Drink Champs - #Throwback Episode - w/ Ice-T | (Ep.70 )

Episode Date: December 27, 2024

N.O.R.E. & DJ EFN are the Drink Champs. In this classic throwback episode we chop it up with the legendary, Ice-T! In this explosive Drink Champs episode, Ice-T, the O.G. of gangster rap and the mastermind behind Body Count, joins us for a deep dive into the game. From his grind in the streets to becoming a Hollywood heavyweight, Ice drops jewels on staying real and navigating the industry. He takes us back to the raw 80s and 90s, the realest eras, where gang culture shaped his lyrics, and rap was a way out for hustlers like him. Ice speaks on creating timeless tracks like Colors, his influence on gangster rap, and his infamous track Cop K*ller that shook the world. He talks about his transition from the hood to Hollywood, starring in iconic films like New Jack City, and the journey to becoming a regular on Law & Order: SVU. With classic Ice-T wit, he shares wild stories about pimpin', credit card scams, and how his army days shaped his discipline. The O.G. reflects on the evolution of hip-hop, from bars to beats, and praises legends like Dave Chappelle while staying true to his roots. This episode is a masterclass in longevity, hustle, and keeping it 100 in every era. Make some noise for Ice-T!! 💐💐💐🏆🏆🏆 *This episode was originally released on March 24, 2017* *Subscribe to Patreon NOW for exclusive content, discount codes, M&G’s + more: 🏆* https://www.patreon.com/drinkchamps *Listen and subscribe at https://www.drinkchamps.com Follow Drink Champs: https://www.instagram.com/drinkchamps https://www.twitter.com/drinkchamps https://www.facebook.com/drinkchamps https://www.youtube.com/drinkchamps DJ EFN https://www.crazyhood.com https://www.instagram.com/whoscrazy https://www.twitter.com/djefn https://www.facebook.com/crazyhoodproductions N.O.R.E. https://www.instagram.com/therealnoreaga https://www.twitter.com/noreagaSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Why is a soap opera Western like Yellowstone so wildly successful? The American West with Dan Flores is the latest show from the Meat Eater Podcast Network. So join me starting Tuesday, May 6th, where we'll delve into stories of the West and come to understand how it helps inform the ways in which we experience the region today. Listen to The American West with Dan Flores on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time,

have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. with some of the biggest players in music and sports. You know what I mean? The most professional, unprofessional podcast and your number one source for drunk facts. This is Drinks Champ Radio, where every day is New Year's Eve. Let's go! What it good be, hopefully it's what it's simply, it's your boy N-O-R-E.

What up, it's DJ E-F-N. And this is Military Crazy World Radio. Make some noise! Slag that Drinks Champ Radio. Make some noise! Slagged out. Drink 10, talk 10. Make some noise! You said Military Crazy World Radio. I did that on purpose.

I thought somebody was going to say no. It's the same thing. So that's why it makes some noise. So we have, hands down, my favorite OG. A person that every time I call him, he responds. He's never been Hollywood. He's never played this Hollywood game. As he was coming here, I told all my friends.

I said, listen. They said, you know, I said, he's going to come, double up, and walk up by himself. Absolutely double up. That's exactly who he is. He's been like that ever since I ever knew him. And he continues to be the realest person. I strive every day to try to be like this man. When I'm, you know, have that many years in this game, I would like to be like this man. Stop it.

Stop it. And if you don't have Twitter, you should get Twitter just to follow this man. At final level, he drops the daily game. Yes, I do. Every day. I always watch it. I always respect it. And in case you guys do not know who is in the building right now,

we got the legendary motherfucking Ice-T in the building. Make some noise. Yo, I'm on drink champs, baby. Yes, I'm on drink champs. That's what's happening. And we downgrade. Look at our bottles. Puff, you shouldn't drink champs, baby. You see them on drink champs. That's what's happening. And we downgrade. Look at our bottles. Puffy.

Man, we got many, many bottles. That's looking bad, Puffy. What? Puffy, Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy.

Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy.

Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy.

Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy.

Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy.

Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. Puffy, Puffy. That's one of the first questions I have, Ice, is because most people have the experience, have the years,

and have the game. Where'd that light go? What happened to the light? What's going on? They know we in here. What's going on? What's going on? That looked like a setup.

What the fuck's going on up in here? Most OGs in the game that has been in the game as long as you have are not social media savvy. They're not on Instagram. They're not on Twitter. They're not on these ways that their fans can actually hit you. Why did you feel that you embraced social media

in my opinion? When I first started, we used to have fan clubs. People would write in and then we would send them back stuff. And I had my homie, Sean, he ran the fan club. And it was very important to get my fans on board and to make them feel like they was part of whatever my movement was. So when I got into it, I looked at it.

