Ice-T doesn't have time for rap battles. At least, the one going on between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. The rapper took to social media to give his two cents on the battle, given his own combative history, but he surprised many by expressing disinterest. Instead of picking a side, like so many other vets have, Ice-T dismissed the whole thing. He told his social media followers that he doesn't have an interest in seeing two mainstream rappers engage in what he called "gossip."
To be fair to T, he made it clear that he doesn't care about rap battles as a whole. He's got better things to do with his time, like solve crimes on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. "I'm sorry if I'm not interested in current rap beef or random male gossip," he tweeted. "I'm a hustler, I'm only focused on the bag." This isn't the first time Ice-T has been dismissive of a battle involving Drake. When the Canadian rapper was going at Meek Mill in 2015, Ice-T was extremely critical of his approach. He claimed that Drizzy's "Back to Back" was a bad diss record because it was passive aggressive.
Ice-T Is Over The Concept Of Rap Beef
"That's not a battle rap," he said on Sway In the Morning. "A battle rap is like when Nas Ether'd Jay, you go in right at the first word you start dissing a ni**ga, you let a n**ga know right out the gate. It's not out the side of your mouth, it's not subliminal… That's how women do it." Conversely, Ice-T praised Kendrick Lamar during a 2013 Vibe interview. He called the rapper "dope" and claimed he was an old soul. "[He] came out of Dre’s camp," T added. "And to get a pass from Dr. Dre you got to be dope."
Ice-T's perspective on rap battles have changed drastically over the years. He may not be interested in them anymore, but he was going back-and-forth with other rappers for decades. He dissed LL Cool J on his classic 1988 album Power. T also went after Soulja Boy back in 2008, claiming the "Crank That" star was "killing" the genre. Soulja responded by making run of Ice-T's age in a YouTube video.
Ice-T has continued making music with his metal group Body Count, but he hasn't drop a proper hip-hop release since Gangsta Rap in 2006. Like he said, he's busy making TV money.