ICE-T VS SOULJA PART 2

INFO COURTESY OF SOHH.COM

Veteran gangsta rapper Ice-T has released another video aimed at Soulja Boy in response to the Southern rapper's YouTube clip, making no apologies for starting the beef with the 17 year-old hip-hopper.

In his latest video, Ice-T explains that his original comments were made only after being asked his feelings on the state of hip-hop and on Soulja Boy.



Ice-T admits that as a rap legend he shouldn't have talked down to the teen but says he still believes Soulja Boy's music is garbage.

"Hip-Hop has to last forever and it ain't gonna last with you doing that superman bullsh*t man," Ice-T said. "That sh*t is whack, trust me." [Watch Below]

He goes on to say Soulja Boy never should've responded.

"When I dissed you, there's no ramifications you know," he said. "You can't hurt my career cause I'm caked out, there's nothing you can do to hurt me."

The beef began after Ice-T blamed Soulja Boy for being responsible for the death of hip-hop.

Soulja Boy then made his own video response questioning Ice-T's career choices.

"This n*gga Ice-T old as f*ck!" Soulja Boy said as he laughed into his web cam. "This n*gga old enough to be my great grandfather. I Wikipedia'ed this n*gga, he was born in 1958. [He] claims he's from the West Coast, n*gga you were born in New Jersey, dawg. Who is Ice-T, dawg? How you gonna make a song called ["Cop Killer"] and 35 years later your ass playing the police on TV, 'Law and Order'. This ain't no beef."

Despite the criticism from Ice-T, hip-hop megastar Kanye West spoke out on his blog in support of Soulja Boy.

"Soulja boy is fresh ass hell and is actually the true meaning of what hip hop is supposed to be," he wrote. "He came from the hood, made his own beats, made up a new saying, new sound and a new dance with one song. He had all of America rapping this summer. If that ain't hip-hop then what is? N*ggas always talk about the golden age but for a 13 year-old kid, this is the golden age!!! Keep this sh*t fresh and original.... ain't no f*ckin' rules to this sh*t and that's what real hip hop is to me."
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NOW I CAN SEE SOUJA'S POSITION BEING YOUNG, BROKE, COMING UP TRYING TO GET PAID AND SUDDENLY GETTING SUCCESS..AND HATS OFF TO HIM. BUT I ALSO SEE ICE'S SIDE AS WELL WITH MORE MEANING. I DON'T THINK IT'S A ICE-T VS SOULJA BOY BEEF. IT'S A REAL HIP-HOP VS COMMERICAL POP BEEF. AND THE SAD THING IS SOUJA BOY IS CONSIDERED HIP-HOP BY THE NEWS MEDIA. I THINK THAT'S WHERE TO FRUSTRATION BEGINS. EVERYONE IN HIP-HOP MUSIC IS SCARED TO UNITE IN REGARDS TO BRINGING ACTUAL TALENT BACK TO THE GAME. ITS EITHER ONE OR TWO CATS THAT SPEAK THEIR MIND..THEN THE ISSUE QUICKLY DISAPPEARS. THEY SAY THINGS MOVE IN CYCLES..WELL I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THE LEGIT HIP-HOP CYCLE TO COME AROUND FOR A DECADE NOW! I MEAN GZA VOICED HIS OPINION LIVE ON STAGE REGARDING SOUJA BOY AND 50 CENT. BOTH 50 AND SOUJA FIRED BACK. THEN............? NOTHING. WHERE'S WU @? NOBODY HAS EACH OTHERS BACK ANYMORE. NOW WE HAVE SOUJA LAUGHING IT OFF WITH A VIDEO RESPONSE TO ICE CALLING HIM OLD AND OUTDATED ETC. WE NEED UNITY IN HIP-HOP! EVERYBODY IS TOO SCARED TO SAY SOMETHING FEARING RECORD SALES WILL BE EFFECTED. I'M SEEING TIME AND TIME AGAIN OLD SCHOOL LEGENDS GETTING DISSED BY THE YOUNGER GENERATION AND EVERYBODY'S TOO SHOOK TO SAY SOMETHING! AND NOW WE GOT KANYE CO-SIGNING SOULJA AND A INTERNET BUZZ QUESTIONING ICE-T BEING A LEGEND. ARE YOU FUCKEN KIDDING ME!??? HERE'S A LITTLE HIP-HOP 101..ICE-T IS AND ALWAYS WILL BE A HIP-HOP LEGEND! TREND-SETTIN RHYME FLOWS, GANGSTA RAP STYLES,,AND THE CROSSOVER FROM RAPPING TO ACTING. GET IT TOGETHER YALL! SHIT..THIS SHIT CONTINUES I MAY HAVE TO GET UP IN THE BOOTH AND START REPRESENTIN FOR THE VETS WHO KEEP GETTIN SLEPT ON! TO BE CONTINUED!