I wasn't really into Facebook. I don't have a Facebook. Me neither. Because I'm two-sided with it, Nori. One, I like to let people know But I'm very private too And I know that Social media

Is the number one Tool of law enforcement Not that I'm breaking The law anymore But you just Giving Giving a motherfucker So much information

About yourself And all the people That watch you on social media Aren't necessarily Your friends Your enemies Could be laying in the cut Right there too

And pop up on your punk ass wherever the fuck, you know. So you just like, do you really want to lead a nigga up to your front door? Really? I don't know, you know. So I got into Twitter and I liked how fast Twitter was and I just got on there and I found a way that I could actually talk to my fans. And it was a cool feeling. I mean, I block you, though.

If you say anything negative, I block you. I block with the quickness. I got a zero dumb fuck policy. If you say anything to me that you would normally not say to me in the street, even a bad joke will get you blocked. I'm like, oh, you think we that much friends? Block, nigga. Now that I learned the mute button is better than the block.

What is that? They got a mute button? Oh, mute is if somebody, you know, some dumb fuck's talking to you, you hit mute and they don't know they blocked. So they keep on talking and they just are talking to nobody. Damn, Ice is teaching us how to use Twitter. So they don't get the, you know, some people, they like it. Oh, yeah, I got iced tea to block me.

Like that's some type of badge of dumb fuck honor or some bullshit. So I just mute you. And then you think you're still talking to me, but no longer. Let's make some noise for Drink Chance learning about the new black guy. Okay, so now I want you to take me. Because a lot of OGs, they criticize this era and now that they consider me an OG,

I sort of criticize this era. But the realest era, a lot of people say the 90s, but the realest era was actually the era that took place before the 90s when you had the self-destruction, you had to stop the violence, the late 80s.

So I want you to describe to me that, like, first of all, in that same vein, but when you first got in the game, what year was that? Well, I started, my first record came out like, well, early 86. 86. Yeah, yeah. My first single was 82. So, but you know, I was. You was in the movie, in Breaking, right? Yeah, yeah. My first single was 82. So, but you know, I was... You was in the movie, in Breaking, right? Yeah, yeah. But I made records with Melly Mel and all that kind of stuff leading up to my first album. And you know, I believe that radio and hip hop steers the bus to what music is. So at that time, the bus was aimed toward groups like Public Enemy, toward KRS-One. So as an artist, you knew they were in the studio.

You knew Ice Cube was over here dropping some shit. You knew Ghetto Boys was coming. So you knew you could keep it gangster, but you had to have a political aspect to it. You just couldn't be just talking no nonsense. You had to come and break it down. So when you know, okay, Rakim's in the studio, you know who else is out there, you had to bring the bar up to that or attempt to, attempt to, you know, do your best. So there was a degree of difficulty and a degree of respect you wanted along with being able to have a good record. Like, I didn't, people go like, yo, man, I didn't want people to say, yo, I like your beat.

I like niggas to walk up to me and say, yo, Ice, thank you. Thank you. For what? Man, I was, you know, I was going up north. I was listening to you play yourself, you know. But now let me ask you, because I'm, so you came out before N.W.A. Yes. So you are technically the first gangster rapper ever.

Not true. King T2 as well, right? I give the credit to Schoolie D. Schoolie D from Philly. Yeah, Schoolie D. Because I was making my records and stuff, but I wasn't known. And I was in a club and I heard PSK. And the shit came on.

And I called it dust. The music sounded like he was on Angel Dust. PSK, you making that green? I've been around the dust world You know I know what I know what that is And I got some homies that stay dusted And they be looking at you

Looking at you crazy Like do you like me Or you about to stab me So Schoolie D. So, I researched this record, and they say that's PSK. That's Parkside Killers. That's a Philly gang. So, he was singing about a gang called Parkside Killers.

So, I was like, damn, this is the vibe of that song. So, when I went in to make 6 in the Morning, I kind of used the vibe and the cadence. Okay, guys, guys. You guys have been in the gym too long. We just woke up at Christmas morning. Alright now, now we're looking like drink champs. So continue, Ice, I'm sorry.

So I used the vibe and the cadence of PSK to do my first song, which was, would he say, PSK making that green first song Which was when he say PSK Making that green I say 6 in the morning Police at my door I never knew that I mean I didn't know that

But now it makes so much sense And then Cube said that Boys in the Hood Is part 2 to 6 in the morning So 6 in the morning Police at my door The boys in the hood are always hard You know so everyone was riding

That same kind of cadence And that smooth vibe But I took Schoolie D And I made it really graphic We had Uzis and hand grenades And got pulled over I apologize for cutting you off But what I'm trying to say is

Even Schoolie D For people that know who Schoolie D is, but he wasn't a big figure. Right. So what made you say, I'm going to take this chance and stick with it? Because you did 6 in the morning, but you kept going. But see, the thing of it was, I wasn't no rapper. I was in the streets for real, for real, And I just happened to get a chance to rap. So I would try to rap like New York rappers and stuff.

And my homies would be like, yo, niggas, say that shit you be saying. Because I used to make gang raps. I used to make raps like, let me do a gang rap. Like this. Let's see. Strolling through the city in the middle of the night. Niggas on my left and niggas on my right yelling, c-c-c-rip

to every nigga I see. Now, if you bad enough, come fuck with me. I seen another nigga. I say, crip again. He say, fuck a crip, nigga. This is bram. So we pulled out to Roscoe. Roscoe said, crack. I look again. Nigga was shooting back. So we fell to the ground, aimed for his head. One more shot.

