Name	Ice-T
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Tracy Marrow
Alias	The ICEBERG
Origin	Crenshaw, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Born	February 16, 1958 Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Genre	Hip hop, gangsta rap, heavy metal
Occupation	Musician, actor, CEO, record producer, screenwriter, activist, author
Years active	1982–present (rapping)
Instrument	Rapping, vocals, sampler
Label	Rhyme Syndicate, Sire, Warner Bros., Priority
Associated acts	Body Count, Beastie Boys, Low Profile, Afrika Islam, Everlast, Quincy Jones, Motörhead, Eazy-E, 2Pac
Notable instruments	E-mu SP-1200
Url	www.Icet.com

Tracy Marrow (born February 16, 1958), better known by his stage name Ice-T, is an American musician and actor.

He was born in Newark, New Jersey and moved to district Crenshaw, Los Angeles, California when he was in the 7th grade. After graduating from high school he served in the United States Army for four years. He began his career as a rapper in the 1980s and was signed to Sire Records in 1987, when he released his debut album Rhyme Pays. The next year, he founded the record label Rhyme Syndicate Records (named after his collective of fellow Hip-Hop artists called the Rhyme Syndicate) and released another album, Power.

He became the lead vocalist in heavy metal band Body Count, which he introduced in his 1991 album . Body Count released its self-titled debut album in 1992. Ice-T encountered controversy over his track "Cop Killer", which was perceived to glamorize killing police officers. In the following year, pressure upon Time Warner, the parent company of Warner Bros. Records, to censor or hold back any music or form of content that was deemed too dangerous for public consumption—including Ice-T's next Hip-Hop album, Home Invasion which was supposed to be released early in 1993 and was under scrutiny for its album cover artwork—ultimately prompted a severance of the relationship between them and Ice-T. Home Invasion was released later in the Fall of 1993 directly on his Rhyme Syndicate label through a new distribution deal with Priority Records instead. Body Count's next album was released in 1994, and Ice-T released two more albums in the late 1990s.

As an actor, he is best known for his portrayal of NYPD Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola on , the NBC police drama in which he has appeared since 2000.

Background

Although one of California hip hop's leading figures, Tracy Marrow, son of Solomon and Alice Marrow, was actually born in urban Newark, New Jersey. As a child, his family moved to upscale Summit, New Jersey. His mother died of a heart attack when he was in third grade and his father died of a heart attack four years later. Ice-T has stated in his biography that his father was of Creole origin and his mother was African American.

After his father died, he went to live with his paternal aunt in California and later attended Crenshaw High School in South Central Los Angeles. After high school, he entered the United States Army and served for four years in the 25th Infantry. It was an experience he has stated that he did not enjoy.

He was previously in a relationship with Darlene Ortiz, who was featured on the covers of his 1987 album Rhyme Pays and his 1988 album Power. The couple had a son in 1992. In early 2005, Ice-T married swimsuit model Nicole "Coco Marie" Austin. as well as providing Adrock of the Beastie Boys with his first SP-1200 sampler in 1985.

He can be seen in Joeski Love's 1985 video of [Pee Wee's Dance] (at 2:10 and throughout) In 1987 he recorded "Justiceville", written by Tom "Beefbone" Bolema for a documentary by the same name, and later released on a Notown Records compilation.

Ice-T finally landed a deal with a major label Sire Records. When label founder and president Seymour Stein heard his demo, he said, “He sounds like Bob Dylan.” Shortly after, he released his debut album Rhyme Pays in 1987 supported by DJ Evil E, DJ Aladdin and producer Afrika Islam, who helped create the mainly party-oriented sound. The record wound up being certified gold by the RIAA. That same year, he recorded the title theme song for Dennis Hopper's Colors, a film about inner-city life in Los Angeles. His next album Power was released in 1988, under his own label Rhyme Syndicate, and it was a more assured and impressive record, earning him strong reviews and his second gold record. Released in 1989, The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech... Just Watch What You Say established his popularity by matching excellent abrasive music with narrative and commentative lyrics.

In 1991, he released his album O.G. Original Gangster, which is regarded as one of the albums that defined gangsta rap. On OG, he introduced his heavy metal band Body Count in a track of the same name. Ice-T toured with Body Count on the first annual Lollapalooza concert tour in 1991, gaining him appeal among middle-class teenagers and fans of alternative music genres. The self-titled debut album by Body Count followed.

