Ice-T Honored With Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

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Rap icon and actor Ice-T, a pioneering force in hip-hop and acclaimed performer in film and television, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday, one day after his 65th birthday.

Ice-T, whose real name is Tracy Lauren Marrow, was joined by his wife Coco Austin and their daughter Chanel for the celebration, attended by family, friends, co-stars and contemporaries on the world-famous stretch of sidewalk in Los Angeles.

One of the creators of gangster rap in the nineties, he was recognized for his contributions to the music and entertainment industries with the Walk's 2,747th star, located at 7065 Hollywood Blvd.

Speaking at the ceremony, Law & Order franchise producer Dick Wolf, who counts Ice-T among the stars in his long-running crime drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, praised the rapper's talent and character.

"Ice has appeared in more of my shows than anyone else on Earth. It goes back now 25 years," Wolf said. "I’m now gonna show how old I am by saying, ‘Ice is the coolest guy I have ever met,’ and I’ve said that to him. I don’t know what the term for it is — ‘the bomb’? I don’t know."

Law & Order: SVU co-star Mariska Hargitay called Ice-T the O.G. of friendship, emphasizing the rapper's deep impact on the music industry and the world at large.

"Your whole story runs so deep. It runs deep particularly here in L.A., and it runs deep around the world," Hargitay said. "You are a rapper and an actor and an artist. And at a time when people overuse words without thinking and wearing out the meanings, you are indeed the real O.G."

Fellow hip-hop legend Chuck D of Public Enemy revealed he calls Ice-T Berg as a nickname "‘cause he’s so cool that he could sink the Titanic and raise it again," and praised the rapper's influence and power with words.

"He brought theater to hip-hop and rap, and you got frozen in the moment like he’s the Black rap Alice Cooper, without biting off the bird’s head," Chuck D said. "And he would hold you in the palm of his hand with words, wisdom, and wit."

When it was Ice-T's turn to take to the podium, the star expressed disbelief at the honor, saying, "I never thought I would get a star — really? I mean, the way my life was going, it was what can we come up in Hollywood and steal. We were really out here causing real problems. And this was just out of the question. Show business was just out of the question."

He also thanked his detractors for fueling his motivation to succeed.

"Last but not least," Ice-T said, "I want to thank the motherf— haters, ‘cause you really make me get up in the morning and be the best that I can be. All the naysayers, all the people that wanted to end my career, now I’m on the Walk of Fame ... and that’s the motivation! You’ve got to let the haters motivate you."