The nigga was dead. We walked over to him, took his gun, spit in his face, and began to run. So if you see another nigga laying dead in the street in a puddle of blood from his head to his feet, I hope it's time all you bitch-ass niggas get hit with this fucker brim. Nigga, this Westside Rollin' 60 Cut, real? Woo!

Hold on, hold on, hold on. Hold on, hold on, hold on. That's gangster rap. What year was that you wrote that? That was in high school. That was before I ever heard of that. He was rolling 60s? Yo, hold on.

Yo, let me tell you something. Right now, when you go to L.A., the most famous gang is the rolling 60s. Yeah, that's Crenshaw High School. Yeah, who? Nipsey Hussle. Yes, he's from 60s. He's right. Crenshaw High School. Yeah, who? Nipsey Hussle. Yes, he's from 60s. Right. But I'm from back in the day with Nelsey and Keita Rock. Yeah, I performed on top.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Janelle. Right, right. You know, big. But anyway. Right. But I mean, see, I went to Crenshaw. So Crenshaw had 60s, Hoover, Harlem, A-Trade Gangsters.

What's Harlem? Harlem is 30s. Yeah. Okay. Harlem is the 30s. They named that from New York? Yes. Okay.

So there's a Harlem Crips, Rolling 60s, A-Trade Gangsters, E-TGs. Right. Then you have Hoovers, you know,

and that's basically that. That's why I told you to chill. That center of South Central. I kept rolling chill. I told you. But anyway, anyway. That's my nephew, man.

So the gangster rap came from really rapping about gangster shit. So my homies was like, yo, nigga, talk about that shit. We do. But that's what I'm trying to apologize. But the point I'm trying to make is because, one, us on the East Coast, we had only heard. Like, us on the East Coast coast we weren't public enemy fans we were uh fans of you know karis one who people we knew were gangsta but they were preaching right so when the west coast the first time we heard the west coast like you made me scared to go to the

west coast like i was shook like what the fuck i don't want to go preaching when it's facing the street i don't want to go there. Yeah, I swear to God. I used to listen to your shit as a kid. I don't want to go there. Whatever you were talking about. But what made you say that? Because I don't want to call it gangster rap. It was reality rap.

Reality rap is what I would say. And it wasn't really reality because it wasn't everyone's reality. It was just my reality. That's why I'm saying what made you say, I'm going to put this reality rap on the forefront and the world is going to gravitate? I had no fucking idea. So you didn't have to. No, I just had to rap for the cats in my neighborhood. Now, the people in my neighborhood, that's what you got.

You know, you hitting the stage. They're like, nigga, say our set. Nigga, rap 111. Nigga, when you up there, ice. Because, you know. Then I had diplomatic immunity because I was fucking with bounty hunters. I was fucking with Zanus boys. I was fucking with Aston Park

boys. I was fucking with lots of gangs. So I came out with the West Coast on my back. All the gangs. So I wasn't wearing a color. Niggas was always like, well, Ice is from 60s. Ice is from 80s. Where's Ice? Ice is from, no, nigga, Ice is from Blood from Bloodstone villains because they see me over there chasing chicks. And back then, they said that Bloods was light-skinned and dark-skinned people were Crips.

That was a stereotype? Nah, nah, nah, nah. Really, really, Bloods are brims. What does brim mean? That's the real gang. The real gang were Crips and the brims. A Crip refers to you as cuz. A Crip refers to you as cuz. A Brim refers to you as blood.

Anything that's not a Crip is a blood. So everything else, like if I'm 7459 Crip from H.A. Crip, everything says Crip at the end. Right. Inglewood Family, that's a blood gang. Piru, that's a blood gang. They're not Piru Bloods. They're just Piru. Athens Park Boys, that's a blood gang.u That's a blood gang They're not Piru Bloods It is Piru Athens Park Boys

That's a blood gang Van Ness Boys Yeah if you're not a Crip You're a Blood By default Right right By default That's where you're from

That's what you are Well there's more Crips Than Bloods Right And Cali Yeah But anyway So back to this rap music

So I'm in this I'm in this world, right? So I have to make a music that those people will relate to. So without claiming a set, because you'll notice no one claimed a set until after 92, since until after the truce. Even Snoop wasn't wearing all that blue. He was kind of like, because it was real. You dig?

So everybody, I was trying to just kind of like let niggas know, like Ice Cube said, we're going to let niggas know where we from. Because New York was so powerful, we had to say, well, look, that's great, but this is where we from. And we had to rap about our life. And I didn't know I was hot until I got a call from San Francisco. And Fillmore West wanted me to perform up there in the Bay. And that's not Fillmore Slim. Fillmore West is the arena.

The venue. The venue. I'm thinking about the pimp. I'm thinking about the pimp. I'm sorry. I'm going there. I get the call. They ask me what I do at show up there.

