With a 7-year-old daughter to keep up with, Ice-T, 65, is still on full-time daddy duty. In fact, he says he shares a special bond with his youngest child, Chanel.
However, while raising his two older children—LeTesha and Tracy Marrow Jr.—the circumstances at hand were much different.
Rather than shying away from this reality, he opened up about the situation during a recent sit-down.
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Ice-T Says He Was "Rippin' And Running" When He First Had Kids
Ice-T addressed the matter during a recent appearance on That Moment with Daymond John.
During the sit-down, Ice-T spoke about how he’s more of a hands-on parent at this point in his life.
“I think the difference [between] Chanel and my other kids is that I’m very conscious of this baby.”
Ice-T then explained some of the circumstances behind this observation.
“I had my [older] daughter when I was in high school. I was rippin’ and running. So, it was presents over presence. I wasn’t there.”
He also noted that his son was born right as he began to become famous, which led him to become “distracted.”
When it comes to Chanel, though, Ice-T’s simply at a point where he can “cruise” and really enjoy the family moments.
“I’m comfortable — I’m in a cruise pattern. I was there when Coco was pregnant. I went to the hospital, and Chanel still sleeps in the bed with us.”
He wrapped by noting, “So, I’m so much more connected to her than my other kids. But it’s a beautiful thing.”
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Ice-T Was "Concentrating On Survival"
It’s important to note that this isn’t Ice-T’s first time discussing how his fatherhood journey has changed.
In fact, he previously told PEOPLE that — rather than focusing on his first child — he “was concentrating on survival.”
“When I had my first kid I was in the middle of the wildness of becoming Ice-T, all the people that were after me, and I had my head down. I really wasn’t concentrating on them, I was concentrating on survival.”
Similarly, as his son was born in late 1991, it coincided with Ice-T becoming the subject of widespread attention through projects like “Cop Killer” and New Jack City.
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His Situation With Chanel Was Drastically Different
However, by the time he and Coco Austin had Chanel in 2015, Ice-T was already a big-name star who had starred in numerous projects, including Ice Loves Coco and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
From his comments to Daymond John, it looks like these factors played a significant role in the star being able to kick back and be a hands-on father.
