Born Tracy Lauren Marrow, Ice-T, 57, was raised in Los Angeles and was one of the early stars of gangsta rap. He went on to act, and plays a detective in the TV series Law And Order: SVU. He also had a reality show, Ice Loves Coco, with his wife, glamour model Coco Austin, with whom he is expecting a baby. He has two children from previous relationships. On 21 November he performs with Ron McCurdy at the Barbican as part of the EFG London Jazz Festival.  When were you happiest? Alone, chillin’ with Coco.  Which living person do you most admire, and why? Barack Obama – just for the simple fact he took the shot and went all the way to president.  What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? My lust for revenge.  What is the trait you most deplore in others? Laziness.  What was your most embarrassing moment? Forgetting the words to my music.  What is your most treasured possession? Spartacus and Maximus, my English bulldogs.  What would your super power be? To get away with murder.  What makes you unhappy? Injustice.  What is your favourite smell? Money.  If you could bring something extinct back to life, what would you choose? The woolly mammoth: I think an elephant with a fur coat is dope!  Which book changed your life? It’s a tie between Pimp: The Story Of My Life by Iceberg Slim, and The Art Of War by Sun Tzu. Great philosophy.  What is top of your bucket list? One day to own a supercar – a car costing more than $2m.  Is it better to give or to receive? To give.  What do you owe your parents? Nothing.  To whom would you most like to say sorry, and why? My kids, for not being around much.  What does love feel like? Like a loss of control.  Have you ever said I love you and not meant it? Yeah – whenever it worked!  Who would you invite to your dream dinner party? Brad Pitt, Barack Obama, Charlize Theron and Michael Jordan.  If you could edit your past, what would you change? To be born independently wealthy.  If you could go back in time, where would you go? I wouldn’t want to go medieval: no toilets. I’d want to go back to the 1930s, but black people didn’t have much power. I don’t know if black people really want to go back too far because it wasn’t good for us, ever.  How do you relax? I play video games.  How often do you have sex? About three times a week.  What is the closest you’ve come to death? A car accident when I was 27 years old. I’ve also had people shoot at me and got robbed at gunpoint.  What do you consider your greatest achievement? The transition from streetlife to the legitimate world.  What song would you like played at your funeral? Flashlight by Parliament.  What is the most important lesson life has taught you?To pay attention and learn from other people’s mistakes.
The rapper and actor talks superpowers, his dream dinner party and a near-death experience in our quickfire Q&A