Ice-T’s Schedule Post-Pandemic
Ice-T reflects on his career in his Arizona home. He braces himself as prepares for other ventures, namely Law & Order: SVU, music and endorsement deals.
“I usually have around 10 projects in progress across various areas,” Ice-T revealed in a recent interview with HipHopDX. “Each project has its own journey. Some succeed, some don’t. It’s like planting seeds and seeing what grows. At the end of the year, I reassess what to prioritize and what to leave behind. I’ve been following this approach for many years. The year typically kicks off when Law and Order starts. Currently, I’m in the pause before the next phase.”
Ice-T Back to the Stage
Fortunately, the legendary actor and musician won’t be down for long. In fact, Ice-T will begin filming Season 23 of Law & Order at the end of this month. In addition, Body Count is looking to secure concert dates as the world opens back up. Ice-T is currently busy with the upcoming Body Count album, Merciless, which serves as a follow-up to their Grammy Award-winning Carnivore from 2020. The band’s previous album, Bloodlust from 2017, received a nomination for “Black Hoodie” but didn’t secure the win against Mastodon.
“Can you believe it?” he exclaims. “Just imagine, our band had the hottest album, but we couldn’t perform. We were nominated the previous year, and this time we got nominated for ‘Bum-Rush.’ The band members faced a different kind of struggle because, unlike me, they solely rely on music. When their summer tour was canceled, it affected their annual income.”
“We had everything planned for 30 festivals across Europe, but it all came to a halt. Our shows in New York City and Los Angeles were canceled, one after another. Everyone went through a tough time, not to mention the people we lost. COVID hit us hard and served as a wake-up call to humanity, reminding us of how fragile everything can be.”
From TV Shows to Endorsements
Despite an extended hiatus from performing, Ice-T secured several gigs since the COVID-19 pandemic kicked off. Ice-T has landed a notable endorsement deal. If you’ve watched a Tide commercial lately, you may have seen him in the “Cold Callers” campaign, answering phones with Stone Cold Steve Austin and Vanilla Ice. Ice-T now reveals that his main source of income is endorsements, rather than music.
Ice-T reveals that rap is no longer his primary source of income. Despite having a titled album ready, called The Last OG, it hasn’t been released yet. Ice-T’s main hustle now is his work on SVU, which brings in most of his income. His second hustle is endorsements, including brands like CarShield, Tide, and GEICO. Ice-T got inspired to pursue endorsements after hearing about a pro football player who hadn’t spent any money from his pro career, relying solely on endorsements. Ice-T saw the opportunity and decided to follow suit.
The ‘Cop Killer’ Controversy
Ice-T, known for his controversial 1992 single “Cop Killer,” faced challenges in landing television commercial opportunities. Inspired by fellow rapper Snoop Dogg’s success with brands like Tostitos and General Insurance, Ice-T was determined to secure his own endorsements.
“It was tough because of my controversial image as the ‘cop killer’,” he explains straightforwardly. “Mainstream folks were skeptical, thinking I was too taboo. But then Snoop started breaking barriers. He’s my brother. Seeing Snoop make progress inspired me to give it a shot.
“The first major breakthrough was the GEICO commercial with the lemonade. The advertising industry was watching, and there were no negative consequences. After that, I did endorsements for RXBARs and CarShield. People don’t realize, but endorsements like the one Shaq does for The General can bring in eight to ten million dollars a year. The numbers are no joke. You see that character Flo from Progressive? Trust me, she’s living large in a mansion. Flo is making serious bank.”
The New Plug
Ice-T acknowledges the fact that big name artists, actors and retired athletes are taking advantage of endorsements. In addition, there is nothing wrong with coming up on the backs of corporations. They have the money to give.
“But it’s lucrative. It’s lucrative and these big corporations have the money. So if you’re somebody who’s kind of worked their way into Americana and people like you, they could go, ‘Oh, shit, let’s put Ice-T in a Nerf gun commercial,’ and it’s funny. They’ll pay you.”
Ice-T is surely a known face. Who knows where he will pop up when
