Ice-T was born Tracy Marrow in the mean streets of Los Angeles in 1958. From an early age the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star was a creature of the streets. The orphaned Marrow took to stealing and selling drugs to make ends meet. He was even associated with a notorious Los Angeles gang. After his daughter was born in 1976, he joined the Army, where he promptly got involved in a controversial theft, causing him to go AWOL. He did call girl management training with a "pro" and went on to forge a new career in that arena.
It didn't get any better when he left the Army, as he turned his talents to robbing banks and jewelry stores. It was in the 1980s that he broke into rap music with albums whose "explicit lyrics" shocked and angered many. Since then, he's forged a career in rap music and in TV. He's butted heads with some of the biggest names in the music biz and married a surgically-enhanced buxom model by the name of Coco Austin.
Ice-T's story is one of surviving in the 'hood by turning his hand to selling drugs, robbery, and exploiting ladies of the night. So let's go through it and look at 15 unflattering facts about Ice-T's past.
14 He Was Affiliated With The Notorious Crips Gang In Los Angeles
Growing up in Los Angeles, Ice-T ran into the notorious battling gangs, the Crips and the Bloods. One story says his girlfriend was a Criplet (a female gang member). Ice-T says that he and his friends more or less pretended to be part of the Crips. Seems it kept the bad guys off his back. From an early age, Ice-T was an operator. You had to be growing up on the means streets of Hillside, Los Angeles.
13 As A Teen, He Sold Pot And Stole Car Stereos
By the time he was 17-years-old, his mother and father were both dead and Ice-T had his own apartment. Did he rush out and take a job serving burgers at Burger King? No. He was an entrepreneurial type. He sold pot and stole car stereos to make ends meet. At the time, his girlfriend was pregnant and he needed cash big time. His daughter Letesha was born in 1976.
12 He Stole Bike Parts So He Could Build Himself A Bike
Before he died, Ice-T's father gave him a bike. It was stolen. So, Ice's response was to go out and steal bike parts so he could build a replacement. Note, he didn't steal whole bikes, just parts of them. And he then built some pretty weird looking bikes. He, like a lot of rappers, was a kid of the mean streets. What saved him? Well, eventually it was music. But he did do a stint in the Army.
11 Joined The Army And Was Part Of A Group Of Thieving Soldiers
After his daughter Letesha was born in 1976, Ice-T had a wake-up call and joined the Army purely for the financial and other benefits. Amazingly, the young Ice-T didn't smoke, drink, or do drugs. So he was Army ready. The only thing was he got caught up in a group of soldiers who stole a regimental rug. And all heck hit the fan. Ice-T's answer was to go AWOL.
10 He Studied Working Girl Management 101 With A "Pro"
While in Hawaii with the Army, he studied p*mping with, who else, but a "pro". He later claimed to have had a lot of experience "managing" working girls. So, he was supplementing his Army pay with a spot of living off of immoral earnings? Apparently. He even read black author and former p*mp's Iceberg Slim's memoir. And Ice-T was born.
9 Starred In Documentary About "Managing" Working Girls
[It was called P*mps Up, Ho's Down]. Basically, the 1998 documentary was a training film on how to become a working girl manager extraordinaire. It told the tale of what the guys did in their spare time, how they picked up girls, and how they managed them. It threw in a few working girls and some nice shots of the means streets all over the United States. Call girl management 101.
8 1987 Album Was First To Have "Explicit Lyrics" Warning On It
These days "explicit lyrics" warnings are a dime a dozen and like health warnings on cigarette packets, are largely ignored. But in 1987, a Parental Guidance warning label was a big deal. It was the birth of the hip hop and rap movement and parents everywhere struggled to know what was appropriate and what wasn't. Although the scantily dressed girl on Ice-T's Rhyme Pays should have made it obvious what they were in for.
7 After The Army He Became A "Take Over" Bank Robber
In an interview, Ice-T admitted to his life of crime post-Army. Yes, he said, he and his gang had robbed banks. He has admitted: "We robbed mostly jewelry stores, and we started off not being armed." Well, they did have sledgehammers for smashing display cases. As a bank robber, he and his gang were "take over" robbers (as in movie Heat), meaning they took over the bank and went for the safe.
6 His Song "Cop Killer" Caused An Outrage
In 1992 Ice-T and Sean C's song "Cop Killer" became a focal point for violent black protests following the acquittal of the Los Angeles police who had beaten Rodney King in 1991. The lyrics were pretty graphic, full of guns and knives and revenge. Time Warner was apparently not amused and the release of Ice-T's album Home Invasion was delayed. "Cop Killer" was not on the final cut. No surprises there.
5 Soulja Boy And Ice-T Wage War On One Another
Ice-T accused the "Crank Dat" singer of singlehandedly destroying hip hop. Seems he did not like his style, his lyrics, or his performances. There could be an element of jealousy in Ice-T's rants because Soulja Boy is seen as the new wave of rap and hip hop. A couple of Ice-T's ex-associates told him so and 60-something Ice-T took it out on 20-something Soulja Boy. Don't mess with old rappers.
4 2006 Album Cover Showed So Much Skin Retailers Banned It
Where do we start? The cover for the 2006 album Gangsta Rap has Ice-T and Coco in the sack "clothesless" if you get our drift. The biggest attraction is Coco's backside, on display for all the world to see. Not surprisingly, a lot of record outlets said no thanks when asked to stock the album. The cover was probably an attempt to hide the fact that, by the time the album was released, Gangsta Rap, as a form of hip hop was passé.
3 That Feud With LL Cool J.
Seems LL Cool J started the feud decades ago by telling Ice-T that he was a West Coast nobody and that he LL Cool J was the greatest rapper ever. This was in pre-social media days and so the feud was like slow-moving lava on the rap scene. But guess what? After all that the two old rappers only actually met one another for the first time in 2012. Apparently it was a fairly civilized encounter.
2 Exploits His Wife's Considerable Assets
At 39/24/40, there's a lot to notice about model, wife, and mother Coco Austin. And Ice-T either loves showing her off or enjoys the attention and publicity her appearances engender. He posted a picture of Coco, their daughter Chanel, and their dog in bed on Instagram. Coco, we might add, was topless. Let's face it, implants and all, she's hardly the bashful type.
1 Bitter Feud With LAPD Chief Daryl Gates
It was all brought on by the Rodney King beating at the hands of the Los Angeles Police Department in 1991. What followed was a torrent of rage and violence on the part of the black community in Los Angeles. "Cop Killer" was the protest's anthem song. LAPD Chief Daryl Gates went after Ice-T and his song with a vengeance. And a bitter feud erupted. Gates was outraged and said so.