by Ice-T
Respect is built and gained in combat. So if success is what you want, prepare for war.
DAILY GAME
(OF LIFE)
1. AFTER ALL THE BULLSHIT I’VE BEEN THROUGH, IT IS ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO HAVE A BAD DAY. I SIMPLY WILL NOT ALLOW IT.
2. AT SOME POINT, A STREET HUSTLER MUST ELEVATE HIS OR HER STREET HUSTLE TO SOMETHING LEGIT. IF NOT, PRISON OR DEATH IS GUARANTEED.
3. YOU DON’T WANNA GET RICH … AND DIE TRYING!
4. THE HUSTLER’S QUESTION IS: HOW BAD DO YOU WANT IT? THEN GO GET IT MOTHERFUCKER! GET OFF YOUR ASS … MOVE!
5. LIFE ISN’T ABOUT THE MATERIAL THINGS YOU OWN. (THERE’S NO LUGGAGE RACK ON A HEARSE.) IT’S ABOUT THE EXCEPTIONAL EXPERIENCES YOU HAVE.
6. EVERYDAY I WAKE UP, GO TO THE ’NET AND FIND SOMETHING NEGATIVE ABOUT ME THAT SOMEBODY’S SAYING. THEN I USE THAT AS MOTIVATION FOR THE DAY.
7. AS YOU GROW, THE GAME YOU PLAY GETS MORE ADVANCED. NEVER LET MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS PULL YOU BACK TO THEIR LEVEL.
8. THE ONLY WAY TO MAKE HISTORY IS TO START SOMETHING, SAVE SOMETHING, OR FUCK SOMETHING UP. I THINK I’VE DONE ’EM ALL.
9. THE MOST DANGEROUS PERSON ISN’T THE TOUGH GUY; IT’S THE PERSON WHO JUST WANTS TO BE LEFT ALONE—AND YOU’RE FUCKIN’ WITH HIM.
10. LIFE IS FUCKED UP … GET A HELMET.
11. IT’S NOT HARD TO CONVINCE THE STREETS YOU’RE A GANGSTER. IT’S HARD TO CONVINCE THE FEDS YOU’RE NOT.
12. PEOPLE NEVER REMEMBER THE HUNDREDS OF TIMES YOU SAID “YES” TO THEM OR HELPED THEM OUT, BUT THEY ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT ONE TIME YOU SAID “NO.”
13. IT’S NOT ABOUT BEING MAD AT EVERYTHING; IT’S ABOUT BEING REALLY MAD AT THE RIGHT THINGS.
14. THE KEY TO WINNING THE GAME: DON’T WORRY ABOUT EVERYONE. FIND OUT WHO’S ON YOUR SIDE AND ROLL WITH THEM!
15. WHEN YOU’RE PAID, A LOT OF BROKE PEOPLE WILL TALK SHIT ABOUT YOU—THAT’S ALL THEY HAVE.
16. DON’T JUST WATCH HOW YOUR FRIENDS TREAT YOU. NOTICE HOW THEY TREAT OTHERS. IF THEY TREAT OTHERS FUCKED UP, IT JUST MIGHT NOT BE YOUR TURN YET.
17. YOUNG PEOPLE THINK THEY KNOW EVERYTHING BECAUSE THEY DON’T REALIZE HOW MUCH THERE IS TO KNOW.
18. THINGS WILL ALWAYS GET BETTER. IF NOT, THE LAST TIME YOU WERE SICK AND THOUGHT YOU WERE DYING, YOU WOULD HAVE.
19. ALWAYS REFER TO COPS AS “OFFICER” WHEN SPEAKING TO THEM. THEY HAVE RESPECT ISSUES. GIVE ’EM THAT, AND YOU MIGHT SLIDE PAST ’EM.
