This is Fresh Air. I'm Terry Gross. This week, we're celebrating hip-hop's 50th anniversary.

We're featuring interviews from our archive with performers who hold a significant place in that history.

Our first interview today is with Ice Tea.

He was one of the early gangster rappers and was both popular and controversial.

In 1987, he was signed to Sire Records and released his debut album, Rhyme Pays, which won gold.

His follow-up, Power, won platinum.

In 1992, his heavy metal band Body Count released their self-titled album, which included the song Cop Killer.

The song was so controversial, it was withdrawn from the market, and the album was re-released without that track.

As an actor, the paradox of Ice Tea's career is obvious.

He played a police detective in his first major acting role in the 1991 film New Jack City.

He's probably best known now for his role as a police detective, appearing in over 400 episodes of Law and Order SVU.

I spoke with Ice Tea in 1994, after the publication of his book The Ice Opinion.

Let's start with an autobiographical rap from his 1993 album Home Invasion.

This is, that's how I'm living.

I was only a son when I was 12, my pops died too.

What's a brother supposed to do?

They sent me out west to live in my eye, I guess they thought there was the best.

But there was no love there, but room with no moms, I guess I was prepared to live in a vacuum.

The bedroom, the kitchen, the hall, the bathroom.

I didn't leave home much, didn't like LA, didn't have no friends to trust.

Got blessed with school, blacks and whites.

I guess it was school.

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