Ice-T, an American rapper who is regarded as one of the forefathers of the hip-hop genre known as gangsta rap in the 1980s, has criticized modern-day rappers, dubbing them’soft’ and ‘goofy.’
Ice-T, whose actual name is Tracy Marrow, is a former New York gang member who dominated the music industry in the 1980s and 1990s with songs like “6 in the Mornin'” and “New Jack Hustler.”
He also co-founded the heavy metal band Body Count in 1991, which released the immensely controversial song “Cop Killer” in 1992.
Ice-T still collaborates with Body Count, but he has only released one solo album since the turn of the century, “Gangsta Rap” in 2006.
During an interview with Variety, when asked why he hadn’t released a solo album since 2006, the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star confessed that he just doesn’t connect with modern-day rappers and hip-hop.
‘The music became silly to me. The kids began to appear strange. ‘It all morphed into something I wasn’t comfortable with,’ he stated of his reluctance to create another solo rap album.
‘There was a time when I was selling a lot of records, but then it slowed down. I had a certain feeling. Then I discovered Public Enemy, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, and the Wu-Tang Clan weren’t either. A paradigm change occurred.’
‘These youngsters become softer, and soft is not something I can give audiences,’ he admitted. ‘Since the first word in hip-hop is “hip,” it’s tough to keep something hip for more than ten years.’
Ice-T entered the acting business at the height of his reign as a rapper, wanting to take advantage of the chances that were offered to him at the time.
‘I never wanted to be an actor. I was about to decline because they wanted me to play a cop while I’m releasing an album called “OG.” Are you serious? Playing cop? “Motherf***er, if you turn this down, you’re a real-life sucker,” my buddies said. So I went ahead and did it. ‘I had no idea I’d be successful at it,’ he said.
