Tracy Marrow (born February 16, 1958 in Newark, New Jersey), better known as Ice-T, is an American rapper, singer, and actor. He is one of the pioneers of gangsta rap and was also instrumental in creating rapcore.
Ice-T started in 1982 out with other West Coast rap pioneers such as Kid Frost, DJ Flash, and The Egyptian Lover with electro recordings. Later on, he changed his style and was the first West Coast rapper to be accepted by the East Coast. 6 ‘n The Mornin is sometimes seen as the track that triggered the whole gangster rap movement. It was produced by The Unknown DJ, who produced electro funk tracks before and went on to produce Compton’s Most Wanted. The song was inspired by Schoolly D’s “P.S.K. What Does It Mean?” and became itself the inspiration for Eazy-E and N.W.A’s Boyz-N-The-Hood. Ice-T went on to work with Afrika Islam, the man behind the beats on 1987’s Rhyme Pays, 1988’s Power and 1989’s The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech… Just Watch What You Say.
He also is a star in Law in Order: Special Victims Unit.
In 1992 he created the crossover band Body Count with 4 other black musicians.
