Having acquired stereo and DJ equipment, Ice-T began honing his rapping and beat-making skills, which resulted in signing with Sire Records in 1987. After which, Inspired by the Sugar Hill Gang’s freshly released “Rapper’s Delight”, Ice-T would attempt to rap over the instrumentals, although struggled to make his delivery fit with the beat. Ice-T’s first live performance came singing/dancing in the group The Precious Few of Crenshaw High School, after which Ice-T left school and joined the U.S.
The name Ice-T derives from Iceberg Slim, a novelist and poet pimp whom Marrow used to recite to his friends. Born in Newark, New Jersey, U.S., Tracy Marrow moved to Los Angeles when he was 12, where he attempted to immerse himself in a non-existent rap culture.
