(TOMS RIVER, NJ) -- Rapper, actor, producer, author and speaker Ice-T will bring his Ice-Cold Facts to the Grunin Center for the Arts at Ocean County College on Tuesday, September 20 at 6:30pm. Ice-T will discuss overcoming adversity and share the life lessons that helped him not just to survive, but to thrive. The Ocean County College Foundation presents this as part of the Blauvelt Lecture Series. Tickets are $15. 

Ice-T not only invented gangster rap, he has lived it. Born in Newark, New Jersey, he learned the art of survival at a young age: moving to South Central Los Angeles after being orphaned at the age of 11, and striking out on his own at 16. After a stint in the L.A. gang scene followed by four years in the Army, Ice-T’s first big break came with the movie Breakin’ in 1984. With his controversial lyrics and political views, he went on to become rap’s original gangster, creating a genre of music that would spawn the careers of artists such as Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Ice Cube, 2Pac and many more. 

His successful film and TV career has included roles in New Jack City and Trespass and an incredible 22 years (and counting) as Detective Fin Tutuola on NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He served as host and executive producer of In Ice Cold Blood and The Mediator, directed the 2012 documentary The Art of Rap, and starred with his wife in the E! reality show, Ice Loves Coco. His books include The Ice Opinion (1994), Ice: A Memoir of Gangster Life and Redemption—from South Central to Hollywood (2011), Split Decision (2022), Kings of Vice (2013) and Mirror Image (2014).

Through his music, books and lecture tours of America’s prisons, high schools, libraries, and colleges, Ice-T has become a cultural icon and an influential spokesman for America’s youth, regardless of color. 

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit grunincenter.org or call the Grunin Center box office at 732-255-0500. The Grunin Center is located on the main campus of Ocean County College on College Drive in Toms River. 

The Blauvelt Speaker Series is funded in part by the generosity of the late Bradford Thomas & Eleanor G. Blauvelt and the Wintrode Family Foundation.

For more than 50 years, Ocean County College, a public two-year community college sponsored by Ocean County and the State of New Jersey, has provided area residents with the opportunity to benefit from higher education. OCC is an innovative academic leader offering affordable, student-centered, high-quality educational experiences that prepare and empower diverse learners to contribute to and succeed in global societies. OCC invests in and fosters academic, economic, and cultural excellence, and ensures financial strength by generating new revenue streams, engaging in national and international university and corporate partnerships, and cultivating a technologically progressive and entrepreneurial spirit.