I'm like, I'm not popping in L.A. like that. I'm a nigga with a record out. So San Diego's still considered L.A.? You said San Diego, San Francisco. That's the Bay. That's a whole other world. So that's not L.A. That's fucking

seven hours away. North Cali. So you're saying you're not popping there. Why would you go there? I wasn't popping in L.A. Oh, I get what you're saying. You know, like, how many niggas in New York got records out right now, but are they popping? You know what I'm saying?

So my record was out. I wasn't the shit in L.A. I was just a nigga trying to make it, right? But they wanted me up there. So I'm like, really? They're like, yeah, just tell us you'll do the show. I sold the show out. So they call me back. They go, that show's sold out So I'm like, really? They're like, yeah, just tell us you'll do the show. I sold the show out. So they call me back.

They go, that show is sold out. I'm like, really? So in other words, I was hotter in Frisco than I was in my hometown. You knew what a sold out show meant at that time? Oh, yeah. They said no more tickets. They said, would you do another show? They said, would you do another show?

I did back-to-back shows in the Fillmore, sold out on one song, 6 in the morning, whatever other bullshit I had to do. And I was like, yo, this shit could be really big. Like, this is real. Now, I'm not really making no money with this. I'm still in the street. I'm making money doing other things and stuff. Interesting.

And, you know, I'm at that point where, you know, that dilemma that street niggas run into where they want to get. But I always wanted out of the game. I didn't really like it. I just did it as survival. One of the reasons I don't drink, like I'm an orphan. I have no mother. I have no father. I have no sister.

That's really true. I read that you was an orphan. I thought that was something. All right, continue. So I always felt liquor or weed or drug would compromise my position. It would put me in a position that if I hit the ground, there's nobody to come get me. So I just got to stay on my toes. So I'm in I'm in I'm in a water is full of sharks and I got to stay on my toes.

So that's deep. So that's one of the reasons. Just in case you are right right now. Ice, if you want to take a shot at anything. Yeah, we got your back. We will get you. That's deep. So that's one of the reasons. Just in case you're all right right now, Ice, if you want to take a shot at anything, we got your back. We're going to come get you, God damn it. We're going to come get you, baby. We're going to come get you, baby.

Hey. That's been all your life, bro? Yeah, yeah. I've been like, I was the designated driver before there was a term for it. Because that's what I'm about. That's about the act. So you mean even as a child growing up in the gang culture. And I remember there was, and the West Coast was the people who kind of introduced us.

A lot of people credit Wu-Tang for that. But it was, the term Sherm had is a West Coast term. It's the cigarette, the Sherm that put the PCP on. So you never got high, not once. No, I didn't. I mean, I've been contact high because I've been in rooms for niggas and studios. But when I was younger, this one cat I remember, I might have been maybe 15 or younger. And some guy was like, yo, hit the weed.

You know, and I'm like, I don't want to hit the weed. So you use a bitch if you don't hit the weed. I said, well, I'm a bitch. Make me hit it. Right. Why are you tripping? bitch if you don't hit the weed. I said, well, I'm a bitch. Make me hit it. Right? And he go, why are you tripping? Why are you tripping? Right?

So now that I stood my ground, the next person tried to get me high. He go, he don't get high. Because if he couldn't make me do it, no one else. So I just became the sober cat in the clique. Then when I got into the real gangster shit, as it got more escalated, whenever I would walk into a room and there would be a bunch of people, the one person that didn't get high, that was the cat I keep my eye on. You dig?

Because I know he probably got that thing. He's scheming on something. I know he got that thing on him and he could run this. That's his job. Watch the door. You know, if you guys have security, do you let your security get high? No. So you got to think about it like that i don't have security you feel me so now why ice i always ask me baby that's why i'm here

i'm gonna be honest ice i can't wait to hire security for a while like for years, you just be you. Like, I mean, I remember one time I was shooting a movie. I did not know what I was doing. I did not know what I was doing. I told you to come somewhere at 4.30. You got there at 4 o'clock and you ain't complain. You stood

there. I'm a fan of you, Nori. I'm a fan. Let's make some noise. Kapow and Noriega, like... Kapow was supposed to be here niggas that make that type of music we know who is official i can listen to you i can listen to mob deep i can listen to different records mop i love you know if i'm going political i like dead presidents i like dead press i know who and i can i can weed through the phony niggas too I'm like how many bricks you sold nigga you're only 16

like really like that's not a possibility it didn't happen like that the math doesn't add up the math doesn't add up how many you shot so I kind of like I'm a fan so that comes into play and then also like I say all I have is my like, I'm a fan. Right. So that comes into play.

And then also, like I say, all I have is my word. And I'm not, see, I'm the kind of person, I have people that work for me. Right. So if I can't be on point, how do I expect them to be on point? So I have to set that example. So I don't like being late. I like to stand on my word. I mean, you're going to show up late to a drive-by.

If niggas say we're leaving at 6, nigga, you got to be there. You can't be showing up late. So these numbers are important. You got to do your numbers. But as a person who don't smoke and don't get high, do you take life too seriously? Do you take life too seriously? A lot of people who've done that. Not at all.

