Ice-T’s ‘Rick and Morty’ Cameo, Explained

Rick and Morty Season 7, Episode 8 picked up yet another dropped plot line and added yet another new voice actor to the series – this time for the better. “Rise of the Numbericons: The Movie” featured this show’s version of Ice-T, once again voiced by series co-creator Dan Harmon. However, this time the real Ice-T joined in to add his voice to the story as well.

Back in Rick and Morty Season 2, Episode 5, “Get Schwifty,” Rick and Morty worked with Ice-T to save the world. In a fan-favorite monologue, Ice-T explained that he was not a human but a much more advanced being literally composed of ice. He said that he was from “the far-away realm of Alphabetrium,” but he was “frozen and exiled to the cosmos as punishment for not caring enough about anything.” However, Rick and Morty’s actions helped Ice-T learn to care and in the end of the episode he nearly sacrificed himself to save them. In the end credit scene, he returned to Alphabetrium where he was restored to his original form – “Water-T.”

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If that sounds a little crazy to you, you’re not alone. When the episode first aired and a fan tagged the real Ice-T in a clip on social media, the rapper responded: “This happens with cartoonists after lots of drugs… Fn Crazy!!” However, Ice-T seemed to come around on this depiction as he commented on it again on social media in the years that followed. He once tweeted: “I got a lotta Love from my RickandMorty appearance!”

Fans suggested that Ice-T should make a cameo on the show himself, and Harmon agreed. In a 2018 interview with Inverse, he said: “I love Ice T and it would be a fantasy come true to have him come and do Ice T or Water T or any other character. He could be Vice President or whatever. It would be great to work with him sometime. I love his voice. That’s why I do a dumb impression of it… Ice T, this is my personal appeal to you. Please come do a voice for Rick and Morty.”

One way or another, Ice-T did get connected with the people behind Rick and Morty for this weekend’s episode. He even hyped up his cameo on social media in the days leading up to the premiere, first writing: “Check out the next [Rick and Morty,] you might recognize somebody” before sharing a full-on clip from the preview later on. However, fans likely noticed that the character Water-T was still voiced by Harmon in the episode.

The episode picks up with Water-T back home on Alphabetrium just as the planet comes under attack by their sworn nemeses, the Numbericons. The first blasts destroy the palace and Water-T’s father, Magma-Q is crushed under falling debris. That’s when we hear the real Ice-T voicing Magma-Q as he gasps out his final words.

The story takes Water-T back to earth to explore his history with Morty’s math teacher, Mr. Goldenfold (Brandon Johnson). It sounds like Ice-T’s real voice kicks in again during a flashback sequence where the two are in a recording studio together. However, Ice-T’s real voice-over performance comes at the end of the episode when the ghost of Magma-Q returns for the final confrontation. He even rapped a few bars full of number and letter-related puns.

As exciting as this long-awaited cameo was, the writers, animators and producers of Rick and Morty actually didn’t mention the Ice-T cameo in their “Inside the Episode” segment. Likewise, Ice-T has not addressed the cameo on social media since Sunday. You can watch the episode on the Adult Swim app if you have a valid cable login, or on a PVOD service like Prime Video, Apple TV or Vudu. Another new episode premieres on Sunday, Dec. 10 at 11 p.m. ET on Adult Swim.