Ice-T Gets Star On Walk of Fame & Explains How He Helped Stop L.A. Rap Wars From Exploding

Legendary rapper and actor Ice-T was recently awarded his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

The ceremony took place Friday (February 17), with the star being dedicated in the recording category at 7065 Hollywood Boulevard. Guests such as Chuck D, Ice Cube, Champtown, Walk of Famers Mariska Hargitay and television mogul Dick Wolf were also on hand to celebrate Ice-T. 

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With an extensive career spanning several decades, Ice-T’s contributions to music and film have solidified his status as a cultural icon.

The 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.

“I never thought I would get a star. I mean, the way my life was going, it was like, what can we come up on in Hollywood and steal?” Ice-T told the crowd. “We were really out here causing real problems. And this was just out of the question. Show business was out of the question. And then Hip-Hop came and I found something that I could do.

“But what I did was I told the stories of the life I was living, and we invented a genre—well, Ice Cube co-invented this genre called gangsta rap. When I was doing it, they didn’t have a name for it. We were calling it reality rap. Then Cube came out and said “Straight outta Compton/Crazy m########### named Ice Cube/From the gang called N##### with Attitudes. And the press said, ‘Oh, well, that’s gangster rap. But then I had to follow up Cube like, ‘OK, well then I’m the Original Gangster g########. Let’s go.”

Ice-T’s contributions to the music industry stretch back decades.  

He’s widely recognized as the original embodiment of Los Angeles Hip-Hop and a cultural icon for his influential contributions to the development of gangster rap. 

His 1987 hit “6 ‘N the Mornin'” is often credited as the first gangster rap song, and he’s continued to influence the genre with the formation of Rhyme Syndicate Records in 1989 and albums such as Rhyme Pays, Power, The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech… Just Watch What You Say! Original Gangsta and others.

“Fortunately for L.A. Hip-Hop, everybody has always been on the same page,” he said. “There’s never really been an L.A. beef. The only beef that ever happened in L.A. Hip-Hop was a family feud between N.W.A and everybody stepped back and let them do they thing.

“As far as outside of that, it never happened. So what I did was I said, You know what, there’s so many groups in L.A. let me figure a way to keep everybody from fighting. And I formed The Syndicate. I was modeling it off of Lucky Luciano’s Commission, where he took the five mob families and said before we fight, we talk. So I said, All you different rap groups, you guys are all leaders. But we’re going to organize, and before we have a problem, we will sit down, and we will talk.’ And with The Syndicate, we never had one beef in L.A. between rappers. I think that deserves a round of applause.”

Ice-T went on to form the thrash metal band Body Count with guitarist Ernie C. The band’s 1992 self-titled debut album contained the controversial single “Cop Killer,” which set off a nationwide debut about censorship in music.

In addition to his successful music career, Ice-T has also had a versatile acting career. He has featured or starred in several movies, including Breakin’, New Jack City, Ricochet and Trespass.

Ice-T is also well-known for his role as Sergeant Odafin “Fin” Tutuola on NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

In addition to his acting work, Ice-T has produced and directed several independent and documentary films, including his directorial debut in 2012, Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap and Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp, which he produced the same year.

He has also made guest appearances on popular T.V. shows such as Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Saturday Night Live. His ability to seamlessly transition between music and acting is a testament to his talent and versatility.

Ice-T’s message and impact go beyond just music and film. Over the years, he’s become an influential spokesman for America’s youth through his music, books and lecture tours.