Remember the days before Ice-T (63) and CoCo Austin (42); when the rapper-turned-actor was married to a beautiful woman named Darlene? Although Ice-T has been with CoCo for about 19 years, it was Darlene Ortiz (53) that really helped put Ice T’s brand on the map back in the day.  For the youngins who don’t know, before there was Beyonce’ and Jay Z, it was Ice-T and Darlene who were considered one of hip hop’s first power couples. The two were together for from the time they met in 1984 until 1999.

Darlene On Ice-T’s Pimpin’ & Her Naive Ways Back In The Day

During an interview with Complex magazine, Darlene opened up about their relationship and how her childhood and upbringing played a part in the relationship:

“I didn’t have any guidance. He could’ve told me anything, I was so intrigued with him. He used to pimp when he was in the service for extra cash. That very well could’ve happened to me. I was that open when I met him.”

Darlene On Her Admiration For Ice

“There’s a 10-year age difference. I would say that. Although my father was right there, I really looked up to Ice. My mom, another story.”

The Infamous Thong Photo Album Cover

Throughout their relationship, it was obvious she had Ice-T’s undivided attention but she also turned the heads of damn near every hip hop fan in America. What’chall known about that infamous 1988 Power album cover?!! That was when Darlene had everybody in hip hop talking after she made the rare (at that time), bold move of standing next to Ice-T rockin’ a thong swimsuit, while holding a powerful weapon. She also gave the world a back view on the back of the album cover, long before Lil Kim, Kim Kardashian, Megan Thee Stallion, and the rest of ’em were doing it. Those were the days!

After that classic album, Darlene stirred up so much hype, that she went on to make many frequent appearances in Ice-T’s videos and at several other public events. That bangin’ photo and their power couple relationship changed the rap game and Darlene became known as ” The Syndicate Queen.”

What Darlene Does For A Living Now

However, her talents don’t stop there. As a woman who wears many hats, she’s also an author who’s also released a book titled, Definition of Down. Known as the first video vixen of hip-hop, she shared details about her relationship with Ice-T, her career, and life after their breakup. During an interview with Source magazine, she explained why she felt their story needed to be told:

“I’ve always wanted to write a book especially after Ice got signed and things took off for us in a big way,” Ortiz explains. “The things that happened to us was all so amazing. Then once he left, I really knew I had to share our story, but our son was way too young to do it then so I had to wait until he was an adult and could better understand what I was going to put in there. It’s really a great story.”

If you’re in Los Angeles, Cali on Saturdays and Sundays, you can catch Darlene greeting and/or serving customers at her best friend’s soul food restaurant, Soul delicious LA…

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by D🔺RYLE (pronounced DARE-ul) (@justdaryle)

Does She Regret Dating Ice T Back Then?

Despite their relationship ending, Darlene admitted there isn’t much she’d change about the way things turned out:

“Are you kidding me? I definitely would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I’d make subtle changes, especially on how it ended or maybe even when, but it’s all good. We’ve got our health and everything. I put my heart and soul in it.”

Meet Their Son

Darlene On Ice T’s Involvement In Their Son’s Life

Embed from Getty Images

When asked if the rapper made “good on the promise that he’ll take care of her and her son forever,” she said:

“Not to the degree that I think we deserved when he initially left. I knew I was gonna be OK, but for our kid it could’ve been much better. But whatever, he chose to do that and sometimes I let higher powers take over and handle some things.”

Good thing is that the three of them are all clearly in a better space now and their son oftentimes steps on stage with his Pops at various concerts.

The post Ever Wonder What Happened To Ice-T’s Thong-Rockin’ Ex-Wife? Found Her & Their Grown Son appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

The Realest Of The Real

Ice-T has always told stories about the other side of the game with his cold delivery and slick storytelling. And he’s also been a very controversial figure for his outspoken stance on injustices taking place within our society. Nobody will ever forget how he famously released the song ‘Cop Killer‘ along with heavy metal band Body Count. The track garnered much attention from politicians for it’s graphic lyrics but Ice-T said the song was born from the 1991 beating of Rodney King by four LAPD officers who were all subsequently acquitted, ironically not too long after the song dropped in 1992. Clearly he’s not one to hold back his true feelings, so when he took to Twitter recently to inform Amazon that he almost shot one of its employees he wasn’t saying it to be funny.

