Ice-T Says ‘Sudden’ Fentanyl Deaths of Buddies Coolio and Michael Okay. Williams ‘Damage’

Ice-T is standing up and utilizing his voice for good. 

The rapper and actor, 67, hosts the brand new A&E documentary Fame and Fentanyl, which sheds gentle on the devastating toll fentanyl has taken on modern-day America.

“I have been doing voiceovers and narration for plenty of totally different subjects, however I am at some extent in my life the place I wish to do issues which can be essential,” Ice-T tells ipromiseyoumedia about signing on to host the documentary, which premieres Aug. 25. “Each every so often, one thing comes alongside that is actually essential, and I wanna put my stamp on that.”

The lethal affect of fentanyl is private for Ice-T; he misplaced two shut associates to the drug. “I knew Coolio since he began rapping. He was out with me. I took him on tour. He was one in every of my nearer associates in hip-hop who went off to do his factor and blow up,” he says of his fellow rapper, who died in 2022 at age 59. “And Mike [Michael K. Williams], I used to be planning on working with him on initiatives that we had written and talked about.” Williams died 2021 at age 54.

For the Legislation & Order: SVU star, Coolio’s loss of life was much less stunning than the secrecy that originally surrounded it. “Individuals know sure individuals are getting excessive, so it isn’t such as you’re saying, ‘Oh, nicely, Coolio by no means did medicine.’ We knew Coolio would get excessive,” he explains. “I did not know to what extent, you already know, however to die and for them to say it was bronchial asthma, we stated, ‘Bulls—.’ All of us suspected fentanyl, and it did not come out for some time, and it simply actually nailed within the state of affairs. Like, that is what’s killing individuals.”

Studying of Williams’s loss of life was each stunning and deeply painful. “With Mike, I didn’t know he was nonetheless getting excessive. I assumed that was in his previous as a result of he spoke freely about his previous, in order that type of caught me off guard,” Ice-T recollects. “However it hurts. It hurts. It is like having any person die in a automobile accident. Individuals die of pure causes, however then all the time when you have got a sudden loss of life like that, it actually, actually hurts your mates. I believe it blindsides all people as a result of individuals do medicine, however on the finish of the day, no one is doing them making an attempt to die. It’s tragic.”

By way of the documentary, Ice-T hopes to lift consciousness about fentanyl’s risks and the devastating penalties of the drug. “In our doc, we present how little it takes to kill you, and I believe the one approach we’re gonna cease it’s with schooling that there’s poison on the road,” he says.

“In hip-hop, when individuals had been doing crack within the early days, it was a modern drug, however once we found out what it was doing, we made crack whack. So what now we have to do as a public is make this shit so unpopular and uncool. As my spouse [Coco Austin] and I say, ‘It’s not well worth the social gathering.’ To me, it is extra about educating the folks that this may kill you the very first time you attempt it.”

Ice-T isn’t any stranger to discussing medicine and crime. The actor, who has starred on SVU for over 25 years, will likely be attending CrimeCon on Sept. 6 and seven to proceed the dialog and host the occasion’s 4th annual CLUE Awards. “It is all about the entire style of crime, tv, crime exhibits and issues like that,” he tells ipromiseyoumedia in regards to the weekend. “Individuals know I’m not the police, however I’ll be speaking to people in regards to the present, my experiences on SVU, and possibly my previous life in crime. We’ll see the place it goes.”

Fame and Fentanyl premieres Aug. 25 on A&E.