Nobody put the crack into the pipe,
Nobody made you smoke off your life.
You thought that you could do dope and still stay cool?
Fool…you played yourself.

Ice-T, “You Played Yourself,” The Iceberg: Freedom of Speech…Just Watch What You Say, 1989

6’n the mornin’ police at my door,
Fresh Adidas squeak across the bathroom floor.
Out the back window I make a escape,
Don’t even get a chance to grab my old school tape…

Ice-T, “6’N the Mornin’,” Rhyme Pays, 1987

My life is violent but violence is life,
Peace is a dream, reality is a knife.

Ice-T, “Colors,” from Colors Soundtrack, 1988

I don’t need your assistance, social persistence.
Any problem I got, I just put my fist in.

Ice-T, “Colors,” from Colors soundtrack, 1988