Next Page: A Message From A Concerned Customer

The post Still Gangsta: Ice-T Was Ready to Unload on an Amazon Delivery Person Wearing Plain Clothes, Twitter Reacts appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

If there’s one thing we can always count on from hip hop legend-turned actor, Ice T, it’s his consistent ability to keep it real, no matter what. We’ve seen the 60 year old do that when defending his wife, Coco, from online backlash and now we’re about to peep him doing it regarding Kanye West, Trump, and that odd White House meeting.

He also had a few things to say about him and Coco being compared to ‘Ye and his wife. For Ice T, none of the aforementioned topics are even remotely close to getting his approval and he had zero problems expressing that to the world recently.

Ice T Not Feelin’ Trump-Kanye Circus

When stopped by paparazzi on Saturday night, Ice T was asked a series of questions about the fiasco that went down in the Oval Office with Kanye, Trump, and of course NFL legend, Jim Brown. The “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” actor took us back to his 1987 Colors days when he held nothing back with his opinions on the matter.

When asked about ‘Ye being a sellout for meeting with Trump:

“I’ll just say it like this- There’s no way in God’s earth that I would ever meet with Donald Trump.”

Ice T’s reasons for that are pretty straight forward and practical:

“I don’t see the sense in talking to someone who you obviously can’t change their mind. They obviously already have their opinions about us…you know, being the Black community, or whatever. And I just don’t see any use in it.”

Ice T then went on to say what many of us believe about Trump parading Black celebs in front of the cameras for his benefit. The rap OG also addressed that new red hat Kanye gifted Trump during their meeting, which read, ‘Make America Great’ (minus the word, ‘Again’):

“I think that Trump would take advantage of you. He’ll use you for the photo opp.’ He’ll put the hat on you gave him for a minute, he’ll throw it to the side, then he’s back to his bulls**t. “All press ain’t good press…something’s wrong.””

Why does Ice T think the two newfound buddies get along so well?

“I really think both of them are very similar people. So I think that’s what it is.”

In other words, Ice T thinks they’re both stubborn, odd thinking minded dudes, who refuse to listen to anyone in their camp who actually tries to steer them in a better direction, before making impulsive actions for all the world to see. Well, at least that’s the way I interpreted what Ice had to say. Movin’ on…

Ice T and Coco were then asked if they’d ever reconsider visiting the White House, if it were for a greater cause, like what Kim Kardashian and Kanye claim they’re trying to do. Coco laughed it off as if that was the dumbest question ever and stated, “He would never go. …I would never go.” Ice T’s response was a tad more blunt:

“Nah…don’t compare us to Kim and Kanye.”

He then questioned Trump’s priorities as a president with bigger issues to deal with, such as Hurricane Michael, which devastated parts of Florida and claimed 17 lives:

“Listen, there’s a hurricane, there are people in danger, why the FU*K are you meeting with a rapper?!!”

And BOOM! Can’t argue wth the New Jack City OG on that. one.

The post Ice T & Wife Give Graphic, Blunt Message To Kanye & Trump After Oval Office Meeting appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Who Is The Baby?

He’s none other than the legendary Ice-T! Today marks his 60th orbit around the sun and to remind everyone of just how grateful he is, he posted a few b-day posts for himself, reminding everyone of the statistic we see all too often for African American men:

Ice T: “I’m 60 yrs old today! Win. Since I was not supposed to make it outta my 20s..”

I’m 60 yrs old today! Win. Since I was not supposed to make it outta my 20s.. pic.twitter.com/JWlS9Wj1L2

— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) February 16, 2018

In addition to that, it was Ice T who re-shared his own throwback baby pic and included in his caption, the title, NUDE IceT Pic:

Now THAT’s a Throwback Pic..! https://t.co/5P2XSychji

— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) February 16, 2018

And of course, his controversial wife, Coco, showed her man some love…

https://www.instagram.com/p/BfQrq8xlHso/

Fans were happy to see the legend hit a milestone today and sent him plenty of b-day wishes on Twitter.

