Ice T: "I'm Far From A Muthafuckin Cop"



(image via about)

Law & Order regular Ice T appears in Swindle Magazine's third annual Icon issue. Omar Mazariego asks Ice T some of the questions we have always wanted to know, like how does an ex-pimp who wrote a song about cop killing end up playing a cop in a Dick Wolf procedural? How does that work:

"Omar Mazariego: You think cops hold a grudge (for "Cop Killer")

"Ice T: I'm sure some of them do. But I made a point that I was singing against brutal police. I never had anything truly against the police even when I had broken the law. 'Cop Killer' was a protest record. It was written about LA back in the day when the LAPD was totally out of control.

"Swindle Magazine: So how do you make a song called 'Cop Killer' and then play a cop on TV?

"Ice T: In Hollywood they like to cast cats from the other side of the street to the other. If you're a street cat they wanna cast you as an attorney. It's too cliche to cast me as a gangster. I tell people all the time 'I'm far from a muthafuckin; cop.;

"Swindle Magazine: So what would you say the achievement you're most proud of?

"Ice T: Transition. Getting out of the game and becoming legit. Anybody who's on the other side of the field knows it's not easy. I went broke and I went through what they call huster's withdrawal. But once I crossed over, I told myself I'd never go back."