Controversy later surrounded Body Count over its song "Cop Killer", a song intended as a narrative from the view of a criminal getting revenge on racist police officers guilty of brutality, from the National Rifle Association and various police advocacy groups. The album peaked at #9 on Billboard magazine's Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums and at #14 on the Billboard 200, spawning several singles including "Gotta Lotta Love", "I Ain't New To This" and "99 Problems" - which would later inspire Jay Z to record a version with new lyrics in 2003. Ice-T had also collaborated with certain other heavy metal bands during this time period. For the film Judgment Night, he did a duet with Slayer on the track "Disorder". In 1995, Ice-T made a guest performance on Forbidden by Black Sabbath.

His first rap album since 1999, Gangsta Rap, was released on October 31, 2006. The album's cover, which "shows [Ice-T] lying on his back in bed with his ravishing wife's ample posterior in full view and one of her legs coyly draped over his private parts," was considered to be too suggestive for most retailers, many of which were reluctant to stock the album. Some reviews of the album were unenthusiastic, as many had hoped for a return to the political raps of Ice-T's most successful albums.

Ice-T appears in the film Gift. One of the last scenes includes Ice-T and Body Count playing with Jane's Addiction in a version of the Sly and the Family Stone song "Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey."

Besides fronting his own band and rap projects, Ice-T has also collaborated with other hard rock and metal bands, such as Icepick, Motörhead, Pro-Pain, and Six Feet Under. He has also covered songs by hardcore punk bands such as The Exploited, Jello Biafra, and Black Flag. Ice-T made an appearance at Insane Clown Posse's Gathering Of The Juggalos (2008 edition). Ice-T was also a judge for the 7th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists. His new BBC-funded movie 'Art Of Rap' features a who's who of underground and mainstream rappers.

Acting career

Ice-T's first film appearances were in the motion pictures Breakin' (1984) and its sequel (1985). These films were released before Ice-T released his first LP, although he has since stated that he considers the films and his own performance in them to be "whack".

In 1991, he embarked on a serious acting career, portraying police detective Scotty Appleton in Mario Van Peebles' feature film New Jack City, gang leader Odessa alongside Denzel Washington and John Lithgow in Ricochet (1991), gang leader King James in Trespass (1992), followed by a notable lead role performance in Surviving the Game (1994) in addition to his many supporting roles, such as J-Bone in Johnny Mnemonic (1995), and the marsupial mutant T-Saint in Tank Girl (1995). Marrow was also interviewed in the Brent Owens documentary Pimps Up, Ho's Down, in which he claims to have had an extensive pimping background before getting into rap. He is quoted as saying "once you max something out, it ain't no fun no more. I couldn't really get no farther." He goes on to explain that his pimping experience gave him the ability to get into new businesses. "I can't act, I really can't act, I ain't no rapper, it's all game. I'm just working these niggas." Later he raps at the Players Ball.

In 1993, Marrow along with other rappers and the three Yo! MTV Raps hosts Ed Lover, Doctor Dre and Fab 5 Freddy starred in the comedy Who's the Man? directed by Ted Demme. In this movie Ice is a drug dealer who gets really frustrated when someone calls him by his real name "Chauncey" rather than his street name "Nighttrain".

In 1995, he had a recurring role as vengeful drug dealer Danny Cort on the television series New York Undercover, which was co-created by Dick Wolf. His work on the series earned him the 1996 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. In 1997, Marrow co-created the short-lived series Players, which was produced by Wolf. This was followed by a role as pimp Seymour "Kingston" Stockton in (1998). These collaborations led Wolf to add Marrow to the cast of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Since 2000 he has portrayed Odafin "Fin" Tutuola, a former undercover narcotic officer transferred to the Special Victims Unit. In 2002, the NAACP awarded Marrow with a second Image Award, again for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, for his work on Law & Order: SVU. His participation in this series is somewhat ironic, given the early controversy surrounding his group Body Count with their song "Cop Killer". Marrow also appears in the movie .

In 1997, he had a pay-per-view special entitled Ice T's Extreme Babes which appeared on Action PPV, formerly owned by BET networks.

In 1999, Marrow starred in the HBO movie Stealth Fighter as a United States Naval Aviator who fakes his own death, steals a F-117 stealth fighter and threatens to destroy United States military bases. This movie is often criticized for its poor script, military inaccuracies, and significant use of footage from other movies. He also acted in the movie Sonic Impact, released the same year.

Ice-T voiced in the video game as well as Agent Cain in . He also appears as himself in and fighting video games.

Ice-T made an appearance on the comedy television series Chappelle's Show as himself presenting the award for "Player Hater of the Year" at the "Player-Haters Ball", a parody of his own appearance at the Players Ball. He was dubbed the "Original Player Hater."

At WrestleMania 2000, Marrow performed his song "Pimpin Ain't Easy" during The Godfather and D'Lo Brown's entrance.