REAL HIP-HOP -vs- HIP-POP COMMERCIAL RAP

NOW I'M SURE YALL HAVE HEARD ONE OF THE LATEST BEEFS THAT IS GETTING MEDIA COVERAGE..IT'S THE STATEMENTS MADE BY HIP-HOP VETERAN/LEGEND ICE-T AGAINST COMMERCIAL RAPPER SOULJA BOY. ICE RECENTLY WAS QUOTED IN THE MEDIA AS SAYING "FUCK SOULJA BOY EAT A DICK" WITH SOULJA RESPONDING CALLING ICE OLD AND OUTDATED. I ALSO REMEMBER THE SAME TYPE OF WORDS BEING SAID BETWEEN WU-TANG'S GZA AND SOULJA BOY EARLIER IN THE YEAR.
IN MY OPINION..SOUJA IS THE "POSTER BOY" FOR WHY HIP-HOP/RAP IS IN THE TOILET. NOW I CAN'T SPEAK ON IT TOO MUCH BEING THAT I HAVEN'T HEARD ANY OF SOULJA'S MUSIC. BUT IN THIS DAY IN AGE WITH HIT SONGS LIKE "EY BABY EY BABY" & CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP" RUNNING THE RADIO AND VIDEO CHANNELS..YOU CAN'T HELP BUT SYMPATHIZE WITH THESE DUDES VIEWS.

MY PERSONAL OPINION IS...I FEEL HIP-HOP HAS BEEN IN NEED OF HELP IN MASS MEDIA FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS. FOR SOME ODD REASON THE MORE YOU ARE TRUE TO HIP-HOP CULTURE, THE MORE MASS MEDIA WILL IGNORE YOU. NOW IN 2008, HIP-HOP IS BEING RUN BY TEENAGERS WHO DON'T WANT TO HEAR A MESSAGE OR IN DEPTH LYRICS WITH BANGIN BEATS. THEY WANT TO DANCE AND SING LYRICS WITH A GIMMICK. IT'S A DIFFERENT TIME NOW AND I UNDERSTAND THAT. WHAT I'VE BEEN HOPING FOR YEARS..IS THAT SINCE HIP-HOP MUSIC (YOU KNOW WHAT I'M NOT GOING TO USE THE TERM "HIP-HOP" BECAUSE FOR THE MOST PART HIP-HOP IS DEAD SO I'LL CALL IT RAP) SINCE "RAP MUSIC" HAS BEEN SO HORRIBLE FOR SUCH A LONG TIME, THAT THE FANS WOULD FINALLY GET SICK OF THE CRAP RAP GOING DOWN AND DEMAND THAT REAL HIP-HOP TAKE BACK OVER THE GAME. WE'RE NOT QUITE THERE YET..BUT WE'RE SLOWLY GETTING CLOSE.

WE HAVE RAPPERS LIKE ICE-T, GZA, AND DON'T FORGET MONIE LOVE (TAKING A STAND AGAINST YUNG JEEZY A WHILE BACK SAYING HIP-HOP IS DEAD FOR THE MOST PART) STANDING UP FOR REAL HIP-HOP MUSIC REFUSING TO TAKE THIS SHIT ANYMORE. WE NEED MORE OF THIS TO HAPPEN! GETTING THE VETERANS BACK IN THE MEDIA, AND TAKING OVER HIP-HOP AGAIN IS ESSENTIAL!

TAKE A LOOK AT THE CD COVER OF ICE-T.."POWER"! SUCH A CLASSIC. I REMEMBER WHEN IT FIRST DROPPED..ME AND MY MAN COSE WE'RE ROCKING PIECES IN BLACKBOOKS BACK THEN LISTENING TO POWER OVER AND OVER AGAIN..GETTING US AMPED UP AND RECITING THE LYRICS AS WE WERE WRITING GRAFFITI. SUCH FOND MEMORIES OF THAT CD. I REMEMBER WHEN I FIRST CAME OUT TO L.A...ME AND REPPOND(VERBAL THREAT)ROCKED A SHOW AT THE VIPER ROOM AND MET DJ EVIL E ICE-T'S DJAY (WHO IS ON THE COVER) MONEY GAVE US MAD LOVE FOR KEEPIN IT REAL AND STILL TO THIS DAY STAY IN CONTACT. THAT'S A FRIENDSHIP BUILT ON MUTUAL RESPECT FOR REAL HIP-HOP..REAL DUDES DOING REAL MUSIC.

