Rapper and actor Ice-T finally acquired his Hollywood Walk of Fame star on Feb. 17.
The Body Count band member was honored with his star during a ceremony one day after he celebrated his 65th birthday. The gangsta rap co-founder stood on stage while fellow rapper Chuck D, Ice-T’s Low & Order: Special Victims Unit castmate Mariska Hargitay and the series creator Dick Wolf took the podium to throw kind words to the “I’m Your Pusher” rapper.
Ice-T, who wore a fedora, sunglasses and all-black clothing, began his speech b thanking Chuck D, Hargitay and Wolf for their speech. He told the audience that the sunglasses on his face weren’t for fashion but to conceal the tears their kind words brought.
“I never thought I would get a star,” he said. “The way my life was going, it was like, ‘What can we come up in Hollywood and steal?’ We were really out here causing real problems. Show business was out of the question. And then hip-hop came, and I found something that I could do. But what I did was I told the stories of the life I was living.”
He concluded with a sermon for the “haters.”
“So, thanks everybody for showing up. And last but not least, I want to thank the motherf**king haters ’cause you really make me get up in the morning and be the best I can be,” Ice-T said. “All the nay-sayers, all the people that wanted to end my career, now I’m on a Walk of Fame, b***h a** motherf**kers. And that’s the motivation. You got to let the haters motivate you. If you want to go in the gym, go on YouTube, see somebody talking s**t about you and then go get your reps in.”
He ended with, “Imma give you so much more to hate in the future.”
Ice-T has been a prominent member of the hip-hop community since the ’80s, releasing hits like “Cop Killer,” “Power,” “New Jack Hustler” and “Six ‘N the Mornin’.”
Ice-T was also involved in the heavy metal band Body Count, which is working on releasing its eighth studio album, “Merciless.” He also got into acting, becoming a cast member on the hit series Law & Order: SVU.