He also played as Hamilton in a 2001 thriller film named 3000 Miles to Graceland.

Beyond Tough, a 2002 documentary series aired on Discovery Channel about the world's most dangerous and intense professions, such as alligator wrestlers and Indy 500 pit crews, was hosted by Marrow.

In 2007, he appeared as a celebrity guest star on the MTV sketch comedy show Short Circuitz. Also in late 2007, Marrow appeared in the short-music film Hands of Hatred which can be found online.

Ice-T was interviewed for the Cannibal Corpse retrospective documentary , as well as appearing in Chris Rock's 2009 documentary Good Hair, in which he reminisced about going to school in hair curlers.

Ice-T is now involved with the game Gears of War 3.

Reality television

On October 20, 2006 Ice-T's Rap School aired and was a reality television show on VH1. It was a spin-off of the British reality show Gene Simmons' Rock School, which also aired on VH1. In Rap School, rapper/actor Ice-T teaches eight teens from York Preparatory School in New York called the "York Prep Crew" ("Y.P. Crew" for short). Each week, Ice-T gives them assignments and they compete for an imitation gold chain with a microphone on it. On the season finale on November 17, 2006, the group performed as an opening act for Public Enemy.

Ice-T also made an appearance on NBC’s new game show Celebrity Family Feud on June 24, 2008. In the show Ice-T and Coco teamed up in a competition against Joan and Melissa Rivers to compete for their favorite charity. The Rivers family won their round.

Ice-T also made an appearance in a reality television show in the early 2000s, an episode of the MTV show, Cribs.

Ice-T appeared on the CBS television special reality show I Get That a Lot on April 1, 2009.

Ice-T appeared on ITV1 television show All Star Mr & Mrs in Britain on 9 January 2010.

Ice-T played the role of Rudy Montejo on the E-Hollywood Story Life of Rudy Ehm in New York.

Personal life

at the 2008 Oscars]] He has condemned the involvement of the Central Intelligence Agency in drug trafficking (in connection with the Iran-Contra scandal, as documented in the Kerry Committee report and elsewhere) on tracks such as "This One's for Me" and "Message to the Soldier", in sections of his book.

In 1994, Ice-T wrote a book titled The Ice Opinion: Who Gives a Fuck?.

Ice-T was arrested in New York City on July 20, 2010 for driving without a valid license and not wearing a seatbelt, with his wife, Coco, as a passenger, while taking his bulldog to the vet for knee surgery. The NYPD said he would be given a ticket and released.

Style and influence

Ice-T has been known primarily as one of the rappers of the golden age more important in hip hop from California, and one of the pioneers of gangsta rap, which later inspired many rappers, especially N.W.A (also pioneers of gangsta rap), Coolio, Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, 2Pac, E-40, and The Game.

Ice-T has stated George Clinton, Funkadelic, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, and Motörhead as musicians he is fond of and has taken influence from.

Ice-T has been known mainly to cause controversy in their lyrical themes, especially the song "Cop Killer". Others controversies has been caused by alleged misogyny in his lyrics. He has argued that being a stripper or a model cannot be demeaning to all women through an analogy of a man who considers a homosexual to be demeaning all men by his actions, arguing that if the second position is untenable, the first is as well.

The track "Escape from the Killing Fields" expressed a difference in views from rappers like Redman and Ice Cube in that Ice-T did not see any virtue in staying in the ghetto, but rather encouraged people to leave the ghetto. The last track on O.G. Original Gangster is a spoken-word opposition to the Gulf War and to poor conditions in prisons. After Born Dead in 1994, Ice-T's music has contained much less political commentary than before.

Feuds

LL Cool J

Ice-T had a non publicized feud with LL Cool J in the late 1980s. On Ice-T's track "I'm Your Pusher" names to many East Coast rappers, and insult them saying LL Cool J is "garbage that does not work". LL responded publicly with the song "To da Break of Dawn".

Soulja Boy Tell 'Em

In June 2008, on DJ Cisco's Urban Legend mixtape, Ice-T criticized DeAndre Cortez "Soulja Boy Tell 'Em" Way for "killing hip hop" and his song "Crank That" for being "garbage" compared to the works of other hip-hop artists such as Rakim, Das EFX, Big Daddy Kane and Ice Cube. One of the comments in the exchange was when Ice-T told Way to "eat a dick". The two then traded numerous videos back and forth over the Internet. These videos included a cartoon and video of Ice-T dancing on Way's behalf and an apology, but reiteration of his feelings that Way's music "sucks", on Ice-T's behalf. Rapper Kanye West defended Way by arguing that the younger artist created a new, original work for hip hop, thus keeping the authentic meaning of the music.

