With a scorn-dripping voice put to work on everything from classic hip-hop to gnarly heavy metal, Ice-T is one of America’s most iconic MCs – and as he and his band Body Count get ready to release their new album Merciless, he will be answering your questions.
Now 66, Ice-T was born in New Jersey but was orphaned as a young teenager and moved to Los Angeles, getting a taste for rock music from his cousin’s record collection, then rap after joining the US army. Following his discharge – and some petty criminality – he became a distinctive and authentic voice in his city’s burgeoning gangsta rap scene in the late 1980s, delivering crime stories such as 6 In the Mornin’ as a self-described “self-made monster of the city streets”.
His rock leanings were realised in considerable style with Body Count, who released their debut album in 1992 and caused huge controversy with their song Cop Killer – police forces called for it to be banned and then-president George Bush expressed outrage. After three 1990s albums put out alongside solo releases, various deaths in the group made its future uncertain, but after returning in 2006 there’s been a steady series of Body Count albums – and Ice-T’s political fire remains undimmed. Take recent single Fuck What You Heard, which witheringly casts Democrats and Republicans as squabbling gangs: “Divide and conquer, that’s the key to the game / Keep us fightin’ each other while they rob the train”.
Ice-T has also racked up an impressive acting CV, particularly in crime thrillers, going from films such as New Jack City (as a police officer, no less) and Ricochet into a long-running role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Ahead of Merciless being released later this year, Ice-T will take questions on his new music as well as his rap, rock and acting careers over the years – post them in the comments below before 3pm BST on Thursday 19 September. His answers will be published at a date closer to the album’s release.
