Ice-T is a towering figure in the worlds of hip hop and metal. He made his name as part of the 80s rap scene, but a longstanding love of heavy music bubbled under the surface – something which eventually broke through with his groundbreaking (and sometimes controversial) metal band Body Count. In 2014, Metal Hammer caught up with the Iceman to talk about the albums which made him the man he is today.
The First Album I Bought
Parliament – The Clones Of Doctor Funkenstein (1976)
“I was in ninth grade and all that Parliament and P-funk was the big thing. It was interesting getting into Parliament because they had a kind of rock thing going on. There were lots of guitars in it. Even though it was considered funk, it had a little rock vibe, too.”
The Album I Wish I’d Made
Eric B & Rakim – Paid In Full (1987)
“Every last one of those songs, I can sing with. When I heard rap for the first time, I was like ‘Woah! This is me, this is something I can take to the next level.’”
The Album That Reminds Me Of School
Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath (1970)
“Now here’s your rock record. I used to live with my cousin and he would always listen to rock radio – that’s what we had on all the time. There was one album that I used to play over and over again that I heard from that station and that was the first Black Sabbath album. And I’ve used that record over and over in my music.”
The First Album I had Sex To
The Ohio Players Honey (1975)
“This was back in high school so records like Love Rollercoaster were really huge. So it would have been The Ohio Players or Earth, Wind & Fire, I guess.”
The Album No One Would Believe I Own A Copy Of
Enigma – The Cross Of Changes (1993)
“Oh, I don’t think people would be that surprised by my record collection… hmm… maybe Enigma? It’s that whale noise, ‘WHAAAA WHAAA’ kind of shit that you listen to when you’re getting a massage.”
The Album That Defines Metal
Slayer – Reign In Blood (1986)
“When I first heard the term ‘speed metal’ I was like, ‘I gotta hear this’ and when I did, I was like, ‘Oh, this shit is dope, man!’ There’s a hip hop connection with Reign In Blood, actually. Rick Rubin produced it and the hook from [Public Enemy’s] She Watch Channel Zero?! is from Angel Of Death.”
The Album With The Best Artwork
Schoolly D – Schoolly D (1985)
“Oh man, that’s a tough one. I used to like Schoolly D’s album covers. He had all these little hand-drawn cartoons. You had to look at it for ages to work it all out.”
The Album That Pisses My Wife Off The Most
Mobb Deep – The Infamous (1995)
“Any Mobb Deep record. If I hear Survival Of The Fittest in the car I turn that shit up and sing along too loud! Ha ha ha! And then Coco looks over at me and gives me the eyes so I know I’m in the shit.”
The Album That Makes Me Want To Fight
Slayer – Seasons In The Abyss (1990)
“Seasons In The Abyss. Any good Slayer album makes you wanna fucking hurt someone real bad. They always have the most violent pits. Their riffs just bring out the aggression in people; I’ve been stood on the side of the stage and when they come on, the fucking mixing desk moves.”
The Album I Want To Be Remembered For
Ice-T – O.G. Original Gangster (1991)
“Probably Original Gangster. We brought that word O.G. into the vernacular and now everyone knows what it means. Now all of a sudden everything’s O.G. this and O.G. that… And it’s a real well-rounded and balanced album. It’s got a lot of different sides of Ice-T on it.”
Originally published in Metal Hammer issue 262 (September 2014)
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