Rapper was one of the great references of the early years of the style, but he progressively moved away because he did not like how current artists sound.
Like every popular musical style, hip hop has undergone several modifications from its initial versions to the models followed today. Created in the 1970s, the genre began as part of an even larger African-American cultural representation, also involving dance, fashion and much more. With worldwide dissemination, it gained other characteristics and ramifications.
According to one of the great icons of the style, however, things started to go astray at a certain point in history. Rapper and actor Ice-Talso known for his work as the lead singer of the heavy metal band body countspoke about the subject quite sincerely in an interview with the magazine Variety.
Without mincing words, the artist whose real name is Tracy Lauren Marrow pointed out that hip hop started to become “silly” from the second half of the 2000s onwards. blog era – name given to the period when mainstream blogs gave independent rappers exposure so they could get famous without the big label machines behind them.
Ice-T does not directly quote this period; it is just a temporal coincidence. Initially, he highlighted: “Hip hop has changed. The music got silly for me. The boys started to get weird. Everything turned out in a way that I was not comfortable with.”
The artist’s own musical career began to feel the effects of this transition. Owner of works awarded with gold and platinum discs inside and outside the United States, Ice-T noticed that, over time, his records no longer achieved the repercussion of other times.
There was a point where I was selling a lot of records, then it cooled down. I felt it in a way. Then I realized that the Public Enemy, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane and the wu-tang clan they weren’t selling records either. It was a paradigm shift.
And what, in the end, made hip hop so “silly” for him? In his view, the “softness”. Everything became lighter, with a more pop look and less directed to the issues that hip hop used to address.
The boys have become softer and softness is not something I’m able to give the audience.
Ice-T out of hip hop?
Can’t say that Ice-T stopped becoming a rapper, as that’s not something that can be taken away from someone. However, from the second half of the 2000s, his solo career ceased to be a priority. The last album released as a solo artist was gangsta rapfrom 2006.
From there, eyes turned to the body counta band that existed since 1990, went on hiatus in 2006, but returned in 2009. Three albums have been released since the resumption and a fourth, mercilessshould arrive in 2023.
At the same time, Ice-T always had his acting career, starting in the 1980s. One of his most famous roles is as the detective / sergeant Odafin Tutuola on the Serie Law & Order: Special Victims Unit(SVU).
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
