Ice T

One of the original gangsta rappers, Ice-T helped pave the way for hip-hop to evolve from its break-of-dawn party roots into a more visceral portrayal of the harsh realities faced by Black Americans throughout the heated late '80s, '90s, and beyond. From the start, he had a blunt but always articulate lyrical style with unflinching directness on issues of race, discrimination, social injustice, and other charged political topics, balanced out with the occasional outburst of irreverent humor or obscene storytelling. Early albums like 1988's Power and 1989's The Iceberg/Freedom ...