Before Ice-T’s success acting in film and television, the artist was a major innovative force in hip-hop. Recognized for his vivid lyrics about inner-city violence, the rapper broke out in 1987, earning a gold record with his debut Rhyme Pays. Between 1986 and 1991, Ice recorded four albums for Warner Bros. Records, including the West Coast rap classics Power as well as the debut album from his highly influential metal band Body Count.

As riveting as Rhyme Pays was, Ice-T did hold back a little and avoided being too consistently sociopolitical. But with the outstanding Power, the gloves came all the way off, and Ice didn’t hesitate to speak his mind about the harsh realities of inner-city life. On “Drama,” “Soul on Ice” (an homage to his idol Iceberg Slim), “High Rollers,” and other gangsta rap gems, Ice embraces a first-person format and raps with brutal honesty about the lives of gang members, players, and hustlers. Ice’s detractors took the songs out of context, arguing that he was glorifying crime. But he countered that, in fact, he was sending out an anti-crime message in a subliminal fashion and stressed that the criminals he portrayed ended up dead or behind bars. Another track that some misconstrued was “I’m Your Pusher,” an interpretation of Curtis Mayfield’s “Pusherman” that doesn’t promote the use of drugs, but uses double entendres to make an anti-drug statement. (Ice has always been vehemently outspoken in his opposition to drugs.) In the next few years, gangsta rap would degenerate into nothing more than cheap exploitation and empty clichés, but in Ice’s hands, it was as informative as it was captivating. ~ Alex Henderson