Ice-T will be honored with the 2,747th on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday, February 17, at 11:30 a.m. in the category of Recording.
“Ice-T is a cultural icon and a success both in the music and television industries. His fans will be very excited to see their favorite performer placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame,” stated Ana Martinez, producer of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “Ice’s star will be situated near the stars of music greats such as Thelonius Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Luciano Pavarotti, Mama Cass Elliott, John Denver, and Herbie Hancock to name a few,” added Martinez.
Joining emcee Lupita Sanchez Cornejo for the star unveiling will be legendary rapper Chuck D and Walk of Famers, Mariska Hargitay and Dick Wolf.
Ice-T stars as Sergeant Odafin “Fin” Tutuola in NBC‘s Law and Order: Special Victims Unit from Universal Television and Wolf Entertainment, now in its 24th season and the longest-running primetime drama series of all time.
No other actor has shared a longer or stronger working relationship with powerhouse producer Dick Wolf, who has collaborated with Ice-T on seven different projects.
Ice-T also starred in Wolf’s telefilm Exiled: A Law & Order Movie and guest-starred as Fin in Law & Order, Chicago P.D. and Law & Order: Organized Crime. In 2002, he won the NAACP Image Award for his role as SVU‘s Detective Tutuola.
His first on-screen break came when the producers of the film Breakin’ asked him to rap in the movie. Additional film and television credits include New Jack City, Ricochet, Trespass, Johnny Mnemonic, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Saturday Night Live. He has numerous independent and documentary film roles to his credit as well, including his 2012 directorial debut Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap, and Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp, which he produced in 2012.
Ice-T and his wife, Coco, starred in the E! reality series Ice Loves Coco for 4 seasons and Ice also hosted and produced four seasons of the Oxygen unscripted series In Ice Cold Blood.
Born in New Jersey, Ice T quickly learned the art of survival. An only child whose parents died when he was very young, Ice T became involved in Los Angeles gangs before spending four years in the Army. He went on to become rap’s original gangster, writing songs such as “6 ‘N the Mornin’” and the Grammy nominated “New Jack Hustler.”
Ice-T not only helped to usher in “gangster rap”, but he has also lived it. He is the original embodiment of L.A. hip-hop and a cultural icon. Through his music, books, and lecture tours of America’s prisons, high schools, libraries, and colleges (including Harvard, Princeton and Stanford), Ice-T has become an influential spokesman for America’s youth, regardless of color.
The Grammy Award-winning artist formed Rhyme Syndicate Records in 1989 and released a string of groundbreaking West Coast rap records. He subsequently formed the thrash metal band Body Count with close high school friend and guitarist Ernie C. Body Count’s 1992 self-titled debut contained the controversial single “Cop Killer,” and the band became the most critically acclaimed act on the highly successful inaugural Lollapalooza Tour.
In 2018, Body Count received a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance for their single “Black Hoodie,” off their sixth studio album, Bloodlust, and in 2021 won a Grammy for their song “Bum Rush.” Ice and the band are currently in the recording studio working on their eighth album entitled Merciless.
Ice-T’s talent as an artist has spanned many disciplines. As an author, he’s written five books: “The Ice Opinion” (1994), “Ice: A Memoir of Gangster Life and Redemption – from South Central to Hollywood” (2011), the fictional novels “Kings of Vice” (2011), and “Mirror Image” (2014), and, most recently, “Split Decision” (2022), a compelling memoir of his early life and shared past with former crime partner Spike, written in collaboration with New York Times bestselling author Douglas Century.
As an avid gamer, he has lent his voice to over 20 video games, including the “Grand Theft Auto” series, “Gears of War 3,” “Scarface: The World Is Yours” and “Borderlands 3.”
Congratulations, Ice-T!