Ice-T Talks Moving On From Rap: “I Had My Day” & “I Wasn’t Truly Motivated”

As discussions of top rapper lists permeate social media, many opinions vary based on what generation of hip hop you were raised in. Young people tend to name artists who have existed in the industry for five to 10 years, while the “old heads” drift toward artists who are considered veterans in the rap game. While it will be near to impossible to find two people who will fully agree on who warrants top accolades, it’s indisputable that Ice-T is a legend deserving of respect for his contributions to the history of the genre.

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The 61-year-old bides his professional time as a star on Law & Order: SVU and by continuing to work on his music career. The Body Count frontman is readying the release of Carnivore, his rock metal group’s forthcoming album, and in a chat with HipHopDX, Ice-T shared insight into why he’s been able to last in the industry for decades. While other artists continuously crank out music, hoping to catch up with the younger generation and create a hit that will land them back in heavy radio rotation, Ice-T claims he recognizes his place in the game and isn’t trying to be something he’s not.

“I got the new Body Count album. We’re starting to mix it now. So, there was a lot of requests like, ‘Do some rap sh*t’ and I truly wasn’t motivated,” the rapper shared. “I know the new sound is different. One of the reasons I’m still around is because I’m not delusional; I know that rap radio isn’t going to play anything from me in rotation. It’s just not going to happen. I had my day and they’re not playing anybody new. They wouldn’t play the best Ghostface Killah record. They won’t play Big Daddy Kane. They won’t play Public Enemy. They’re not going to put us in rotation ever again.

He added, “We might get on the mix shows; we’d get on that type of stuff, but you’re not going to have that hit record that you might’ve had in the past. So, I wasn’t really motivated. I was like, ‘Eh, nah.'” Do you agree that the older generation’s time is up?