Discography

Solo

1987: Rhyme Pays

1988: Power

1989: The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech...Just Watch What You Say

1991: O.G. Original Gangster

1993: Home Invasion

1996: VI - Return of the Real

1999: The Seventh Deadly Sin

2006: Gangsta Rap

With Body Count

1992: Body Count

1994: Born Dead

1997:

2006: Murder 4 Hire

Filmography

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |- |rowspan=2|1984 |Breakin' |Rap Talker | |- | |Radiotron Rapper | |- |1985 |Rappin' |Himself | |- |rowspan=2|1991 |New Jack City |Scotty Appleton | Won: MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance |- |Ricochet |Odessa | |- |rowspan=2|1992 |Why Colors? | | |- |Trespass |King James | |- |rowspan=2|1993 |Who's the Man? |Nighttrain/Chauncey | |- |Gift |Himself |Video |- |1994 |Surviving the Game |Jack Mason | |- |rowspan=2|1995 |Tank Girl |T-Saint | |- |Johnny Mnemonic |J-Bone | |- |1996 |Frankenpenis | | Direct-to-video |- |rowspan=3|1997 |Below Utopia |Jim | |- |Mean Guns |Vincent Moon | |- |The Deli |Phil The Meat Man | |- |1998 |Crazy Six |Raul | |- |rowspan=10|1999 |Sonic Impact |Agent Taja | |- |The Wrecking Crew |Menace | |- |The Heist |C-Note | |- |Frezno Smooth |DJ Superfly | |- |Judgement Day |Matthew Reese |Video |- |Urban Menace |Narrator | |- |Stealth Fighter |Owen Turner |Also executive producer |- |Final Voyage |Josef | |- |Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang |Justice Rough, The Judge | |- |Corrupt |Corrupt | |- |rowspan=4|2000 |Gangland |Officer Dunn | |- |Leprechaun in the Hood |Mack Daddy |Video |- |Luck of the Draw |Macneilly | |- |The Alternate |Agent Williams | |- |rowspan=13|2001 |Kept |Jack Mosler | |- |Stranded |Jeffries |Johnathan |- |Crime Partners 2000 |King Fischer | |- |3000 Miles to Graceland |Hamilton | |- |Point Doom |Ringman | |- |Deadly Rhapsody |Wilson | |- |'R Xmas |The Kidnapper | |- |Guardian |Max | |- |Tara |Grady | |- |Ticker |Terrorist Commander | |- |Out Kold |Goldie | |- |Ablaze |Albert Denning | |- |Air Rage |Matt Marshall |Video |- |2002 |On the Edge |Slim Jim | |- |rowspan=2|2004 |Lexie |Rasheed |Video |- |Up In Harlem |Ice T | |- |2005 |Tracks (film)|Tracks |Officer Brian Clark | |- |2006 |Copy That |Ice T | |- |rowspan=2|2007 |BelzerVizion |Ice T | |- |Apartment 309 |Detective Shearod | |- |2009 |Good Hair |Ice T | |- |rowspan=2|2010 |Santorini Blue |Dr. Lewis | post-production |- |The Other Guys |Narrator | |- |2011 |Shady Talez | | In Development |- |}

Television

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |- | 1983 | Fame | One of the 'Enforcers' | Episode: "Break Dance" |- | 1995 | New York Undercover | Danny Up/Danny Cort | Episode: "CAT" Episode: "Catman Comes Back" Episode: "The Finals" (as Danny Cort) |- | rowspan=2|1996 | Swift Justice | Earl Borgese | Episode: "Takin' Back the Street" |- | MADtv | Host | Season 2 episode 2 |- | rowapan=2|1997 | | Taanzi | Episode: "" |- | | Space Ghost Coast to Coast | Himself |One Episode |- | 1997–1998 | Players | Isaac 'Ice' Gregory | 16 episodes |- | rowspan=2|1998 | Welcome to Paradox | Revell | Episode: "The Winner" |- | |Seymour 'Kingston' Stockton | TV film |- | rowspan=3|1999 | L.A. Heat | Cage | Episode: "Rap Sheet" |- | Batman Beyond | Ramrod | Episode: "" |- | V.I.P | The Prophet | Episode: "Val The Hard Way" Episode: "Val Goes To Town" |- | 2000 | The Disciples | The Sensei | TV film |- | 2000–present | | Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola | Replaced Monique Jeffries starting with Season 2 |- | 2005 | Law & Order | Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola | Episode: "Flaw" (second half of cross-over with Law & Order: SVU episode "". |- | 2008 | The Jace Hall Show | Actor | Episode: "Blizzard's World of Warcraft Feat. Ice T. & Coco" |- | 2009 |I Get That a Lot | Himself | TV special |- | 2010 |All Star Mr & Mrs | Himself with his wife Coco | Final round |- |}

