Ice-T
by Millionout on Jul.13, 2010, under Ice-T
Tracy Marrow, better known by the name Ice-T, is an American rapper.
Born 16th February 1958, Marrow was born in Newark, Jersey, but moved to Los Angeles, California at a young age and developed his signature East Coast sound. After leaving high school he joined the army and remained there for four years before returning to LA with hopes of becoming a hip hop artist. His first job was writing the raps for Mr. T’s video Be Somebody… or Be Somebody’s Fool!
He soon landed a deal with Sire Records and released his debut album Rhyme Pays in 1987. Although notable as the first ever album to include a Parental Advisory warning label it was not a huge commercial success, only reaching number 96 on the Billboard Hot 100. His follow up album Power was released in 1988, with its lead single I’m Your Pusher receiving a significant amount of airplay on MTV, while his third album The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech… Just Watch What You Say was a critical smash hit and produced the singles Lethal Weapon and You Played Yourself.
However, Ice-T’s biggest hits were yet to come. The 1990s was his most prolific decade, in which he released four albums that helped him make his indelible mark on mainstream music. Between 1991’s O.G. Original Gangster, 1993’s Home Invasion, 1996’s VI – Return of the Real and 1999’s The Seventh Deadly Sin, Ice-T produced a number of hit singles, including New Jack Hustler (Nino’s Theme), Gotta Lotta Love, I Ain’t New To This, 99 Problems and I Must Stand. These tracks, along with the controversial Cop Killer (performed with his rap group Body Count) have since led to Ice-T being recognized as one of the most influential rappers of the 90s.
Since the turn of the century, Ice-T has released only one album – 2006’s Gangsta Rap.
