Ice-T was “nervous” before performing as part of an all-star tribute to hip-hop music at the 2023 Grammy Awards.
The ceremony, held in Los Angeles last month, brought together artists such as Run-DMC, Public Enemy, Queen Latifah, Missy Elliott, Busta Rhymes, Nelly and Swizz Beatz to perform a medley of songs celebrating the genre’s 50th anniversary.
Reflecting on his cameo appearance on Wednesday’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Ice-T confessed he was nervous about getting his timing right.
“I went out there and I was with all my mates. It was really one of my best moments on stage. It was only eight bars, but I played it to probably the most people I’ve ever had in my life.” I got it. Yes, I was nervous,” he explained. “Because they’re running trucks and trucks are coming in and you have to catch the cue. I’m waiting and Scarface is rapping but everything is going on and everyone I’m having fun and listening hard, (I was thinking) “I’m on the beat!” “
The week after the Grammys, Ice-T (real name Tracy Marrow) received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
However, he admitted that while he was at his height at the time, it all fell apart after the death of his “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” co-star Richard Belzer on February 19.
“So I’m having one of the best weeks of my life. I went out and enjoyed the Grammys and got this star. Everyone was like, ‘Ice, ice, this week!’ It’s your week.” When I woke up the next day, Belzer was dead,” the 65-year-old said. “So the moment I was enjoying was just a split second. And now I have to deal with the death of one of my really close friends.”