Happy Birthday, Ice-T!

Today, Feb. 16, marks the 61st birthday of acclaimed rapper and actor, Ice-T.

Born Tracy Lauren Marrow in 1958 and raised in L.A. by way of New Jersey, the rapper rose to fame in the 1980s. Moving to Crenshaw, Calif. after losing both of his parents at a young age, Ice was never officially initiated into gang life but was often affiliated with the Crips.

Throughout high school, Marrow became more interested in hip-hop and heavy metal music, but really got a knack for it while he served in the United States Army in the 1970s. Once being discharged from the military, Ice starting going after a career in music, becoming a DJ and eventually, a rapper.

Ice's 1987 debut album, Rhyme Pays, is certified gold by the RIAA and was the first album to carry a sticker labeling the content as explicit. Ice-T has not only made a name for himself by being a hip-hop mainstay, with eight albums spanning his career, but he also won a Grammy in 1991, conquered film and television as an award winning actor, still tours to this day with his heavy metal band, Body Count, and has even been featured in video games.

These days, Ice preserves his name playing Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola on NBC's hit series, Law & Order: SVU throughout most of the past two decades. In real life, Ice makes up one-half of a hip-hop power couple with his wife, Coco. The duo had a reality show depicting their lives on E!, Ice Loves Coco, from 2011 to 2013, and the two also had a three-week test run of their own talk show. Ice and Coco welcomed their daughter into the world back in 2015.

In 2016, Ice appeared in shows such as Younger, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Hip Hop Evolution, and hosted a TV special about the death of Biggie and Tupac in 2017.

Most recently, the "6 in the Mornin'" rapper made headlines when he ate a bagel and tried coffee for the first time.

Happy Birthday, Ice-T!

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