Now, just because he’s right at the senior citizen mark, don’t get it twisted, Ice T ain’t slowing down whatsoever. In early February, he announced that he has a new show called, In Ice Cold Blood, hitting the Oxygen channel in April 2018.

Told ya I had a NEW show coming! https://t.co/WWGPuGLtF3

— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) February 5, 2018

It’s a beautiful thing to see Ice-T come such a long way. I must admit that when he originally transitioned from “Colors” rapper, to New Jack City actor, I was not feelin’ his acting skills at all. Over the years though, the brotha has clearly gotten a lot better than his days as “Officer Scottie” chasing “Nino Brown” around town. Wishing Ice-T many more birthdays to come.

The post This Music Legend Just Turned 60 & Shares Thankful Message That He Wasn’t Another Statistic appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Coco’s Statements That Offended Many Black Women

Well, now Coco is being obliterated online again, after the lengthy post she shared on Instagram, in which she stated that she’s the one who brought big butts to mainstream media. She first posted this message, alongside a photo of herself, from a past calendar photoshoot:

coco: “I would like to shed light to almost 21 years of modeling ..I don’t post much about it & new followers don’t even know I had a career in modeling they just see a wife,mother and someone that was on reality tv but just like every actor, singer, rapper, entertainer I’m proud of what I’ve done. I feel people should know it wasn’t easy..I helped pave the way for thick girls during the skinny genre (during the Kate Moss days what they call the waif era) to be noticed as beautiful..this was back before social media when magazines were popping, back before KimK, Nicki Minaj..( I mention them because young people see pop culture as the history makers but they need to know it started somewhere before them, this was also back before the plastic surgery craze. During my time it was pretty much Jlo that was making waves with the derriere phenomenon and Cindy Margolos was a popular bikini model and Buffie the Body was a popluar urban model and of course I need to give props to Anna Nicole Smith for also seeing this vision..To have booty it was considered to be fat in the modeling world.. But I helped changed the minds of what booty was. Today its a normal thing to see all different shapes and sizes, no one even thinks about it anymore. I helped history..I don’t want to toss it aside like it was nothing…I’d like to think some of my modeling was meaningful… After tons of calendars,DVD’s over 100 magazine covers and editorials I’m still standing..Thank you for all years of support .Power to the booty and strong healthy women!(This pic is from one of my motorcylce calendars)”

After receiving much backlash and cultural appropriation accusations, Coco then edited her Instagram caption, with an update to address the backlash:

coco: “Update to post!!! This was posted yesterday & ALL comments were positive until race was brought up today.Let me remind you 20 years ago there were not a lot of white girls w/ thick bodies in the modeling game.They didn’t consider my body type as the standard therefore It was harder to work in the industry.I was one of the 1st white models to break the mold & go mainstream with my body type and to let people know its OK to be curvy in the modeling world.Today curvy is the norm but when I first started out it wasn’t. Yesterday I felt I explained this thoroughly but I see some of you needed more details.”

Many React To Coco’s Claim

As you could imagine, there were people of many races -but in particular Black people- who pounced all over Coco’s ‘big booty’ claim. Many pointed out that there were many more African American women who were known for their voluptuous rear ends and thicker, curvy physiques long before Coco’s modeling career took off in the early 2000’s, after she married Ice T:

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Similar To The Last Time

This reminds me of the time Coco also had to come back to further try to explain her original point regarding her braided hairdo Instagram post, only to get further backlash afterwards:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BW3SJ-Rl4iV/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BW3Rx45lA8T/

Coco probably means well with her statements, in a somewhat naive way. However, if she finds that she has to keep backtracking to re-explain herself and/or clean up prior statements regarding highly sensitive race related topics, then I think she probably may want to re-assess what she’s doing to garner so much cultural appropriation backlash. Or better yet, maybe Ice T can jump in on the convo’ and school his wife on what and what not to say to avoid offending Black people with her statements.