I mean, I enjoy life. I see it for what it is. I made it this far. I'm just a more laid back person. I'm just a cool person. You know, I'm not, I don't like to brag. I don't talk about myself like in that. If you don't ask the question, I won't tell you.

You know, people say, well, damn, you're so cool. I'm like, well, how you get named Ice? Nigga, like, really? You know, Ice is, everybody wants to be Ice in the hood. You know what I'm saying? That's a great name. That's a very, you know, people are like, damn, you could be Ice. Can you be, you know, so they get, like, Bishop Juan said, nigga, you got that name.

Niggas can't take that name from you. You dig what I'm saying? I'm glad you went there. Yeah. That's exactly where I was going. You can't take that name from me. So, you know, can a nigga named Ice be real ag all the time and excited and uptight And shit that doesn't work Because you set off in my opinion

When East Coast we had gangster rap But it wasn't It wasn't reality rap You guys had mob style No mob style didn't come up before you did No but after it Trust me I know every gangster that pops up

So here's the thing So you When I think of West Coast When I think of gangster rap Your name is one of the first If not the first And you coined that So then everybody else kind of gravitated

Because I believe N.W.A. came out after you But the word gangster rap wasn't out with me The word gangster rap came out N.W.A.? Yes Because Cube in Straight Outta Compton came out after you. But the word gangster rap wasn't out with me. The word gangster rap came out with Cube. NWA? Yes. Because Cube in Straight Outta Compton, he says, from a gang called Niggas With Attitudes. He didn't say from a group. He said

from a gang. So he represented his clique as a gang. And then the press coined gangster rap. They didn't have a name until they gave it that name. But I was, but that's why after they did that, I said, well, if it's gangster rap, then I'm the original gangster.

No, you are. So that's when it went backwards. Okay, that's now gangster rap, but then I'm the original gangster. So now, you flipped everybody's wig at one point. At one point, we're sitting back and we see this Bishop Don Juan. And Pimps Up. We we see these pimps up movies

we see Iceberg Slim your shit is slide down and pull to the side and the way you did it and the way you spoke we knew that you weren't fronting we knew that you were real and how the pimps

accepted you but now was that a life prior to your gang banging? Well the thing of it was I was in the streets hustling so I didn't sell, I tried to sell coke once but then everybody took the money and ran off like I gave it

out to my friends and they all came back short. So now what am I supposed to do kill my friends? What I had left, I was just able to make the money that I invested back. I said, I can't do this no more. But then when I was in the Army,

every one of them came through. All niggas had stories. I'm like, yo, how am I going to I think niggas understand this. You give out the dope to your friend and he comes back with a story, not the real money. I'm like, I can't do this because now I'm supposed to enforce, but I can't. It's my money.

So I got out of that. I tried it. I tried it. I bought it. I had some weight. I invested my money, but it didn't work like that. So, you know, I was more, We was more basically jewelry store robbers. We was robbing jewelry stores, doing things of that nature.

But when I was in the Army, I got connected to a pimp named Machel. And Machel, I used to go hang out at his house, and he'd say, you cut for this game, nigga. You got them light eyes. You're not too much turned on by these females. Wait, there's a pimp in the Army? No, no, no, no. My buddy in the Army, his girlfriend's sister was a her.

A prostitute. So when his girlfriend... Fucking niggas in the Army? Oh, no. Hawaii is like open season, you know, because you have all that military. You was in the Army in Hawaii? Yeah, I was in the Army.

I was in the Army. I'm going to air him. Even when he was on soldier duty, he still living it up. Go ahead. I was a Ranger, so... Damn, a Ranger? Yeah, I'm a Ranger. So, my boy Spicer, you know, I don't like using names because I don't know where these niggas are at this moment. He might be working for IBM. I might be getting fired or some shit.

But my boy Spicer, his girl was her sister. So Spicer's like, yeah, we're going to go to this party this weekend, blah, blah, blah. We would go over there, and it was my man Machel's house full of hoes. So he would look at me and be like, yo, man. And when you say hoes, you mean working? Prostitutes. Okay, good. Working girls.

Prostitutes. And they were working on the island of Oahu. You have Navy. You have Marines there. And you have Army. And those guys only have a weekend. They don't have a lot of time to create a relationship. And then you have a lot of tourists there.

Are you saying the U.S. government sent y'all hoes? Well, I'm just saying prostitution is accepted in certain places to keep everything. It's always been in the military environment. Yeah, it's a lot of guys on that island. Right. So kind of like it was a good place to get your pimping. So I'm over there, and homeboy was just like, yo, you cut for this and this, that, and the third. And I'm like, yeah, you know what I'm saying, but I'm in the service.

And so then when I got home, when we would rob and shit, we had girls. We was working plastic. Like these niggas talking about they did sliding credit cards. That's an old game. That's an old game. Niggas was getting the microfilm, and we were making the credit cards, and we had the military IDs. We were printing them and shit.

