So he went by Trey until he picked up some books by pimp turned author Iceberg Slim. People would say to him, "Say some more of that Iceberg stuff, T," which turned into Ice-T — cool T, for Tracy. Ice-T says he idolized Slim in high school — and even tried his own luck at pimping.

In the 1990s, Ice-T became famous for his controversial political songs like "Cop Killer." The rapper also has a career as an actor, most notably playing a detective on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit since 2000.