Video games

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Video game ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |- | 2000 | | Agent Nathaniel Cain | Voice |- | rowspan=2|2004 | Def Jam Fight for NY | Himself | Voice |- | | | Voice |- | 2006 | | | Voice |- | 2011 | Gears of War 3 | Griffin | Voice |}

References

External links

Interview with Ice-T & biography on westcoastpioneers

Exclusive interview: Ice-T Speaks on Soulja

Ice T UNCENSORED Radio Interview on Conspiracy Radio 2009

Category:1958 births Category:Living people Category:Actors from California Category:African American film actors Category:African American rappers Category:African American rock musicians Category:African Americans' rights activists Category:American activists Category:American heavy metal singers Category:African American television actors Category:Body Count members Category:Louisiana Creole people Category:Charly Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Hip hop activists Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Newark, New Jersey Category:Rappers from Los Angeles, California Category:United States Army soldiers Category:Priority Records artists Category:Sire Records artists Category:Virgin Records artists

Name	Soulja Boy Tell 'Em
Landscape	no
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	DeAndre Cortez Way
Alias	Soulja Boy, S. Beezy, Dre
Born	July 28, 1990 Chicago, Illinois
Origin	Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Occupation	Rapper, record producer
Genre	Hip hop
Years active	2004–present
Label	Stacks on Deck/Interscope
Associated acts	Mr. Collipark, Gucci Mane
Url
Notable instruments	FL Studio

DeAndre Cortez Way (born July 28, 1990), better known by his stage name Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, or simply Soulja Boy, is an American rapper and record producer.

In September 2007, his single "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was initially self-published on the Internet, and it became a number-one hit in the United States for seven non-consecutive weeks starting in September 2007.

Despite his commercial success, his music has been the subject of ridicule from his peers and critics.

Early life

DeAndre Way was born in Chicago and moved to Atlanta at age six, where he became interested in rap music. At age 14, he moved to Batesville, Mississippi, with his father, who provided a recording studio for Way to explore his musical ambitions.

In November 2005, Way posted his songs on the website SoundClick. Following positive reviews on the site, he then established his own web pages on YouTube and MySpace. In March 2007, he recorded "Crank That" and released his first independent album , followed by a low-budget video filmed demonstrating the "Crank That" dance. By the end of May 2007, "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" received its first airplay and Way met with Mr. Collipark to sign a deal with Interscope Records.

On August 12, 2007, the song appeared on the Emmy-award winning HBO series Entourage, and by September 1, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot RingMasters charts. Way's major label debut album Souljaboytellem.com, which was reportedly recorded using just the demo version of FL Studio, was released in the United States on October 2, peaking at #4 on both the Billboard 200 and Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums charts. On December 9, 2007, Way was sued by William Lyons (a.k.a. Souljah Boy of Mo Thugs Family) who claims he first created the stage name "Souljah Boy".

For the 50th Grammy Awards, Way was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Song with "Crank That (Soulja Boy)". He lost to Kanye West's and T-Pain's "Good Life".

Souljaboytellem.com received a favorable review from Allmusic, Several reviewers credited Soulja Boy with spearheading a new trend in hip-hop, while speculating he will likely be a one-hit wonder.

iSouljaBoyTellem (2008–2009)

In June 2008, on DJ Cisco's Urban Legend mixtape, Ice-T criticized Way for "killing hip-hop" and his song "Crank That" for being "garbage" compared to the works of other hip-hop artists such as Rakim, Das EFX, Big Daddy Kane and Ice Cube. One of the comments in the exchange was when Ice-T told Way to "eat a dick". The two then traded numerous videos back and forth over the Internet. These videos included a cartoon and video of Ice-T dancing on Way's behalf and an apology, but reiteration of his feelings that Way's music "sucks", on Ice-T's behalf. Rapper Kanye West defended Way by arguing that the younger artist created a new, original work for hip-hop, thus keeping the authentic meaning of the music.

The follow-up to souljaboytellem.com, iSouljaBoyTellem, was released on December 16, 2008, to negative critical reception. The first single from the album, "Bird Walk", peaked at number 40 on the Billboard Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart and the top 20 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart. "Kiss Me Thru the Phone", with Sammie, followed, peaking at #3 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the Hot Rap Tracks charts.

