There were undoubtedly rap albums focused on street life before Rhyme Pays, but Ice-T's perspective and his distinctly L.A. swagger made his debut album something altogether different from what had been heard on tracks by B.D.P. and Schoolly D. Ice-T was gangsta rap before it had a name.

Born Tracey Morrow, the future Ice-T lost both of his parents in his youth; and he would move from his native New Jersey to the Crenshaw district of Los Angeles when he was in the eighth grade. It was in L.A. that Tracy discovered gang life and hustling. He never officially joined a gang, but ran with neighborhood Crips, and began reading books by pimp-turned-author Iceberg Slim. He would spit Iceberg's words to his friends, which led to his nickname: they would often ask him to "spit some of that Ice, T."

"My life was kind of crazy at the time; I was out there breaking the law," he would recall. But music became his focus. "I made music about that lifestyle, in an attempt to kind of mimic Iceberg Slim, through music."

He started recording demos and built a following around Los Angeles. His early style leaned more towards the popular electro, which had begun taking over Los Angeles in the early 1980s. The kinetic, danceable Hip-Hop style was the best way to be heard in the clubs and on local radio. And he'd met Darlene Ortiz while shooting the movie Breakin' in 1984. Ortiz became Ice's muse, and she would be featured on the cover of his debut album.

"When we went on our first date he was like, 'I don’t really even have an album,'"Ortiz told COMPLEX in 2015. "He was up-front. He’s always been like that. He was like, “I don’t even have a deal.” It had nothing to do with, “Oh, I’m gonna pose for some album.” I had never done stuff like that. I was a kid in high school. It was interesting that he said he was gonna do it. Everything he said he was gonna do, he ended up doing."

"Here’s the exact chronological order of what really went down: The first record that came out along those lines was Schoolly D’s 'P.S.K.' Then the syncopation of that rap was used by me when I made “6 in the Mornin'”. The vocal delivery was the same: “P.S.K. is makin’ that green”, “six in the morning, police at my door”. When I heard that record I was like “Oh shit!” and call it a bite or what you will but I dug that record. My record didn’t sound like 'P.S.K.,' but I liked the way he was flowing with it. 'P.S.K.' was talking about Park Side Killers but it was very vague. That was the only difference, when Schoolly did it, it was “one by one, I’m knockin’ em out”. All he did was represent a gang on his record. I took that and wrote a record about guns, beating people down, and all that with '6 In The Morning.'"

Produced by Ice-T and Afrika Islam, Rhyme Pays established several of the rapper's trademarks: gritty storytelling and no-bullshit lyricism. Songs like "Squeeze The Trigger" established a voice that was unafraid of referencing actual Los Angeles street gang life. Commentary on the Bloods and Crips would become very mainstream within a few years, but it's important to remember that Rhyme Pays got there first. Before a Straight Outta Compton and before a Colors or Boyz N The Hood hit theaters.

"There's no sense in me trying to come out as a musician and just act like I never did it," he would say in 2011. "Somebody's going to say, 'Hey, this guy's no angel.'"

"Rhyme Pays was me not really believing in rap," Ice said in 2010. "I was rappin’, but I didn’t really believe you could paid. You gotta remember, nobody had ever bought a car off rap at that time. So I was kinda makin’ the record, but I didn’t really believe I’d be accepted. Nobody had ever blown from the West Coast. I wasn’t arrogant enough to think that I was gonna blow. I just made a record, and I just did my thing. I was kinda overwhelmed with the success of Rhyme Pays. So my focus wasn’t power."

There are precious few rap classics that can claim to be as important as the debut album from Ice-T. Check the legacy: Rhyme Pays established Ice-T, it established L.A. Hip-Hop on the national stage, and it affirmed gangsta rap as a viable voice within Hip-Hop.