THE ICE OPINION

Los Angelino rap musician Ice-T unbuttons his shirt about ghetto life and the storm that hit when his song ``Cop Killer'' seemingly fueled a weak-minded kid to murder a cop. Ice-T defends his record label, which stood behind him, but admits that ``Warner Brothers cannot afford to be in the business of black rage.'' ``Who gives a fuck? is one of the first questions a kid will ask himself growing up in the ghetto. He'll look around at the broken-down buildings, the shabby projects, the cracked schoolyard playgrounds, and it doesn't look like anybody gives a fuck.'' Rap rolls off Ice-T's tongue like jive filled with ground glass. He affects street smarts, a this-is-the-way-it-is stance, and yet admits, ``Anything that comes out of my mouth could be totally wrong, but this is how I see the world around me.'' But isn't there something forced in his story of kids getting $250 tickets for jaywalking and parking offenses just so the cops can collect fingerprints? There are sex ploys with groupies who have a mission to score on him: ``If you are only out to fuck, do not be afraid to lie. Do not be afraid to lie.'' But this changes into T's guide to good manners: ``Men have to learn courting and mating skills. You help yourself by learning a few basics. If you can dance, that will help. Give a woman a reason to like you. Wash your ass. Do some sit-ups. And once you get your physical act together, read some books. Learn something. Be interesting. Get some flavor about yourself.'' Later: ``If you sat up around a nun long enough, she'd probably want to fuck you...You got to deal with them on a mental level, you got to deal with them on a spiritual level.'' You deal from a 150,000 first printing to even make 'em hear you.