20. STOP ASKIN’ FOR SHIT AND GO AND GET SOMETHING!
21. A PLAYER DOESN’T LIE TO WOMEN; HIS LADIES ALL KNOW WHAT’S UP. IF YOU’RE LYING AND SNEAKING, YOU’RE NOT A PLAYER, YOU’RE A CHEATER.
22. IN THE GAME, SPECTATORS, COMMENTATORS, AND CRITICS DON’T GET THE TROPHIES—ONLY THE PLAYERS DO!
23. PEOPLE ALWAYS HATE UP. YOU NEVER THINK TWICE ABOUT SOMEONE BELOW YOU. IT’S THE PEOPLE ABOVE YOU WHO CREATE THE ENVY IN YOU.
24. IF I SEEM SQUARE TO YOU NOW IT’S BECAUSE I’VE BEEN THROUGH THE WAR AND HAVE LEARNED ITS LESSONS.
25. SOMETIMES WE CHOOSE TO REJECT GOOD ADVICE BECAUSE IT’S NOT WHAT WE WANT TO HEAR. REMEMBER, MEDICINE DOESN’T TASTE GOOD.
26. NO MAN CAN BE GREAT ALONE, NO MATTER WHAT HE THINKS. YOU’RE ONLY GREAT WHEN GOOD PEOPLE SPEAK OF YOU IN HIGH REGARD.
27. MONEY ALONE CANNOT MAKE YOU HAPPY. MONEY ONLY CREATES OPTIONS. HAPPINESS IS PSYCHOLOGICAL.
28. A THUG WILL HURT YOU BAD. A GANGSTER WILL HAVE YOU HURT BAD.
29. A NERD TALKS ABOUT IT. A GEEK CAN ACTUALLY DO IT.
30. I’VE FORGOTTEN MORE ABOUT THE GAME THAN MOST OF THESE CATS WILL EVER KNOW.
31. I’VE BEEN YOUR AGE, YOU’VE NEVER BEEN MINE—PAY ATTENTION.
32. UP AT 5:00 AM AND OFF TO THE SET. YOU AIN’T HUSTLIN’ UNLESS YOU’RE CATCHING A SWEAT.
33. IN BUSINESS, WHEN SOMEONE SAYS MAKING THE MONEY WILL BE EASY, GET OUT OF THE DEAL. THERE IS NO WAY TO MAKE EASY MONEY.
34. A RICH PERSON GOING BROKE IS FAR MORE SCANDALOUS THAN A POOR PERSON TRYING TO SURVIVE.
35. MEN WANT THREE WOMEN: 1) FREAK/PARTY GIRL; 2) HUSTLER/MONEY-GETTER; AND 3) WIFE/MOTHER. WE’LL EITHER FIND ONE THAT’S ALL THREE … OR HAVE THREE SEPARATE ONES.
36. OLD FRIENDS WILL PULL YOU BACK TOWARD YOUR OLD WAYS. UNFORTUNATELY, SOMETIMES YOU JUST GOT TO CUT THEM LOOSE TO MOVE FORWARD.
37. A BULLET WILL HIT YOU BEFORE YOU HEAR THE SOUND OF THE SHOT.
38. SLOW MOTION IS BETTER THAN NO MOTION, AND LOW PROFILE IS BETTER THAN NO PROFILE.
39. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A HUSTLER AND A GAMBLER: GAMBLERS TAKE RISKS; HUSTLERS NEVER PLAY A GAME THEY CAN LOSE.
40. EVERY DAY SOMEONE ASKS ME WHERE I LEARNED HOW TO ACT. ANSWER: STANDING IN FRONT OF A JUDGE IN COURT.
41. SOMETIMES WE CHOOSE TO REJECT GOOD ADVICE BECAUSE IT’S NOT WHAT WE WANT TO HEAR. REMEMBER, MEDICINE DOESN’T TASTE GOOD.
42. IF YOU SPENT HALF THE TIME ON YOURSELF THAT YOU SPEND SWEATING THE NEXT MAN, YOU MIGHT ACCOMPLISH SOMETHING WITH YOUR LIFE.