The DeAndre Way (2009–present)

The DeAndre Way is Way's third studio album, released on November 30, 2010. Way has stated that the album is intended to be his most personal and successful album thus far. When speaking on possible collaborations, he stated he wished to work with artists such as Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West, Eminem, among others. The album was originally called "The DeAndre Way" but was changed in early 2010 to Dre, however it was changed back to The DeAndre Way in July 2010.

The lead single from the album, "POW", was released in January 2009 but failed to garner success and was dubbed a promo single. The official lead single from the album, "Pretty Boy Swag", was released in June 2010. The single has reached number thirty-four on the Billboard Hot 100, number six on the Billboard Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number five on the Billboard Rap Songs chart. The album's second single was due to be "Digital", then "Speakers Going Hammer", but "Blowing Me Kisses" was released on August 31, 2010 as the second single instead. Soulja Boy was to be part of the Summerbeatz tour held in Australia alongside Flo Rida, Jay Sean and Travie McCoy in November 2010, but in lieu of his current album release date and a new tour, Soulja Society, Soulja Boy had declined the offer.

Musical style

Critics and hip hop figures such as Method Man have cited Soulja Boy as artistically typical of contemporary rap trends such as writing for the lucrative ringtone market, and the ascendence of "Southern hip hop", emphasizing catchy music that discards rap's traditional emphasis on message. Soulja Boy identifies his goal as making upbeat, party-themed music that avoids the negative, violent image that he sees in most hip-hop. In the original YouTube video for "Shootout", Soulja Boy demonstrates his dance while holding a handgun in each hand and pretending to shoot into the audience.

Personal life

On December 30, 2008, Way was robbed and assaulted in his home. Initial reports indicated that the robbers were six masked men with AK-47s and pistols but on December 31, 2008, video clips surfaced on the Internet of two masked men claiming sole credit for the crime. Soulja Boy described the incident to MTV News a month later: He had come home very late at night after attending an album release party and was recording songs with friends when the robbers came in pointing their guns.

On October 7, 2009, Way was arrested on one count of obstruction, a misdemeanor, for running from police when he'd been ordered to stop. The rapper was released on $550 bond.

Discography

; Studio albums

Souljaboytellem.com (2007)

iSouljaBoyTellem (2008)

The DeAndre Way (2010)

Awards and nominations

BET Awards

*2007: Best New Artist (Nominated)

*2008: Viewer's Choice Award: "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" (Nominated)

*2009: Viewer's Choice Award: "Kiss Me Thru the Phone" (Nominated)

BET Hip-Hop Awards

*2007: Best Hip-Hop Dance (Won)

Grammy Awards

*2008: Best Rap Song: "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" (Nominated)

Ozone Awards

*2007: Patiently Waiting: Mississippi (Won)

*2008: Best Breakthrough Artist (Nominated)

*2008: TJ's DJ's Tastemaker Award (Nominated)

Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards

*2007: Favorite Male Singer (Nominated)

Teen Choice Awards

*2009: Choice Music: Rap Artist (Nominated)

*2009: Choice Music: R&B; Track for "Kiss Me Thru the Phone" (Nominated)

*2009: Choice Music: Hook Up for "Kiss Me Thru the Phone"

*2009: Choice Music: Artist (Nominated)

References

External links

Official website

Category:1990 births Category:Living people Category:2000s rappers Category:2010s rappers Category:African American rappers Category:African American record producers Category:American dance musicians Category:Hip hop record producers Category:Interscope Records artists Category:People from Panola County, Mississippi Category:Rappers from Atlanta, Georgia Category:People from Chicago, Illinois

Name	New Jack
Names	New Jack
Height
Weight
Birth date	January 03, 1963
Birth place	Atlanta, Georgia
Trainer	Ray Candy
Debut	1992

Jerome Tony Young (born January 3, 1963) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his stage name New Jack in ECW.

He is known for his willingness to take dangerous bumps and his stiff hardcore wrestling style, often taking high risks and "shooting" on opponents, though he is only known to shoot on opponents who are deemed disrespectful in the ring. He is also known for having his theme song ("Natural Born Killaz" by Ice Cube and Dr. Dre) play throughout his matches in ECW. The inspiration for his ring name came from the movie New Jack City.

Career

Young claims to have been a bounty hunter before becoming a professional wrestler, and to have committed four justifiable homicides, although these claims have not been verified by independent sources.

Young trained under Ray Candy and debuted in 1992 in the Memphis, Tennessee-based United States Wrestling Association (USWA), where he adopted the name New Jack. He went on to form a tag team, The Gangstas, with Mustafa Saed in Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW). The Gangstas took part in several controversial angles, on one occasion using affirmative action to enable them to win matches with a two count pinfall as opposed to the conventional three count. They engaged in a long feud with the Rock 'N Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson). During their stint, the NAACP would picket outside the performance venues because of the "Gangsta" gimmick, claiming that no racial violence had occurred in the Tennessee area for years, and they didn't want the reputation of gangsters to be put into the Tennessee area.

