The one album Ice-T wants to be remembered for: “It’s got a lot of different sides”
Ice-T is an unsung hero in West Coast rap. His style and lyrics set the tone for what came next with NWA Dr Dre has given him his flowers previously. Still, all too often, he is left out of the conversation about the history of gangsta rap.
Tracks like ‘6 in the Mornin’ not only laid the groundwork for West Coast rap but also highlighted hip-hop’s potential as a tool for social commentary. Beyond music, his genre-defying career—from acting in New Jack City to fronting the metal band Body Count—cements Ice-T as a trailblazer, forever shaping the culture with unapologetic authenticity.
Although the emcee has transitioned into acting with his role on NBC’s hit show Law & Order and is now mostly known for his portrayal of Detective Odafin ‘Fin’ Tutuola, his beginnings will always be in music and, as a solo artist, he did release eight studio albums. Ice-T will remain a hip-hop legend forever.
Most would argue that his most impactful was Rhyme Pays, as it boasted his 1986 single ‘6 In the Mornin’, which is considered one of the first gangsta rap songs of all time, but even though it had a significant effect on the West Coast, it is not the album that the emcee wants to be remembered for.
Ice-T has been very prolific over the years and even released an album in 2020 as part of the heavy metal band Body Count, which he formed in the early 1990s. Still, the project he wants to be the focal point of his legacy is a hip-hop one.
During an interview with Louder Sound, the LA lyricist explained that he wanted to be remembered for his fourth album. Elaborating on the project OG: Original Gangster, Ice-T disclosed, “We brought that word OG into the vernacular, and now everyone knows what it means. Now, all of a sudden, everything’s OG this and OG that… And it’s a real well-rounded and balanced album. It’s got a lot of different sides of Ice-T on it.”
OG: Original Gangster entered the Billboard 200’s top 20, managing to reach number 15. That said, with albums like Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory, Public Enemy’s Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black and Ice Cube’s Death Certificate, 1991 was a challenging year for MCs to break through.
During his interview with Louder Sound, Ice-T also unveiled the one album he wished he had made. The lyricist admitted he wished he had created Eric B and Rakim’s Paid In Full, disclosing, “Every last one of those songs, I can sing with. When I heard rap for the first time, I was like, ‘Woah! This is me, this is something I can take to the next level.'”
Still, despite Ice-T’s withdrawal from hip-hop and rapping as a career, he still deserves respect for projects such as OG: Original Gangster which introduced the term “OG” into the culture, a rare fact which many still don’t know.