43. YOU’RE ONLY WASTING YOUR TIME TRYING TO TELL PEOPLE HOW FLY YOU ARE. IF IT’S REAL IT’S GONNA SHOW.
44. IT’S HARDER TO HIT A MOVING TARGET. PLAYERS KEEP IT MOVING.
45. NEVER CONFUSE POPULARITY WITH RESPECT.
46. IF EVERYONE YOU KNEW STOOD IN A ROOM AND THREW THEIR PROBLEMS IN THE AIR, I BET YOU’D REACH FOR YOURS ON THE WAY DOWN.
47. ALL A REAL PLAYER NEEDS TO WIN THE GAME IS HEALTH AND FREEDOM. WITH THAT, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.
48. HUSTLERS’ LAW: RAISE THE RISK, RAISE THE PROFIT.
49. YOU DON’T NEED A YACHT—YOU JUST NEED A FRIEND WITH A YACHT!
50. I WAS TOLD I’D NEVER LIVE PAST TWENTY-ONE, SO EVERY DAY THAT I WAKE UP I’VE WON. I’M IN EXTRA INNINGS, BABY!
My parents, Solomon and Alice Marrow
My red fire engine, my first car
Baby pic
My Crenshaw High School yearbook photo
Rhyme Syndicate N.Y. (from left: Evil E, Beatmaster V, me, Randy Mac, Busy B, Melle Mel, Melvin Bennett, Sean E. Sean, Donald D)
Harry O, Nat the Cat, me, Franzell
Rhyme Syndicate (at my left, Donald D and Hen-Gee)
Body Count on tour (from left: Sean E. Mac, Vincent Price, O.T., me, Ernie C, D-Roc, Sean E. Sean)
On stage with Snoop Dogg at the Apollo
Rocking the mic at VH1’s Hip Hop Honors (2005)
On tour with Lil Ice
Live in Miami
A fan’s tattoo
Me with a tattooed fan
Me and Coco at the Masters Players Ball, Arlington, Texas (from left: Minister Seamore, Archbishop Don Magic Juan, Fillmore Slim)
West Side: Backstage with Ice Cube in Detroit
Me and my colleagues from Law & Order: SVU and CI (from left: Richard Belzer, Jeff Goldblum, Mariska Hargitay)
On the set of Law & Order: SVU with Chris Meloni
With Dick Wolf, producer of the Law & Order franchise
Power couples: Chris and Malaak Rock, Ice-T and Coco. Chris Rock and I have been friends since we starred in New Jack City.
Me, Coco, and Snoop Dogg at the Comedy Central roast for Flavor Flav
Joking around with Muhammad Ali
Me and Don King
Me and Iron Mike Tyson
Me, Diddy, and Quincy Jones. I won a Grammy Award for the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for Quincy Jones’s Back on the Block (1989).
“Imagine me shaking hands with the mayor.” Me with New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg
The moment I met Coco, introduced by Rick Ricardo, one of my player buddies
Our wedding photo
Mr. & Mrs. Ice
On the red carpet with Coco
Stepping out
“A successful marriage is built on the realization that the other person has your back no matter what.”
Chilling with Baby Ice
Family pic (my grandson, Elijah; my daughter, LeTesha; and Lil Ice)
Rocking the mic at the New Ritz, New York City (1992)
Original Gangsta pic
; At the Tunnel nightclub, New York City (1992)
Keepin’ it player in pink
Classic O.G.
On the red carpet for VH1’s Hip Hop Honors (2005)
Monte Carlo
All photographs are printed courtesy of the author, with the following exceptions:
Crenshaw High School yearbook photo, courtesy of Crenshaw High School.
Mr. & Mrs. Ice, courtesy of Alex Cao.
On the red carpet with Coco, courtesy of Maury Phillips/Getty Images.