We've been doing that shit for years. That's nothing new, this new credit card game. Now they got a chip. Okay, new game. You got to figure that one out, motherfucker. They got a doing that shit for years. That's nothing new, this new credit card game. Now they got a chip. New game. You got to figure that one out, motherfucker. They got a chip for your punk ass. You ain't sliding shit no more. You know how to take the credit card and stick it in? So all these niggas is going to lose their Gucci belts.

But anyway, so I'm in that. So we would always keep females in our clique and stuff. So eventually I started reading this Iceberg Slim shit and I decided I wanted to pimp on the bitch, you know? So my girls was trying to run. They was trying to escape. I remember I had this one chick named Mary,

so I'm trying to, you know, get her out there. Like, let's go get this money and shit like that. And she ran to one of my partners. Like, Ice is pimping on me. He's pimping like that. And then he come tell me the bitch is choosing. I'm like, she ain't choosing, nigga. You a rest haven for hoes.

She tried to get away from this pimping I'm trying to put on. But I was close enough. I mean, pimping is not very difficult to do. All you just need is a girl that's willing to sit and hustle. I wasn't no big time pimp like Bishop and them. But you know,

I mean, every other nigga probably done sent the bitch before. I mean, just sending a girl to perform the act of prostitution and bring you the money. OK, that's what pimping is. All right. So I dabbled in all types of levels of the game. But I was no knockdown, drag out, pimp with a Cadillac. It's very difficult.

Let me tell you something. Let me tell you something. I watched Pimp's Up, Holds Down. I watched a couple of other movies. And for a week, I thought I was a pimp. I think that's my wife.

This story might get shut down early. Yeah. Yeah, that's my wife's luggage. She's here. But, yeah. So what happened was, let me get the story out here.

Oh, I got some great. I got some great mistaken pimp stories. Bishop Don Juan comes to the hood lab, gives me my cup, and says, you're one of the famous players of the year award. So I'm like, I don't know. Because I get why he's giving me the famous player of the year award, but I know I'm not a pimp. Like, I clearly knew that.

So, I goes, all right, all I know I'm not a pimp. I clearly knew that. So, I go, you sleeping? So I go, and I walk into this club, and I said, bitch, choose. I don't know why I said this, and the bitch said, yeah, I choose you. And all of them, pimp Juju,

good game, all of them came to me and said, nigga, you don't know what you're doing. You don't know. And it's true. But how does that, how does a person get into pimping? I mean, basically you got to find a female that's like hoes or hoes

without actually, without a pimp. You know, every girl knows a girl that thinks that they can use that as a method of operating. We used to call the strip club the indoor track. You know what I'm saying? The indoor track. That's crazy. They're not actually prostitutes, but

they're working inside of an element, but it's still... Anytime you're actually giving somebody some type of sexual gift for money that you don't like them, you're prostituting yourself. Even a woman who's going out to dinner

with a guy for a pair of shoes and stuff like that, she's actually prostituting herself. Even in this business, sometimes they ask us to do shit, not even sexually, and you'd be like, damn, I feel like I'm giving up myself for the money. You understand? I mean, how do you get into

any game? You know, you, you, you, you desire it, you want it. And then you got to find willing participants, you know? So I had these girls that were thieves and stuff, and I was trying to turn them out into being hoes, but they was like, they were resisting it. I mean, I had, I had some crazy story. I took one story. I told him one of the movies was me and my partner, Gary Burnett, we had Nox and Brawls. So they was hoes from up north and stuff. So we got on our shit and we in there pimping them.

When you say up north, you're talking about up north of Cali. The Bay Area. Okay. But these bitches was real prostitutes, right? So we want to be pimps. We trying to get our shit. And they had more game than y'all? Well, we figured that out.

They was infamous for it. So we put, yeah, yeah, so we sent the broad, so we like, so Gary sent the broad to the casino. He riding behind her in the car trying to watch the bitch and the dude in the car sees it, starts whooping the bitch ass like, you got a nigga following me.

Threw her out the motherfucking car. She get in the car like, nigga, how long have you been doing this? Like, for real. Like, I don't know. So that night, they get back to the hotel. Niggas go to sleep. They wake up the next day, stole his car. See, the hoes were smarter than the players in that situation.

So pimping is difficult. And I don't, like, a lot of stuff that I've been through in my life, I don't promote it as something to do. I just say it was something that I've been through in my life, I don't promote it as something to do. I just say it was something that I've been through. I'm not here to promote anything. All crime and all hustles are negative at the base of them. But at the moment, you ever see Fargo? Yeah.

Well, I quote that line. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time. In my circumstances, what was around me, drug dealers, killers, gangsters, I thought, well, shit, since I'm flying, I got long hair, maybe I should be fucking with these girls. But I didn't make no fortune off of that. I made most of

my money robbing jewelry stores. Make some noise for robbing jewelry stores. That's what we did, an occasional bang. But that's what my click is on, occasional bang. We're going to get to them bang stories. Occasional bang. with Dan Flores is the latest show from the Meat Eater Podcast Network, hosted by me, writer and historian Dan Flores, and brought to you by Velvet Buck. This podcast looks at a West

available nowhere else. Each episode, I'll be diving into some of the lesser-known histories of the West. I'll then be joined in conversation by guests such as Western historian Dr. Randall Williams and best-selling author and meat eater founder Stephen Rinella. I'll correct my kids now and then where they'll say when cave people were here and I'll say it seems like the ice age people that were here didn't have a real affinity for caves. So join me starting Tuesday, May 6th, where we'll delve into stories of the West and come to understand how it helps inform the ways in which we experience the region today. Listen to The American West with Dan Flores on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes, but there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that Taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about

what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad.