IN CLOSING..PEACE TO THE MC'S AND DJAYS THAT REPRESENT REAL HIP-HOP STANDING UP FOR OUR CULTURE AND SPEAKING OUT!@ OBVIOUSLY NO ONE ELSE IS GOING TO DO IT SO IT MIGHT AS WELL BE THE PIONEERS. NUFF RESPECT TO ICE-T,DJ EVIL E, RHYME SYNDICATE, GZA, MONIE LOVE, AND OF COURSE THE PRESIDENT OF HIP-HOP KRS-ONE! LET'S TAKE THE GAME BACK!
-KOOL SPHERE-

NEW INTERVIEW

Interview on leaksource:
How'd you get into the game?
I got into hip-hop initially as a graffiti writer/breaker in Queens NYC. As time went by I got more into mc-ing listening to Kool DJ Red Alert on the radio buggin out on the music he rocked. Run Dmc, Kool G Rap & Polo, BDP, Big Daddy Kane had me wide open!

How'd you hook up with Reppond?
I had fam out in California...so when things would get hectic in NYC, I would fly out to Cali to get away and get my mind right. In that whole process I went to school out there and met Reppond. We actually met in the lunch room..he was walking by my table rapping out loud a Grand Puba verse and I finished the rhyme as he sat down..we both bugged out that we were both up on Brand Nubian. From then on we both started Verbal Threat and tried to get as much studio time as possible.

(kool sphere krs-1 mc reppond backstage on tour)

You still working on a Verbal Threat release?
After completing "The Golden Era" project..things didn't go as we wanted in regards to getting the album out correctly so things are on hold for the time being.

Any idea when we'll be seeing a VT release?
Not sure as of right now. In the meantime my emphasis is on my solo project and putting things together

How'd you hook up with DJ Premo and Kool G?
We did a show back in like 2003 with Pharrell from The Neptunes in Hollywood at The Viper Room and Preme was in attendance. We didn't know he was there at the time and we did a live remix of a Group Home track..after we brought the house down Premier came up and propped us on our performance. Ever since then we would run into each other from Cali and NYC and different events. Finally in between 05-06 we matched schedules up and got into the studio. The rest is Reality Check history and making a timeless classic. Working with G was a collab I wanted to have go down since the start of the album. I myself was responsible for all the collabs on The Golden Era, so with my connects I approached G-Rap on getting on the album and he was with it. I also brought Bronze Nazareth from Wu-Tang into the mix and things worked out sick.

So I heard you've been working hard on your upcoming solo album, any chance we'd be seeing more from Premo, Kool G, Wu, and others?
Yeah..right now I'm in the early stages but progressing nicely. I just finished wrapping up working on this indie film in NYC and took out time with Premier's people working out a deal for my debut solo single. I'm looking to lock that down by mid summer so all's looking good so far. I'm taking my time with putting this solo album together being the executive producer and all that so I think it's a safe assumption that I will have Bronze back in the mix and Kool G. I may have some surprise collabs as well keeping it under wraps for the time being.


As for your solo, any idea when that'll drop?
Time will tell. I'd like to get it out by the end of the year but I'm taking my time with everything without rushing..making sure that all deals go smooth staying calm, kool, and collected. The record industry is suffering right now with sales at a all time low so I'm more concentrating on the creative aspects and worrying about the business side after I get a good feel that the Cd is almost complete.

Finally, thanks a lot for your time, have you got anything to say to the fans? and shoutouts?
Thanks for all the support and dedication to what we're doing. Hip-Hop as a whole has been in a steady decline for almost a decade now with real artists getting the shaft and no talent fly by night cats getting rich off of catchy nursery rhyme jingles. It's extremely frustrating trying to stay motivated when real legitimate hip-hop is not getting the attention it deserves. Support the dudes that are really doing things correctly before this whole genre gets pimped out completely and left for dead!


A BIG shout out to DJ PREMIER who keeps it real even at his legendary status staying humble and bringing real hip-hop to the radio on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 40 Friday nights! Peace to my man M.C. Reppond and everybody that has supported Verbal Threat in our pursuit to bringing real talent back to the game!

TOOK A BREAK TO GO ROCK A PIECE

IT WAS TIME TO TAKE A BREAK FROM THE STUDIO AND GET BACK TO THE FOUNDATION...MET UP WITH MY MAN DUEL RIS AND ROCKED A LIL PRODUCTION AT THIS GRAFF EVENT FOR CAP MPC...HOSTED BY ZC HOT CREW. HOPEFULLY WILL BE ROCKIN SOME MORE JOINTS THIS SUMMER.