Coco and Ice-T sitting in a boardroom in Sydney, Australia, courtesy of STR/EPA Collection/Corbis Images.
Rocking the mic at the New Ritz, New York City (1992), courtesy of Michael Ochs—Archives/Getty Images.
On the red carpet for VH1’s Hip Hop Honors, courtesy of Bryan Bedder/Getty Images.
Grateful acknowledgment is made for permission to reprint lyrics from the following recordings:
“I Must Stand,” written by Tracy Marrow p/k/a Ice-T, Geoff Barrow, Beth Gibbons, S. Sanguillen, Adrian Utley. © 1996 Rhyme Syndicate Music (ASCAP) (administered by Reach Global, Inc.).
“That’s How I’m Livin’,” written by Tracy Marrow p/k/a Ice-T and Alphonso Henderson p/k/a DJ Aladdin. © 1993 Rhyme Syndicate Music (ASCAP) (administered by Reach Global, Inc.).
“Colors,” written by Tracy Marrow p/k/a Ice-T and Charles Glenn. © 1987 Rhyme Syndicate Music (ASCAP) (administered by Reach Global, Inc.) and Colgems/EMI Music, Inc.
“6 in the Mornin’,” written by Tracy Marrow p/k/a Ice-T and Charles Glenn. © 1987 Rhyme Syndicate Music (ASCAP) (administered by Reach Global, Inc.).
“Power,” written by Tracy Marrow p/k/a Ice-T and Charles Glenn. © 1988 Rhyme Syndicate Music (ASCAP) (administered by Reach Global, Inc.).
“99 Problems,” written by Tracy Marrow p/k/a Ice-T, Alphonso Henderson p/k/a DJ Aladdin and George Clinton. © 1993 Rhyme Syndicate Music (ASCAP) (administered by Reach Global, Inc.).
“Cop Killer,” written by Tracy Marrow p/k/a Ice-T & Ernest Cunningham. © 1992 Rhyme Syndicate Music (ASCAP) (administered by Reach Global, Inc.).
“Cold Wind Madness,” written by Tracy Marrow p/k/a Ice-T & Cletus Anderson. © 1992 Rhyme Syndicate Music (ASCAP) (administered by Reach Global, Inc.).
“Colder Than Ever,” written by Tracy Marrow p/k/a Ice-T. © 1984 Rhyme Syndicate Music (ASCAP) (administered by Reach Global, Inc.).
“Body Count,” written by Tracy Marrow p/k/a Ice-T. © 1992 Rhyme Syndicate Music (ASCAP) (administered by Reach Global, Inc.).
“Exodus,” written by Tracy Marrow p/k/a Ice-T, S. Jeffers, D. Dubar, S. Husayn, and E. Gold. © 1999 Rhyme Syndicate Music (ASCAP)
(administered by Reach Global, Inc.).
“Gotta Lotta Love,” written by Tracy Marrow p/k/a Ice-T. © 1993 Rhyme Syndicate Music (ASCAP) (administered by Reach Global, Inc.).
“G Style,” written by Tracy Marrow p/k/a Ice-T, Henry Garcia and
Wendall Winston. © 1993 Rhyme Syndicate Music (ASCAP) (administered by Reach Global, Inc.) and Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
TRACY MARROW AKA ICE-T was born in New Jersey. As an only child whose parents died when he was very young, Ice-T became involved in Los Angeles gangs before spending four years in the army. He released a string of groundbreaking West Coast rap records and formed the thrash-metal band Body Count, whose 1991 self-titled debut contained the controversial single “Cop Killer.” He currently stars as Detective Fin Tutuola on Law & Order: SVU.
DOUGLAS CENTURY is the author of Barney Ross: The Life of a Jewish Fighter and Street Kingdom: Five Years Inside the Franklin Avenue Posse, and is the co-author of the New York Times bestsellers Takedown and Under and Alone. He has written frequently for The New York Times, among many other publications, and is a contributing editor at Tablet Magazine.
