New Jack City Promotional Portrait of Ice-T and Judd Nelson

Ice-T (Tracy Lauren Marrow, b. 1958) is known as one of the earliest gangster rappers to emerge out of the west coast Hip-Hop scene. Born in Newark, New Jersey, Ice-T used rapping to save him from a life on the streets. Gaining inspiration from the pen name "Iceberg Slim" and his first name being Tracey, Ice-T was born. Ice-T signed with Sire Records in 1987 and then released his debut album, Rhyme Pays later that same year, which went gold in the 1990s. He is most notable for his controversial politics as a west coast rapper and the growth of his acting career such as starring in movies like New Jack City (1991).