Tracy Lauren Marrow (born February 16, 1958) is an American rapper, composer, actor, and producer better known by his stage name Ice-T. He began his career as an underground rapper in the 1980s before signing with Sire Records and releasing his debut album Rhyme Pays in 1987. The following year, he launched the record label Rhyme $yndicate Records (named after his hip-hop collective known as the “Rhyme $yndicate”) and released another platinum-selling album, Power. He also released multiple gold-certified albums.
Ice-T was a founding member of the heavy metal band Body Count, which he presented on his 1991 rap album O.G. On the track “Body Count,” Original Gangster. In 1992, the band released its self-titled debut album. Ice-T sparked debate with his song “Cop Killer,” the lyrics of which discussed the assassination of police officers. He requested that his contract with Warner Bros. be terminated. Home Invasion, his next solo album, was released in February 1993 through Priority Records. Born Dead, the follow-up album by Body Count, was released in 1994, and Ice-T released two additional albums in the late 1990s.
During the 1980s, Ice-T had minor roles in the movie Breakin’ and its sequels, Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo and Rappin’, before making his breakthrough as police investigator Scotty Appleton in New York City (1991). He gained top billing for his performance in Surviving the Game (1994), and he continued to appear in minor roles in TV shows and films throughout the 1990s. He has played NYPD Detective/Sergeant Odafin Tutuola in the NBC police program Law & Order: Special Victims Unit since 2000. Ice Loves Coco was a reality television show that aired on E! for three seasons (2011-2013). , which depicts Ice-T and his wife Coco Austin’s home life.