Biography for
Ice-T More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

16 February 1958, Newark, New Jersey, USA

Birth Name

Tracy Lauren Marrow

Nickname

Ice

Height

5' 11" (1.80 m)

Mini Biography

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, Nicole Austin.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Jon C. Hopwood

Spouse

Nicole Austin

(31 December 2005 - present)

Trade Mark

Often reflects himself in his songs

His instantly recognizable nasal voice

Trivia

He said a few lines on Chunky A's (Arsenio Hall) song "Dope, The Big Lie," from the album "Large and in Charge."

Hip-hop artist, well known as the father of gangsta music, which spawned the careers of artists like N.W.A., Snoop Dogg, and the Geto Boys.

His song "Cop Killer," which was recorded with his heavy metal group Body Count, was the subject of a national debate on the glorification of violence in the media. After the song was removed from Body Count's self-titled debut album, and after further controversy over the artwork for the then-forthcoming "Home Invasion" album, he was dropped by Sire/Warner Bros. Records, which had released the album. The split was amicable, even though Sire had assigned the catalog number 45119 to the album. Later pressings of the self-titled Body Count album were replaced by the Ice-T solo track "Freedom of Speech (Just Watch What You Say)." "Home Invasion" was released eventually by Ice's now-defunct label, Rhyme $yndicate Records, through Priority/EMI, with the intended artwork intact.

Chose his pseudonym in honor of author Iceberg Slim (pen name of Robert Maupin Beck, 1918-1992; aka, Robert Beck), an ex-pimp turned author whose heavy-hitting novels detailed the hard life of the criminal underworld.

Served in the U.S. Army Rangers (1979-1981).

Was injured in a car accident in 1986, when his Porsche 914 was broadsided by another vehicle. The car accident later served as a turning point where Ice focused his skills on rapping and producing albums.

His daughter's name is Letesha and his son's name is Tracy Marrow Jr. and is called Little Ice.

He holds the distinction of being the only guest vocalist ever to appear on a Black Sabbath album, doing a guest rhyme on the song "Illusion of Power" on Sabbath's 1995 album, "Forbidden."

His feud with former LAPD chief Daryl Gates was widely reported by the American press.

Attended Crenshaw High School in south-central Los Angeles.

His longtime girlfriend was a Criplet--a female Crip gang member in Los Angeles, California.

He is the first hip-hop MC to perform the notorious C-Walk dance in front of cameras in the early 1980s.

His longtime partner was Darlene Ortiz. They have one son together, Tracy Marrow Jr.

His wife, Nicole Austin, a.k.a. Coco, is a swimsuit model.

Is good friends with "Six Feet Under" vocalist Chris Barnes.

Although he had a large feud with the LAPD as a result from his song "Cop Killer," he, ironically, plays a cop in the popular series "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1999).

Almost didn't accept the role of Scottie in the film New Jack City (1991) because he feared that if the film was a flop it would negatively affect his already hot hip-hop career. It turned out to be his breakthrough part and started him on his acting career.

Although not credited, appeared in the starting credits to D12's (Eminem's Hip-Hop group) Music Video, Fight Music.

Personal Quotes

(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!"

(Commenting 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."

Salary

Tank Girl (1995)

$1,000,000