Ice-T's wife and daughter as well as his friend, Ice Cube, were also present at the ceremony.
Tracy Lauren Marrow had one of the coolest stage names when he entered the rap game, dubbing himself with a moniker that'll forever be synonymous with hip-hop: Ice-T. Nearly 40 years later, Mariska Hargitay has now revealed she has a fresher nickname for him, if not a cooler one.
The revelation came to light on Thursday at Ice-T's Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony. While presenting the legendary rapper, and actor, Hargitay said one of the reasons why she loves Ice-T is because he allows her to call him nicknames. While at the podium, she turned to her Law & Order: SVU co-star and practically begged him if she could divulge the nickname only she's allowed to call him.
Unable to contain his laughter, Ice-T relented, prompting Hargitay to exclaim, "He lets me call him Icy!" Following the presentation of his newly minted star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Ice-T spoke with ET's Ash Crossan and glowingly spoke about his Law & Order co-star and the friendship they've formed over the last two decades-plus working together.
"Yeah, you know, I told her to be careful with that, but she put me on blast," quipped the legendary rapper. "I love Mariska. Mariska's become a close friend. Like I say, how many friends have you had for 25 years that you see every day? You know? So, of course we became close, and we understand we got a job to do and we made a show that's been on longer than any other show."
Ice-T's never been shy about his upbringing. He grew up some 30 minutes away from where his star was unveiled, a notion that never crossed his mind when he was living a life of crime and trying to make it as a DJ. It wasn't long before he established himself as one of the preeminent gangsta rappers and cemented his name with the 1991 album O.G. Original Gangster and a GRAMMY that same year for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for his collaboration on Back on the Block. He'd be nominated for two more GRAMMYS before landing his second trophy in 2021 with Bum-Rush for Best Metal Performance.
Ice-T got into acting in the mid-1980s and played his first police detective role in the 1991 thriller New Jack City. He'd land numerous roles soon after, but he etched his name in TV lore as Sgt. Odafin "Fin" Tutuola on Law & Order: SVU, joining the Dick Wolf-produced show in 2000 and eventually becoming the longest-running male actor in a TV series.
After such a long road, it's no wonder Ice-T still can't believe his name is literally cemented on Hollywood Boulevard.
"I can't believe it, you know, where I actually came from, and what I've been through, the theory of being on the Walk of Fame is unimaginable," he tells ET. "I’ve always been that guy that was, you know, in another lane of hip-hop. But then, like, we got to the GRAMMYs, they represent us in the GRAMMYs, and I had my birthday, it's been a hell of a week for me. So I'm very happy and excited. And I realized that I'm not only getting this star for me, I'm getting it for all my fans and people that have supported me all these years."
And those people include Hargitay, the rest of his Law & Order colleagues, his wife, Coco Austin, daughter, Chanel, and longtime friend, Ice Cube, all of whom were on hand to celebrate Ice-T's monumental success.
Despite the momentous occasion, Ice-T never forgets he's a father first. He got a kick out of Chanel joining him onstage when her name was mentioned. But if she ever grows up with plans to join the family business, Papa's got some advice.
"I mean, you gotta back showbiz with something else," he says. "She also wants to be a doctor, I'mma tell her to be a plastic surgeon, that ain't going out of business. You gotta back this, 'cause this is a dream, and when you base something on a dream -- 'cause it's also called the boulevard of broken dreams. ... So I want to make sure that if that happens, cool, but have something to fall back on, obviously."
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