OG rap legend Ice-T was honored with a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame on Friday. He received a recording industry star and the walk’s 2,747th overall.
Ice-T, real name Tracy Lauren Marrow, was surrounded by fellow rap icon Chuck D, Law & Order creator Dick Wolf, and SVU co-star Mariska Hargitay. His wife Coco and 7-year-old daughter Chanel at in the audience for the ceremony and later joined him at the podium.
Despite being honored with a recording industry star, the multi-talented Ice-T is also known for his acting. He’s starred in films like New Jack City and Surviving The Game, but for the last 25 years, has played fan-favorite Det. Fin Tutuola on Law & Order: SVU.
Wolf said a few words, explaining nobody else gets the reaction Ice-T receives while they are filming. “He is universally liked by his compatriots,” he said, “and I assume the same is true of the music world.”
While revealing she calls her co-star “Icy,” Hargitay spoke to Ice-T’s many talents and their “unshakable” friendship.
“But to me, Ice, the reason you’re here, and the reason you have fame in my heart, is because you are the OG of friendship,” she said. “You are my real deal, my true blue, authentic, unshakable friend, and I cannot tell you what that means to me.”
Chuck D also had a few things to say about the OG. He spoke about Ice’s ability to make East Coast and West Coast rap “a thing” before corporations got to it. He praised “Iceberg,” as he calls him, for his accomplishments as a rapper, actor, author, and thrash-metal artist.
“OG, original gangster, original god, is where Ice-T has been all along,” he said. “He’s changed the world with words. I call him Berg as a nickname ‘cause he’s so cool that he could sink the Titanic and raise it again.”
The Public Enemy rapper added, “It’s a good run, and we’re gonna keep on running.”
And when it was Ice-T’s turn to speak, he did not disappoint. He thanked his friends, family, music, TV, and film colleagues, but most importantly, he shouted out the haters. He says they are the ones that keep him motivated.
“Last but not least, I want to thank the motherf*ckin’ haters ‘cause you really make me get up in the morning and be the best that I can be,” he said. “All the naysayers, all the people that wanted to end my career, now I’m on the Walk of Fame … and that’s the motivation! You’ve got to let the haters motivate you.”
“If it wasn’t for the haters, I definitely wouldn’t have pulled this off, I swear to God,” Ice added. “I’m gonna give you so much more to hate in the future.”
Ice-T, who just celebrated his 65th birthday, was born in New Jersey and moved to Windsor Hills as a teen after his parents died. He has been nominated for four Grammys and won two. This year also marks a huge milestone in his Law & Order career as he celebrates his 25th anniversary on the show.
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