Ice-T

Tracy Marrow, commonly known as Ice-T, is a mulatto and was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1958.  He moved to LA at age 13 and later served in the US Army.  While serving in the army, Ice-T was involved in a prostitution ring as a pimp.  After serving four years in the army he started rapping. Ice-T is most famously known for his controversial song “Cop Killer” by his band Body Count in 1992.  Ice-T claims he was never in a gang but just gang affiliated. 

Besides being known as a rap artist, Ice-T is also an actor.  Ice-T has been in multiple films from Breakin’ in 1984 to his current role in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.  Ice-T’s best known films are New Jack City in 1991, Mean Guns in 1997, and his role in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

In New Jack City, Ice-T plays an undercover cop seeking to bring down a crack-cocaine drug ring in New York City during the mid 80’s.  According to Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia “the brute caricature portrays black men as innately savage, animalistic, destructive, and criminal”.  Ice-T’s character was vengeful, street wise, and vulgar despite being a “good guy”. 

            Mean Guns stars Ice-T as a leader of a crime syndicate where he gathers 100 people who wronged the syndicate.  The 100 people are armed and ordered to kill each other in a building where the last three survivors will be awarded 10 million dollars.  Jim Crow Museum said “the Nat caricature portrays African American males as angry, crazed, revengeful brutes with a bloodthirsty hatred for whites”.  Ice-T’s character is violent and angry.  He is dressed like a pimp wearing a long black coat, a fedora, and has silver teeth. 

Ice T’s most notable role is as Detective Tutuola on the show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.  On this show he helps solve sexually based offences in New York City.  He plays a thug-like detective who uses his street smarts to intimidate suspects and solve crime.