There was a time when rappers rapped and actors acted. But when movie soundtracks became mandatory marketing tools--instead of just last-minute musical extras added just for fun, ego-stroking and hype--record company and major studio executives started asking some film stars--who also happened to be rappers--to contribute musically as well.
Ice-T is a multifaceted word-wielder who, like Ice Cube, Queen Latifah, Coolio, Treach and Will Smith, is another rappin' actor on the transition list. The South Central Los Angeles-reared owner of Coroner Records has managed to melt the mental icebergs that once blocked rappers from getting good roles in mainstream, big-box-office films. Ice has starred in several movies--Mario Van Peebles' urban classic New Jack City, Ricochet, Trespass, Surviving The Game, Tank Girl and Johnny Mnemonic- and he most recently landed the role of the "Meat Man" in The Deli, John Gallagher and John Dorrian's Italian-American version of F. Gary Gray's South Central-based Friday. His new TV show, Players, is a surprise hit, and he's also written the best talk-shit book of all time, The Ice Opinion, which compiles his reflections on the world's most controversial figures. And if that's not enough, he's also managed to make seven rap albums: Rhyme Pays, Power, Freedom Of
Speech, O.G. (Original Gangster), Home Invasion, Ice-T VI: Return Of The Real and The Seventh Deadly Sin, the latter of which should be in stores this Summer if all goes according to the master plan. All this proves that this piece of Ice refuses to melt.
LAUNCH:
As one of the rap industry's pioneers--one of the men who helped make rap music accessible and desirable to both black and white America--how would you describe your contribution to the music?
ICE-T:
Well, I never strayed far from the truth. People can say whatever they want about Ice, but they can't never say that I lied about my past or say that I did something in a record that I didn't do. I guess my major contribution is that I consistently gave people enjoyable music to get in to. I said things people wanted to say but didn't have the balls. "Cop Killer" was a great song. People still talk about it. It's just that the politicians and cops didn't wanna hear nothin' foul about one of their own no matter how fucked up the person is. I mean, there's far worse records than my worst record, and it may have sold double-platinum just because it was done by an East Coast artist. These DJs gotta get away from that whole "East Coast is better than West Coast" mentality.
LAUNCH:
So, you have beef with New York DJs? It's the radio program directors who have all of the real power.
ICE-T:
True, the program directors are runnin' thangs. The DJs have no real power, no real pull. They just play the records the man tells them to play, and talk shit about us West Coast artists. They play Warren G and Snoop, but that's it. Sir Mix-A-Lot sold five million albums without the East, so what's that say? We play records made by rappers in the East. We play Biggie on the radio and in the clubs, so why can't we get the same respect?
LAUNCH:
You have a point. Do you feel that club DJs and program directors are limiting your overall power?
ICE-T:
Power isn't that important to me, because you only have it until someone gets tired of looking at you and decides they want to take it away. You have no freedom of speech. If I say "suck my dick," the record company can edit me. You also have no rights to life. You're only allowed to live until someone with more power comes along and takes it from you. I learned that I had power in the storytelling area. I've always been a good talker, so as I ventured through life, I decided to tell people my stories. Too bad rap is fake most of the time. It's as good as a person's imagination. It's sad that something conjured up by one man's crazy imagination can cause so much beef between people not involved in the industry.
LAUNCH:
There's a rumor that you left Priority Records. Is that true?
ICE-T:
Right now, I'm in the process of starting my own label, Coroner Records, which will be distributed by PolyGram. That's been a goal of mine forever. But, it wasn't like we left Priority. My new album is possibly coming out on that label.
LAUNCH:
There were a lot of songs on your last album--16 to be exact. How many songs are too many for a single-disc album?
ICE-T:
I look at it like there's some extra stuff going on here for free. You still pay the same price for the CD. The inserts make it seem like there are a lot more songs than there actually is. There's something for the hardcore heads, a little something for my boys who been living the pimp life, and something for the ladies.
LAUNCH:
What's the worst part about making the transition back and forth between music, film and television?
ICE-T:
The worst part is that a lot of hours of your life are spent working. When you do 14 hours a day on a TV show, then attempt to run into a recording studio for another two or three hours, then maybe read a script to do a film in between, it just takes up a lot of your time. So the hardest thing is lack of time.
LAUNCH:
Do you ever fear what music critics will say about you for trying to stay in the game? One bad review can puncture pride and silence artistic expression.
ICE-T:
That's if you look at criticism like that, if you look at it as a reason to stop doing your thing, then you will be stopped. But if you look at it as someone's opinion who's never done what you do or stood in your shoes, then you can deal with it. And I can deal with whatever anyone says about me. Who gives a fuck what a critic says? I certainly didn't get to where I am because I listened to unsolicited advice.
LAUNCH:
How long do you think you can keep making music? Most rappers don't make this many albums, and if they do, the latter ones often turn out less impressive than their earlier efforts.
ICE-T:
I'll perform forever. One day I hope to be like Johnny Cash, Frank Sinatra and those cats. They have, like, 50 albums out, and people don't mind it at all. Gil Scott-Heron is another one. He comes out with albums all the time, and each one makes its mark in musical history. I want to do shit like that.
LAUNCH:
Do you fear the day when folks might say, "Get off the stage, old man, and bring out the headliner"?
ICE-T:
Oh, I'll always be a headliner. I just haven't found all the areas in which I'll perform. I've done film--I've been in six movies. Who knows what I'll be spearheading in the future. When white folks like Keith Richards' old ass get onstage and rock like never before, nobody minds. Well, that's gonna be me.
