Ice-T has noticed a real “paradigm shift” in the hip-hop scene during the mid-2000s.
The rapper/actor, real name Tracy Marrow, has not dropped a solo album since 2006’s Gangsta Rap, although he has released collaborations with his heavy metal band Body Count since then.
“The music got goofy to me. The kids started looking weird. It all turned into something I wasn’t comfortable with,” he explained. “There was a point where I was selling tons of records, then it cooled off. I felt a certain way. Then I realized Public Enemy, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane and Wu-Tang Clan weren’t selling records, either. There was a paradigm shift. These kids got softer, and soft is not something I’m able to give audiences. The first word in hip-hop is ‘hip’ so how something stays hip for over 10 years is difficult.”
Ice-T went on to note that he is happy performing his “Ice-T: Art of Rap” shows for now as his fans tend to “want to hear the classics.”
Elsewhere in the chat, the 65-year-old expressed the thrill he received when he was presented with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame earlier this month.
“When I started making records, I didn’t come into the music business thinking I would be a star. I was just seeing if I could get a fan base. I didn’t want to be the best rapper. I just wanted to be mentioned among the greats: LL Cool J, Run-DMC, Eminem,” he recalled.