That time Ice-T had a Toronto photo shoot with Rick McGinnis in 1989

Future Law & Order star Ice-T photographed during the hip hop phase of his career by Rick McGinnis at some suburban Toronto hotel in June, 1989.

This stellar portrait shot of Ice-T from 1989 recently shared by my former NOW Magazine colleague Rick McGinnis will no doubt bring back nostalgic thoughts of what some consider the 'golden era" of hip hop. Yet, for many others unfamiliar with Body Count – who only know Ice-T as an actor on a long-running television crime drama – it'll likely be a puzzling glimpse of his past they never knew existed. 

A few years ago, I was shocked to hear some vintage hip hop coming out of a moving company truck being driven by some 20something dude. When I complimented him on his choice of tunes, he said he was "really getting into the old school rap stuff, you know, like Public Enemy" and asked if there was anything else on cassette from "way back in the 80s" he should check out. "Well," I said, "you probably already have everything you need by Ice-T, right?" His response was "Wait... what? You mean the guy from Law & Order made rap records? Really? No way! That's hilarious! I gotta hear some of that!" There's probably a whole generation have grown up completely unaware that Ice-T, Ice Cube, Queen Latifah and LL Cool J once had credible hip hop recording careers. 

For more stellar photographs of cinema and music stars shot by Toronto-based photographer Rick McGinnis, visit his excellent blog site right here. Check out a digital transfer of The Iceberg Video VHS from 1989 below.