It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Now, I heard a story of you and Benzino having conflict.

Yeah. Benzino actually being on the West Coast and Benzino's described it as you having 200 different gang members with you. He said you could have actually killed him there. Yeah. And you walked over. He walked over with you. He said you could have actually killed him there. Yeah. And you walked over. No, I'm not.

He walked over to you in the Asquatch. The thing of it is, is killing people is not that simple. I mean, you carry that with you forever. So you can't just, you know, a lot of times, you know. So what was the beef even over? Dispatch a nigga and you just choose not to. Do you want to sleep with that on your head? That's not my thing.

You know, I'll protect myself, but I'm not going to attack a person. So what happened was back during the Cop Killer days. Because you both had Cop Killer songs, correct? But we were both on Warner Brothers. And he was with a group called Mighty RSO. So what happened was when I pulled out for Warner Brothers because the president was after me and shit got hot and I ended up pulling, the Source magazine came down and said ISIS is a coward. He gave in.

I'm like, how am I a coward? The president of the United States is after me. This is real shit. Wait, wait, wait, wait. Come on. Wait up. You just said that. So you just said, wait, wait, wait.

You just said the Cop Killer record. Yeah, it got hot. And then the president? Who was the president? Bush? Bush. Son of a Bush. Son of a Bush.

Papa Bush. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So Bush was on my ass, and so was Dan Quayle. What did they say to you? What did they say? They was after me. They was like, you can't They was like They was after you before Pockin though.

Yeah. They wanted my head. Yeah, it was huge with Cop Killer. Ali North wanted to try me for Sedition which is punishable by death. They was on my bumper.

Yeah, they was on my bumper for this song Cop Killer. This was a major situation. Yeah, it was big. So, you know, we pulled the record off of Warner and all the rap niggas had something to say about it.

Like, oh, niggas, you know, giving in. Now, Chuck D stood his ground and said, look, if y'all ain't in the war, you shouldn't comment on the battles. You don't know what's going on. This shit is real, real. Secret Service pulled my daughter out of school and asked her, was I connected to paramilitary organs? They wanted to see if I was really a threat. this is Norrie this is the problem when the president says your name the deepest background check of your life happens instantly they know everything from your shoe size to your mother's blood type why because this next question could be what do we know about him

they can't be he's a rapper all right like, this is this, this is this, this is this, this is this. It happens instantly. So when that happens to you, you feel it. So long story short, I'm going through this bullshit. So RSO, Benzino and them come out and make some statement. Your eyes tease a sucker because he

pulled and because he pulled that caused us... What do you mean pulled? I don't understand. He pulled the record. I pulled the record. Cop Killer was on the first Body Count album. I pulled Cop Killer off and put a record called Freedom of Speech. I did it because I didn't want them to pigeonhole

me and end my career right there. I got a lot of other shit I need to say. It's not just about this one song. They were trying to take a nigga out. New Jack City 2 didn't happen because of that record All kinds of shit Dude, when I say It was on my shit

It was, like you say It was bigger than rap So, Benzino Or whoever, whatever spokesperson Made this comment Well, you know, I was Under siege at that point. I didn't need no rap niggas popping off like,

oh, this nigga did that in the third. I'm like, nigga, you don't really even know what's going on, right? So, of course, niggas in my circle, we knew who our enemies were. We always keep niggas abreast of who's out there, so they popped up on our charts like, okay, these niggas are so is popping off about ice. Woo woo. This nigga's pop.

You know, we know who's, you know, who might not be a friend. So we were at an event and there they were. And there I was. And niggas seen him before me. Niggas like, yo, ain't that them niggas? And I want pre-internet. Yeah. And I, he saw. Niggas like, yo, ain't that them niggas? Pre-internet. He saw 200 niggas. I don't know how many niggas

I had, but I had the whole West Coast with me. I had the whole West Coast with me. I just walked up on them. I'm like, yo, man, whatever you niggas think I said or did, all this rah-rah is uncalled for, man. I did what I had to do and it didn't affect y'all.

That's all it is. Yeah, well, and they kind of like reneged. Yeah, yeah, we was mad. We was hot. It was an interview. There was really no beef. It was just a miscommunication. He said that. It was a miscommunication. And y'all had to speak. And that's what real men do.