Extreme Championship Wrestling

In 1995, The Gangstas left SMW and joined the Philadelphia-based Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) promotion. They won the ECW Tag Team Championships twice before Saed was fired from the company in 1997. New Jack then formed The Gangstanators, a new tag team with former Eliminator John Kronus, going on to win a third ECW Tag Team Championship. New Jack began dragging in a garbage can full of weapons and throwing it into the ring as a sort of ultra-violent grab bag.

During Jack's time in ECW when he had started to dive from anything and everything, he has stated in an interview he was contacted by the (at the time) WWF to work for them. Jack also stated he wouldn't leave ECW for either the WWF or WCW because they would "water him down" and "make him look weak", in competition to the likes of Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, Undertaker and others that where working for the company at that time.

August 1998-1999

New Jack throughout the late-1990s was in a bitter feud with Da Baldies and their leader The Spanish Angel over the unofficial title of "King of the Streets". The two battled back and forth over the matter in bloody street fights. One of ECW television's most gruesome moments is when in the course of a match, Angel used New Jack's staple gun (which he often wore around his neck with a chain) against him, stapling him in the eye. Referees called off the match, and New Jack disappeared from the air for several months. New Jack returned by the end of 1999 with his eye seemingly recovered, now sporting a scythe around his neck, claiming that he had "upgraded" the staple gun. The first match he had against Angel since his return was a successful one, as he continued his feud against Da Baldies.

The Danbury Fall

On March 12, 2000, New Jack (legitimately) suffered brain damage and was temporarily blinded in his right eye, when he and his opponent, Vic Grimes, fell off a balcony, missed the tables that were supposed to absorb the force of their fall and landed on the concrete floor (with Grimes landing on New Jack's head) at Living Dangerously 2000. In a rematch between the two in Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW), New Jack threw Grimes from a scaffold, with Grimes plummeting around 40 feet into the ring. The stunt did not work out as planned, as Grimes only landed on one of the twelve tables that were intended to break his fall and ended up dislocating his ankle on the ring rope. In the 2005 documentary Forever Hardcore, New Jack claimed that he had intentionally thrown Grimes too hard in the hopes that he would hit the ring post and for Grimes to be injured or killed, but under further evaluation Grimes can be seen noticeably pushing off the scaffold with his foot which is one of the main factors leading to the botch. Also in the interview, he said that the Living Dangerously accident was his own fault for prematurely pulling Grimes down from the scaffold. Jack has said that Grimes had been going around telling the locker room that he hurt New Jack, until Jack replied by saying "I hurt me."

XPW and the independent circuit

After ECW declared bankruptcy in April 2001, New Jack began wrestling on the independent circuit. In 2001 and 2002, he wrestled for XPW, and in 2003, he made multiple appearances with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and also Combat Zone Wrestling, competing in Cage of Death V. New Jack appeared at the ECW reunion show, Hardcore Homecoming, on June 10, 2005, as well as competing on the "Extreme Reunion" tour from September 15–16.

In April 2003, New Jack was in a memorable hardcore match with longtime wrestler Gilberto Melendez (better known as Gypsy Joe). Joe was continuously no-selling New Jack. New Jack also states on a shoot interview that Joe headbutted him in the nose. This caused New Jack to legitimately attack the sexagenarian with a chain, a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire, and several other weapons. Before the match Jack met Gypsy Joe and went to the booker of the show and asked exactly what he was supposed to do with Joe. Jack was told "Gypsy Joe is as tough as leather", and Jack replied that he wasn't going to lose doller value from this match and won't have either a comedy, or a gimmick match, and told the booker he will kill Gypsy Joe in this hardcore match.

WWE

New Jack has been rumoured to have had a 5 minute try-out match for the WWE against Val Venis at a RAW show, but was not up to the standards of what WWE officials were asking for, as the match only lasted 1 minute, therefore was unsuccessful to gain the opportunity to a WWE dark match. However New Jack was allowed a moment to cut a promo, which supposedly left Vince and Shane McMahon very impressed. Jack got on well with the other wrestlers backstage at the RAW show and pitched an idea for the Cena stabbing storyline to WWE officials, that would involve John being stabbed by New Jack in the nightclub instead of Carlito's bodyguard. It has also been rumoured that Vince didn't want New Jack in the WWE because it could be a dangerous move, as he could end up hurting or injuring somebody. It has also been rumoured that Vince thinks New Jacks forehead is disgraceful from adding colour to a match.