The post Ice T’s Wife Sparks Another Heated Race Debate w/Her Remarks & Gets Checked By Black Women appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Listen up everybody: Ice-T’s wife, Coco, is pissed with the many negative comments she’s been getting from mostly African American women on social media lately and she has something to say about it. *Scroll down to see her video response*

The Recap:

In case you missed our previous report, here’s a quick recap on why both Ice-T and his wife of 15 years are blasting back at folks online: The other day, Coco showed off her new braided/cornrow hairstyle and named it “da Coco Swoop.” Many African American fans were offended by Coco’s renaming of the Black culture-inspired braided hairdo and accused her of partaking in cultural appropriation. They felt as though Coco -a Caucasian woman- was acting as if she created the style by renaming it after herself, as opposed to referring to the hairstyle as what it is. Some commenters also told Coco she should have at least given credit to a Black celebrity like Beyonce,’ Patrice Rushen, or Alicia Keys for wearing the hairstyle before her.

Ice-T then took to social media to stand up for his wife and blast a fan for blaming him, as a Black man, for making Coco ‘believe it is okay’ to participate in cultural appropriation.

Coco’s 2-Part Video Clap-Back

Days had gone by and Coco never responded. Then on Saturday, she finally responded to the many predominantly African American women who came at her and she’s pissed. Coco posted a two part video message on her Instagram page and started if off by saying “So recently I got social media’s panties in a bunch because I got braids to my hair. This is so stupid…”

Coco then began going off and stated that her hair is a “Coco-ism” and “not a race thing.” She also said she didn’t understand why some commenters were okay with calling the braided style “the Lemonade” and that she was confused as to why Beyonce,’ a Black woman, could rename a hairstyle, but not her. FYI: Beyonce’ never referred to her braided hairstyle in her Lemonade video as “the Lemonade,” but Coco was just referencing what some fans renamed it on Beyonce’s behalf. Anywho, Check out both of her angry video messages below…
Part 1

https://www.instagram.com/p/BW3SJ-Rl4iV/

Part 2

https://www.instagram.com/p/BW3Rx45lA8T/

As I stated before, it doesn’t seem like Coco meant any harm in her original braids video, but if there’s one thing she probably learned from this, it’s that Black women are sensitive about their hair and hairstyles. So the last thing a White woman should do is piss them off by taking what’s their’s (no, not Ice-T…the hairstyle) and renaming it as their own. Sounds petty? Sure, BUT the hundreds of years of constantly being told the ridiculous lie that ‘you’re not good enough’ by the sick, brainwashed system of America is not petty and is connected directly to this very topic of discussion. So their frustration is understandable…not completely void of petty…but understandable indeed.

Nonetheless, it’s still commendable that Coco didn’t run from the heat and spoke out to try to explain her side.

The post Uh Oh! Wife Of Ice-T Blasts Back At Black Women Coming At Her w/”Stupid” Accusations appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

ILOSM fam,’ in the world of social media, the word, “viral,” is the only place where that is a good thing, other than that, no one wants to catch anything ‘viral.’ But in some cases, going viral can be all bad for the actual person of interest in the viral online post. That was the case for Ice-T’s wife, Coco. The other day her Instagram video went viral, but probably not in the way she was hoping for.

Coco’s Post Pissed Off Many Black Women

Coco apparently had an appointment with her hairstylist, who hooked her up with some long, flowing cornrows/braids that she couldn’t wait to display on Instagram. The problem for many came in when Coco posted a video showing off her braids and referred to them as “Da Coco swoop” braids:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWna3kBlnvD/

Fans Slam Her

There were many fans who applauded Coco’s braided hairdo. However, many African American fans were offended by Coco’s renaming of the braided ‘do. They felt as though she, as a Caucasian woman, was participating in cultural appropriation, and accused her of acting as if she created the style by renaming it after herself. One fan even referred to Coco’s ‘do as the “Lemonade,” referencing Beyonce’s side swooped braids in her video:

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https://www.instagram.com/p/BWq3aCSgeTA/

Ice-T Claps Back

After Ice-T caught wind of the virtual beatdown his wife of 15  years was receiving, he didn’t hesitate to step up for his lady. When a fan indirectly threw a jab at Ice T for ‘allowing’ his wife to believe it’s okay to participate in cultural appropriation, he replied with this:

"Da Coco Swoop braids" I blame black men for allowing their white significant other to even remotely think this was ok @FINALLEVEL she wrong pic.twitter.com/ycqZvI2wEQ

— jubs• (@TakeishaLafaye) July 17, 2017

Wrong for what? Braiding her hair?? You sound Dumb. https://t.co/fcyJ4ZEs0u

— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) July 17, 2017

ILOSM family who do you think went too far: Coco or the fans?

