INTERVIEW: Ice-T spoke with theGrio about his new podcast, “Ice-T’s The Daily Game,” and reflected on how far hip-hop has come since 1973.
Ice-T has accomplished a lot in his life. In his 65 years, he’s had a stint in the military, spent time as a jewel thief, innovated West Coast gangsta rap with a string of gold and platinum-certified albums, and helped anchor one of the longest-running TV dramas, “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.”
With so much experience, which also includes starring in “New Jack City,” fronting the notorious all-Black heavy metal band Body Count, and being a father of three, Ice-T has accumulated stores of knowledge. He offers that knowledge up to the public through his latest venture, “Ice-T’s Daily Game,” a podcast where Ice picks a poignant daily quote and discusses how it can apply to one’s life.
The “High Roller” rapper spoke with theGrio about his new endeavor, about how far hip-hop has come and about how much he owes the culture.
With “Law and Order: SVU” in its 24th season – this being Ice’s 23rd on the show – the multi-hyphenate shoots five days a week in New York City. In between takes, however, he finds time to be one of the most active celebrities on social media. It was there that he got the inspiration for his podcast.
“When I got on Twitter – you can follow me on Twitter @FINALLEVEL – I said, ‘the way to get followers is to do something every day that makes people want to come back,’” Ice told theGrio.
It worked. For years, Ice would drop what calls “jewels” on his Twitter account nearly every day, and his follower count continued to grow. People began suggesting that he turn these collections of sage sayings into a book, but Ice noticed that people were more interested in audiobooks.
“I just recently dropped a book, and people say, ‘where can I hear it?’” Ice said. “That’s where we are today.” He decided to give the people what they wanted through a podcast.
“So iHeartRadio got at me and they said, ‘let’s do these little short podcasts.’ The podcasts are only three to five minutes,” Ice said. “I drop the knowledge. I explain it from my perspective, and you can take it or leave it or live with it. You know, it’s up to you.“
Launched in early 2023, “Ice-T’s Daily Game” finds the “Original Gangster” MC giving his point of view on quotes and parables he picked up from various sources and people. The quotes are derived from his deep backlog of original daily tweets.
“They did a research on my Twitter feed, and there’s 2,500 of them,” Ice explained. “So I have a surplus of these damn quotes, and they come from everybody from Socrates, Aristotle, Steve Harvey, Tyler Perry. These great quotes that people have made that I think they pass the Ice-T brand of approval.”
And it’s not just celebrity and philosopher quotes Ice uses. Many of the jewels come from gangsters and old heads from his younger days. “A lot of them come from hustlers on the streets. People I grew up with, O.G.s. One of my favorite ones is, ‘if you feel like you’re going in circles, probably because you’re cutting corners.’”
Ice didn’t cut corners when it came to music. He was one of the forefathers of West Coast hip-hop and gangster rap thanks to records like “6 ‘n the Morning” and “Colors.” His Grammy-winning collaboration with Quincy Jones on “Back on the Block” signaled the marriage between rap and jazz that has inspired acts like Kendrick Lamar and Robert Glasper.
With hip-hop celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, even Ice admits he didn’t expect the culture to grow into what it has today. “Everything that’s happened to me is beyond my wildest dreams,” Ice said. “It’s a beautiful thing that a culture that was created by children – basically in the South Bronx – it’s a kid culture that has grown to the point where it’s at the Super Bowl, the biggest stage in the world.”
While hip-hop is a multi-billion dollar industry today, it still has a stigma around the world. But Ice said he is happy that it has had an effect on people more so than any other genre.
“I believe hip hop is the most positive influence in our culture in the last 50 years for bringing all races, all colors, all religions, everyone together on one music,” Ice exclaimed. “You can’t tell me rock and roll did that because when rock did it, they separated us. When Black people made rock and roll up, they separated us and said, ‘No, you guys go do R&B, we’ll do rock.’ But they couldn’t do that with hip-hop.”
“They tried to spread us apart, but the kids said, ‘Nah.’ You got white rappers, Black rappers, Mexican rappers, rappers all over the world. And hip-hop is an expression of your life, whether it’s good or bad,” he continued.
Ice even carries hip-hop with him on TV. Since 2000, viewers have seen the name “Ice-T” in the opening credits of “Law and Order: SVU,” rather than his birth name, Tracy Marrow. Ice said the move is strategic, a homage to his rap persona and hip-hop culture at large for allowing him to appear on the show and several films.
“That’s why I’m still Ice-T on television,” Ice said. “That’s why Queen Latifah is still Queen Latifah; L.L. [Cool J]. Because I want people to look at the show and go, ‘you know, I don’t like rap.’ Well, he’s a rapper. I guess you don’t know what you like, do you? That’s why we hold on to those hip-hop names because if it wasn’t for hip-hop, we wouldn’t be acting. It would have never happened. Those doors would have never opened.”
Matthew Allen is an entertainment writer of music and culture for theGrio. He is an award-winning music journalist, TV producer and director based in Brooklyn, NY. He’s interviewed the likes of Quincy Jones, Jill Scott, Smokey Robinson and more for publications such as Ebony, Jet, The Root, Village Voice, Wax Poetics, Revive Music, Okayplayer, and Soulhead. His video work can be seen on PBS/All Arts, Brooklyn Free Speech TV and BRIC TV.
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