Tracy Lauren Marrow (Ice T) was one of the very first pioneers of Gangsta Rap.
Yep, all the way back in '82, Ice started layin' down the kind of jams no one had ever heard before
Martial arts and Ninja mania swept the world during the 80’s due to the popularity of Kung Fu Theater and ninja movies (American Ninja etc.). The Karate Kid became a blockbuster hit film, and raised interest in the arts. The cartoon characters Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles became a widely mass-marketed pop culture phenomenon in the late 1980s.