No, Ice T’s intent was a bit more nefarious than that. As a former (or is it present say) Blood (or is it Crips) gang member, he and others are attempting nothing less than the takedown of American society. Make no mistake about it. There was a line in one of the songs from the Body Count album (it may have been the title song) in which the singer is talking to the suburban parents (whose children are listening to his music) and says words to the effect, “you wouldn’t let us into your neighborhoods, so we stole your children.” Sounds a bit more ominious than just someone trying to “branch out”. IMHO Rap/Hip-Hop, like most metal music is largely destructive, offering virtually nothing of value.
Barring a religious conversion of these “artists”, the mainstreaming of Ice T and others of his ilk is nothing more than an attempt to seduce a future generation away from its traditional underpinnings and in the direction of a society where immorality, degeneracy and decay are to be lauded.
By playing a detective on TV?
It's immaterial anyway: these days Ice-T couldn't sell a teenager one of CDs even if it came with a free iPod.
I think his last album sold far less than 5,000 copies.