such as Dave Mustaine, Max Cavalera, Randy Blythe, and more.
28. And in 2020 which will not be forgotten very soon, the band released their seventh album "Carnivore". This album continues the momentum and power of the previous album and was a great success. This is the first album featuring Ice's son listed as Little Ice. This album also features other artists such as Amy Lee, Dave Lombardo, and more...
29. Apart from music, Ice-T is also an actor, although he did not win an Oscar he is not a minor actor.
He has starred in dozens of movies and dozens of TV series, of which you probably remember the movie "New Jack City" and the "Law & Order" series where he has acted since 2000.
(Photo: NBC)
30. Among his other notorious actions he participated in an HBO TV documentary called "Pimps Up, Ho's Down" which reflects the "work" of the pimp in managing prostitutes.
Listen to Body Count's latest album on: Spotify, Apple Music