But I was slangin’ and bangin’ for the thrill, man

Ah, the heady days of late 80’s rap. It makes me laugh to think Ice-T is now more famous for his work on Law and Order: SVU than his rap career. I wonder if all the folks in middle America who eat up Law and Order franchises with a spoon realize this is the same guy that they wanted to burn at the stake for “Cop Killer” not too many years ago.

I didn’t mind Body Count but I never liked it as much as I did Ice-T’s earlier albums. Power and The Iceberg were full of great songs and more than a handful of them have aged well. “I’m Your Pusher,” and “Lethal Weapon” in particular. Being an Ice-T fan as a white kid in Boston was always an interesting experience. The Catholic school boys from Southie I went to school were all about U2, The Beastie Boys and Led Zeppelin - anything deviating from that trinity made you suspect. My friends in my neighborhood were far more diverse socially AND racially so we could spend hours listening to New Order, Talking Heads, Schooly D, Fishbone , Ice-T and the like. It was even better when Jello Biafra appeared on The Iceberg - it gave a little punk credibility to the whole affair. Looking back - the fact that Ice-T was on Sire records probably helped him get a foothold with people who never would have listened to rap. When Sire broke ground with their Just Say … series of samplers Ice-T’s tracks shared the stage with the Smiths, Erasure and other big alternative bands.

PLAY:

DOWNLOAD: Ice-T - The Hunted Child