When I was thirteen, Ice-T was the baddest dude on the planet, rapping about pushing dope and killing cops. There were no musicians who seemed as hard as him. The guy was scary. Now?
Even as he eases into middle age, Ice-T still seems like someone you wouldn't want to set off, but over the years, he's increasingly become known less as an urban terror and more of a virtual one. These days he's kicking ass and taking names in Call of Duty.
Ice-T started doing video game voice work way back in 2000 with action title Sanity: Aiken's Artifact and followed that up with appearances in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in 2004 and Scarface: The World Is Yours in 2006. He's even lending his voice to the upcoming Gears of War 3.
From James Woods to George Clinton, loads of celebrities did voice work in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. But when Call Of Duty: Black Ops launched, was James Woods huffing the limited edition bundle?
Ice-T is, no doubt, a super sharp guy and has always been hard to pigeonhole. He first made his name as a rapper, but then went on to successfully blend hip-hop and metal. He's enjoyed a highly successful acting career in both film and television.
But it was in 2008 that Ice-T the gamer came on our gaming radar with an interview in which he gave his gamertag LORD 187X and said if you see him in Call of Duty, "you gonna die". An appearance on The Jace Hall Show and pics of him with the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 night goggles helped seal his reputation as a serious COD player. And it's not only Call of Duty, Ice-T dispenses his opinion on whatever he's playing, whether it be Fallout New Vegas or Medal Of Honor.
This is the same guy that decades earlier pioneered gangster rap and pissed off police officers, President George Bush, Tipper Gore and even Charlton Heston with his song "Cop Killer"! Now, he's on his way to become a gaming icon, something that would have been unthinkable in the gangsta rap days of 1992. Then video games were still viewed as children's toys and not mainstream adult entertainment. It just goes to show how far gaming has come — and how far Ice-T has come as well. He's no longer rapping about killing cops, he's playing one on TV.