As a forefather of gangsta rap, one of the earliest sub-genres of hip-hop, Ice-T believes that 50 Cent and Bobby Shmurda are some of the last authentic gangsta rappers around.
During a conversation with Unique Access Ent., Ice-T talked about his music career, what other genres he'd want to act in, and said that he believes 50 is one of the last gangsta rappers around because he "basically embodied that image" of sub-genre.
"To me, the last gangster rapper was 50 Cent," he said. "Because he basically embodied that image, that 'I don't give a fuck.' 50 Cent had you really believing you didn't wanna fuck with him. I heard 50 Cent when he was beefing with Fat Joe and he was like, 'Fat Joe, I'm right down the street. It's real hard to find a n***a when you know he got a gun, ain't it?' But, I think 50 was the last one who did it that I believed."
He went on to say that he thinks the current crop of trap rappers today can convince him that they can sell drugs or get money, but they don't scare him the way traditional gangsta rappers would have. "A real gangsta rapper has to scare you a little bit," he continued.
But after reflecting on the conversation, Ice-T amended his previous claim and instead said that he thinks Bobby Shmurda might be the last gangsta rapper.
"You know who the real last gangster rapper was? Bobby Shmurda," he said. "But, that's when keeping it real goes wrong. You dig? That's when them GS9 boys... And you know when I saw ‘em, I said, 'These little n***as is probably the business. These little n***as look wild like that.' But, they were bar-for-bar snitching on themselves."
Ice-T also said that he thinks that gangsta rap has basically run its course because the world has grown beyond where it was during its inception. His era of hip-hop, which was dominated by the crack epidemic, gang violence, and police brutality, needed gangsta rap to send a message to the rest of the country. Now that the message has been thoroughly received because of torch-bearers like himself, Ice Cube, and others, there isn't as much of a necessity for gangsta rap anymore like there once was; hence why he believes Bobby and 50 to be some of the last gangsta rappers.
Watch Ice-T's whole conversation about gangsta rap with Unique Access Ent. up top.
