Ice-T was “nervous” before performing as part of the all-star tribute to hip-hop music at the 2023 Grammy Awards.
During the ceremony staged in Los Angeles last month, artists including Run-DMC, Public Enemy, Queen Latifah, Missy Elliott, Busta Rhymes, Nelly, and Swizz Beatz came together to perform a medley of songs to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the genre.
Reflecting on his cameo on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday, Ice-T confessed he was anxious about getting his timing right.
“I went out there and it was with all my peers and it was really one of the greatest moments on stage. It was only eight bars, but it was eight bars to probably the most people I’ve ever performed to ever in my life. Yes, I was nervous,” he explained. “Because they’re running a track and the track is coming in and you’ve gotta catch your cue. I’m waiting and Scarface is rapping, but with everything going on, everybody’s having fun, I’m listening so hard. (I was thinking), ‘I’m on beat!’ If you missed that cue it was a wrap and it was going to be very disrespectful.”
The week after the Grammys, Ice-T – real name Tracy Marrow – was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
But while he was on a real high at the time, the entertainer admitted that everything came crashing down following the death of his Law & Order: Special Victims Unit co-star Richard Belzer on 19 February.
“So, I have one of the greatest weeks of my life. I go out, have fun at the Grammys, I get this star. Everybody’s like, ‘Ice, Ice, this is your week.’ Wake up the next day, Belzer passed away,” the 65-year-old continued. “So those moments when I was having fun, that was just a short blip, and now, I’ve gotta deal with the death of one of my really close friends.”