Other

New Jack is known for stabbing an opponent repeatedly in the ring, he has also stated he tried to kill his opponent and he heard air bursting out from his lungs as he was stabbing him. All charges were dropped as long as New Jack trained the young wrestler.

In 2005, New Jack was supposed to wrestle Sandman in a ECW style match, but Danny Demento came out and cut a promo. Sandman came out, cut a promo, then New Jack came out, and the match turned into a Triple Threat ECW style match which New Jack won.

In 2006, New Jack reached an agreement with MTV to participate in their Wrestling Society X television series. He appeared in the Battle Royal to determine contenders for the WSX Championship, directing his focus on fellow ex-ECW alumnus Chris Hamrick. According to New Jack, he and WSX parted ways due to a disagreement backstage.

New Jack ran his own wrestling promotion 2XFW based in Cincinnati, Ohio. There were advertisements for 5 shows, 3 of which were canceled. 2XFW has since ceased operation. There was another attempt at restarting the promotion in November 2009 but things fell through.

New Jack has also competed in KCW (Keystone Championship Wrestling) based in Central Pennsylvania.

On August 8, 2010, New Jack appeared at TNA's ECW reunion show, Hardcore Justice, where he and Mustafa assaulted Team 3D and Joel Gertner after a match.

On December 19, 2010 New Jack appeared at the "Dawg House Bar & Grill" in Hallandale Beach, Florida. New Jack signed autographs and met fans before and during WWE's "Tables, Ladders & Chairs" Pay-Per-View.

Other media

In the video game ECW Anarchy Rulz, New Jack's theme song was especially made by Bootsy Collins with unique lyrics, unlike every other character's theme, which consisted of sound-alikes of their real themes. The real theme ("Natural Born Killaz"), like everyone else's, could not be featured; copyright issues from their record labels wouldn't allow it. New Jack was featured in the 1999 wrestling documentary Beyond the Mat. In addition, he appeared in the television series Early Edition on May 6, 2000 as a biker in the episode "Mel Schwartz, Bounty Hunter". He was also featured in the video game .

New Jack is referenced in the Weezer song "El Scorcho". The line "watchin' Grunge legdrop New Jack through a press table" was derived from a caption for a photograph of New Jack fighting wrestler Johnny Grunge that was published in Pro Wrestling Illustrated.

New Jack took part in a shoot interview with The Iron Sheik and The Honky Tonk Man where the subject was Chris Benoit's murder-suicide. New Jack commented that nothing could excuse what Benoit had done and all people on WWE and elsewhere who were making excuses for him were hypocrites. He also thought it was ironic how Extreme Championship Wrestling was seen as violent and dangerous wrestling when he was working there and still only one person died under New Jack's time with the company, whereas WWE was "averaging three a year." (It should be noted that so far only 4 performers, including Benoit, have died under while under WWE contract. All four deaths happened across a 10 year period). He also has a DVD documentary called New Jack Hardcore: The History.

New Jack did a DVD interview with The Sandman (Jim Fullington) and Raven (Scott Levy) for Pro Wrestling Insider.

New Jack recently made his hip hop recording debut. He contributed several verses to indie rapper Duckman's new album Duckman for Presidente. An animated commercial for the album featuring a cartoon version of New Jack was recently released. New Jack's voice is featured in the commercial and he tells listeners to "buy the cd or I'll stab your ass". In the popular video game the player can earn a call sign titled New Jack, referring to when he stabbed his opponent.

New Jack has a radio show on BlogTalkRadio airing Wednesdays 10pm to 11pm.

New Jack is currently in a relationship with former WWE Diva Terri Runnels.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

*187 (Diving elbow drop while holding a steel chair underneath his arm)

*Death Valley driver

*Diving splash, usually from a highly elevated position onto an opponent on a table

Signature moves

*Airplane spin

*Diving headbutt

*Guitar shot

*Various weapon shots (most notably using his signature staple gun)

Nicknames

*"The Original Gangsta"

Championships and accomplishments

Extreme Championship Wrestling

:*ECW World Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Mustafa Saed (2) and John Kronus (1)

North Georgia Wrestling Association

:*NGWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) :*NGWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Mustafa Saed

Smoky Mountain Wrestling

:*SMW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Mustafa Saed

United States Wrestling Association

:*USWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Home Boy

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

:*PWI ranked him #386 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003.

References

External links

New Jack on Facebook

New Jack on MySpace

Weekly Planet's extensive story on New Jack's career

Category:1963 births Category:African American professional wrestlers Category:American professional wrestlers Category:American television actors Category:People from Atlanta, Georgia Category:Living people