The post Ice-T Claps Back To Defend His Wife After Black Women Came For Her appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Darlene On Ice T’s Pimpin’ & Her Naive Ways Back In The Day

During an interview with Complex magazine, Darlene opened up about their relationship and how her childhood and upbringing played a part in the relationship:

“I didn’t have any guidance. He could’ve told me anything, I was so intrigued with him. He used to pimp when he was in the service for extra cash. That very well could’ve happened to me. I was that open when I met him.”

Darlene On Her Admiration For Ice

She admitted she looked up to Ice-T because of their age difference:

“There’s a 10-year age difference. I would say that. Although my father was right there, I really looked up to Ice. My mom, another story.”

The Infamous Thong Photo Album Cover

Throughout their relationship, it was obvious she had Ice-T’s undivided attention but she also turned the heads of damn near every hip hop fan in America. What’chall known about that infamous 1988 Power album cover?!! That was when Darlene had everybody in hip hop talking after she made the rare (at that time), bold move of standing next to Ice T rockin’ a thong swimsuit, while holding a powerful weapon…and she gave the world a back view on the back of the album cover long before Lil Kim, Kim Kardashian, and the rest of ’em were doing it. Good Lawd, those were the days! After that classic album, Darlene stirred up so much hype, that she went on to make many frequent appearances in Ice-T’s videos and at several other public events. That bangin’ photo and their power couple relationship changed the rap game and Darlene became known as ” The Syndicate Queen.”

What Darlene Does For A Living Now

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ba9SLYwAGZ5/?hl=en&taken-by=darleneog_ortiz

That iconic album cover opened many doors for Darlene and she’s still reaping the harvest of her work and the relationship that ended many years ago. Now, she is a fitness instructor and works as a co-host on the Gary Holcomb internet radio show, 5150 (see above post).

However, her talents don’t stop there. As a woman who wears many hats, she’s also an author who’s also released a book titled, Definition of Down. Known as the first video vixen of hip-hop, she shared details about her relationship with Ice-T, her career, and life after their breakup. During an interview with Source magazine, she explained why she felt their story needed to be told:

“I’ve always wanted to write a book especially after Ice got signed and things took off for us in a big way,” Ortiz explains. “The things that happened to us was all so amazing. Then once he left, I really knew I had to share our story, but our son was way too young to do it then so I had to wait until he was an adult and could better understand what I was going to put in there. It’s really a great story.”

Does She Regret Dating Ice T Back Then?

Despite their relationship ending, Darlene admitted there isn’t much she’d change about the way things turned out:

“Are you kidding me? I definitely would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I’d make subtle changes, especially on how it ended or maybe even when, but it’s all good. We’ve got our health and everything. I put my heart and soul in it.”

Meet Their Son

When the two decided to go their separate ways, they were still left with one common interest – their now 26 year old son, Tracy Marrow Jr..  Darlene admitted she still remained loyal even after the breakup, but feels Ice-T didn’t exactly hold up his end of the bargain as she expected. Check out their son below (be sure to swipe left)…

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bb1SwE1AFwI

Darlene On Ice T’s Involvement In Their Son’s Life

Embed from Getty Images

When asked if the rapper made “good on the promise that he’ll take care of her and her son forever,” she said:

“Not to the degree that I think we deserved when he initially left. I knew I was gonna be OK, but for our kid it could’ve been much better. But whatever, he chose to do that and sometimes I let higher powers take over and handle some things.”

Good thing is, they’re all clearly in a better space now and their son oftentimes steps on stage with his Pops at various concerts.

The post Ever Wonder What Happened To Ice T’s Ex-Wife Darlene? Found Her & Their Grown Son appeared first on I Love Old School Music.