My mother passed when I was in the third grade, my father when I was in the seventh, and that's when I was shipped to Los Angeles to live with an aunt. Ice T More Quotes by Ice T More Quotes From Ice T I've got a phone, Ice T phones running hands I'd say people are victims of circumstances and they're limited to the opportunities that they see. Even though there might be more opportunities, you might not see them. You might just think, "I don't have any options." You usually go to the dark side, in that situation. Ice T dark opportunity thinking Half the rhymes you write, you're saying that you're better than the other MC. That's how we keep the craft sharp. Ice T crafts half writing Hip-hop is a competition culture. It's based around, "My DJ is better than you. My graffiti artist is better than you." Ice T competition hip-hop artist What's bad for the culture is wack rappers that get held in high regard like they're some great thing because it's the flavor of the month, but everybody knows they can't rap. I don't think it's hard, even for somebody who's not hip-hop, to know that that's not good. When you put them up against somebody that can really rhyme, you go, "Okay, I get it. This is what it should sound like." Ice T flavor-of-the-month rap thinking Rapping is a vocal delivery, so you can do it without being part of hip-hop and not knowing what hip-hop is about. Ice T rap hip-hop knowing I've always been a person that, if I'm with a woman, she's in the picture. Even my son's mom, she was on my early (album) covers. Ice T albums mom son When I make records I have full control of everything and I know how it sounds before it comes out, with films it's outta my hands. Ice T records sound hands If you really listen to my music my music is more like stories than party records. I never made party records. Ice T records party stories I always knew that I had to direct. That was something I'd wanted to do. Finally, I was just looking at the situation and I said, "I wanna document hip-hop, as an art form, seeing how a lot of people don't take it seriously." Ice T hip-hop people art There's people out there with nuclear bombs and yet we've got all these politicians trying to make a political platform based on a record. Isn't it ridiculous? Ice T political trying people I just don't believe that there's any way that you're ever gonna get one peace, because everybody has different ways of seeing life. Ice T different believe way I like crime movies where the crime is so incredible that, attractive as it seems, you don't wanna do it because it's just too dangerous. Ice T attractive incredibles crime I'm a big Brad Pitt fan. He's really talented. I think a lot of men are intimidated by him, saying he's just a pretty boy or whatever, but he is a bad man. I think he can act. Ice T men boys thinking There's a lot of films I've done I don't ever wanna see again. Ice T film done A lot of times people would offer me movies and, because I'm a car freak, I'd look in a magazine and say, 'How much is this car? If you give me this car I'll show up and do the movie' I call 'em 'sports car flicks'. Ice T car sports people I'm competitive in that I would like to outsell my last record. Ice T progress records lasts So from an actor's perspective, you really have no idea how you're acting. Ice T perspective acting ideas Being in the military just lets you know how helpless you are. You could train forever but you're still at the mercy of someone in the Pentagon, or somebody in the rear moving you around like a chess piece. Ice T chess-pieces military moving If I'm going to be a jazz player, I need to understand Miles Davis. Ice T jazz player needs