Ice-T may be considered an old head in hip hop, but he wants younger rappers to know he is still packing out venues. The “6 ’n the Morning’” rapper made sure to flex his longevity while also giving young artists advice online.
Ice-T performed Saturday (July 2) in Garden Grove, California. Afterwards he took to social to make it known that at the age of 64 he had clearly tapped into the fountain of youth. “The fact that I can still pack shows at this point in my career should motivate the young artists,” he wrote on Twitter. The gangsta rapper continued, “If you create GOOD music with a solid fan base..They’ll ride with you FOREVER. You’ll have no expiration date. When your fans say “There’s NO WAY I’m missin that show!”” In the photo attached to the tweet the rapper is seen pointing out a fan rocking an ankle monitoring bracelet.
In a subsequent tweet the “This is Why We Ride” rapper went on to drop a major gem that has helped him to sustain his decades-long music career. “Take care of your fans,” was the key. “Your fans will think you the best rapper in the world. Whoever likes you, they fuck with you heavy. Keep that base,” he added. He continued by breaking down the math of longevity, stating that all an artists needs is 1,000 “hardcore” fans. Multiply that across the globe and an artist is set.
Ice-T’s last album, Gangsta Rap, was dropped in 2006. In total, over the span of his career he has released eight albums. While rising to notoriety in the late 80s, the Newark, New Jersey-native faced an onslaught of backlash from law enforcement for his record “Cop Killer.” In the past, the rapper said the controversial song nearly ruined his career.
“Everybody in the mainstream was like, ‘They won’t fuck with you because you’re too taboo,'” he Ice-T told HipHopDx. “And I was like, ‘Right.’ And then Snoop started knocking down walls. That’s my brother. So Snoop was going through doors and I’m like, ‘Look, Snoop’s making it through these doors, let’s try.’” Since 2000 he has starred on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.“