Ahead of a new album release, the godfather of gangsta rap talks about a new generation of listeners drawn to lyricism and strong stories, using his own daughter’s love for Eminem as an example.
Creative chameleon
Ice-T has achieved so much in so many areas, as if one career was never enough. A rapper who pioneered the groundbreaking genre, a detective in one of TV’s longest-running dramas, the frontman of a heavy metal band… He has never officially retired from hip hop, but he has not released a full-length hip hop project in almost 20 years.
This is about to change with his new album, Criminal Migraine, set to drop in August. Now, Ice-T is on the press circuit, promoting the project. In his recent interview with AllHipHop, he talked about the reasons behind the growing interest in classic hip hop among younger listeners.
The proof is in the lyrics
Without hesitation, the veteran rapper noted that a wave of rappers with decades of experience is coming back into the spotlight. Besides himself, he mentioned Nas, Raekwon, and Mobb Deep, but the list goes on. Take, for example, the first album in over 20 years that D12 just dropped.
Fundamentally, the key is whether listeners can catch the message, Ice-T believes. His conclusion is based on very personal observations. “One thing I figured out is that the really young kids don’t care about all the debates we have. My daughter is 10 years old. She’s got Tupac posters on her wall. She’s into Eminem because she can understand what he’s saying. She’ll hear some of today’s records and tell me, ‘Daddy, I don’t know what they’re saying’”.
Ice-T said he played her EPMD, and she was singing along, proving his point.
Enough space for everyone
The debates Ice-T referred to might be the constant internet obsession with finding one ultimate rap god above everyone else. This is not how he sees the rap game.
“I’ve always looked at rappers in different categories”, Ice-T explains. “You have lyrical gymnasts like Eminem, Twista, Tech N9ne and Chino XL. Then you’ve got guys whose flow is just effortless, like Rakim and Big Daddy Kane. I’ve always put myself in the storyteller category. I don’t try to overcomplicate the rhymes. Ice is going to give you game over some beats, tell you stories and take you on an adventure”.