That's what real men do. So, you know, that was it. But I want you to describe this Cop Killer record because you single-handedly made the world pay attention to rap by this Cop Killer record. And it wasn't even rap. It wasn't even rap. Now, it's a record that these young brothers would love to praise. But what made you even think about making a Cop Killer record? We were in the studio making, you know, Body Count,

and I was singing a song by a group called The Talking Heads called Psycho Killer. It goes, Psycho Killer, si-si-si, da-da-da-da. So I'm singing that, and my drummer, Beatmaster V, rest in peace, goes, we need a Cop Killer right now. What? Wait, and my drummer, Beatmaster V, rest in peace, goes, we need a cop killer right now. What? Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

This out of the blue? Y'all ain't had no beef with police? No, we had, but we weren't living in L.A. Police is popping people. This is pre-Rodney King. You know, we know what the cops is doing. Before Rodney King. Yeah.

Okay, okay. Yeah. So my nigga's like, yo, you know, Vic was right on the front line. So he like, yo, man, we need a cop killer. You know, the cops rolled up on such and such. They shot him. They dragged his baby mom. You know, this Dulo shit.

And so I started thinking about it. And I said, yeah, what if somebody snapped and just went on one after the cops based on police brutality? And that's the hook is cop killer is better you than me. Cop killer, fuck police brutality. Cop killer, I know your family's grieving. Fuck them. Cop killer, tonight we get even. And so it was more about

this guy who lost his mind based around police brutality, which just recently happened now. People actually have started taking off on the cops. It took a little while, but I predicted it. I wasn't promoting it. I was singing the

first person. I've become different people in my records. That's just part of the art. I could sing. It's like if I was a heroin addict and I'd never been on it, but I can sing and act like it and give you the imagery of it. You did. heroin addict and I've never been on it, but I can sing and act like it and give you the imagery of it.

But that scrutiny, it started from the president? The president said your name? It started with the fraternal order of police out of Dallas, Austin, Texas. That sounds scary. They came after me. They said you couldn't perform it? No, they just said that Warner Brothers put out this inflammatory record and they should be banned and boycotted. And then Charlton Heston came out and they just went on one.

Because at the time, the cops were under siege for doing the same shit they're doing now. This was back then. So the best way to take the heat off them is to attack somebody else. So they picked me, kind of like the Willie Horton thing. They picked me as a target. And so they came down. Like, dude, I'm sitting at the house. Let me date myself.

We were playing Technobowl. Oh, that is awesome. Remember that? So I'm playing Technobowl, and nigga comes, one of my homies, like, yo, Ice is on TV right now. The president is talking shit about you, son. So we like, what? Yo, really is on TV right now. The president is talking shit about you, son. So we like, what? Yo, really? For real?

We like this? We changed the channel. It's kind of big. And it's Dan Quayle, the vice president. And Ice T. Niggas was like this. You ever done one of them oh shits? Like, oh shit.

Like, oh shit. Like, oh shit. Like, and we knew this was big. Treating you like Al Qaeda and shit. Yeah, and then it just started to happen. You know we knew this was big. Treating you like Al-Qaeda and shit. Yeah, and then it just started to happen. You know, you could feel them. You know, I got tax audited three times in the two-year period. I had ice cream trucks sitting in front of my house in the middle of the winter.

You know, all that old bullshit. Because they had to really figure out, was I trying to call people to arms? Which I wasn't. It was just a record. It was just a protest song. So, you know, I lived through that and I found out who my friends were. You know, they don't care about hip-hop.

Hip-hop can back you, but when hip-hop backs you, hip-hop is one big nigga. It's just one nigga. I don't give a fuck how many rappers come to your aid. That's just one nigga. You need someone a fuck how many rappers come to your aid That's just one nigga You need someone outside of hip hop to back you If you get in trouble, all of rap can band together

We are all just one nigga You need maybe Quincy Jones to come out You know, who's not considered a nigga Pharrell Yeah I'm calling Pharrell Pharrell. Yeah. I'm calling Pharrell. I don't got to miss you, though.

Pharrell might still be considered a nigga. Nah, Pharrell ain't no nigga, my nigga. But no, that's what they'll do. If he came out the same, they'll go, well, you know, he's a rapper, and they'll throw him in there with the rest. Yeah, he's a nigga now. Yeah, you need someone outside, you know, Martin Scorsese

or someone to come and back you. Queen Tarantino in the back. He'll do it. He's a nigga now. He'll do it. He's a nigga now. He's a nigga now. He went up against the cops.

Yeah, he's elected. You need someone who's unexpected to back you. So anyway, I took the heat and, you know, I wrote it out like, you know, I didn't bring anybody else into it. I didn't say, hey, this other rap group or this rock group. I just handled it myself the way I've been. You know, I was raised by G's and I still adhere to that code.

You know, that's your drama. You deal with it. You dig. So I dealt with it. And if it wasn't, I mean, it was you and Uncle Luke. Yeah. Because if you first, then Uncle Luke, right? Then Uncle Luke, then Death Luke. Because if it was you first, then Uncle Luke, right? Then Uncle Luke, then Death Row.

Then Death Row. NWA dealt with it, too. Yeah, they dealt with it, too. He was the first. But I'm saying, going along the lines. Right, right. Luke got hit. NWA, yeah.

Fuck the police. Fuck the police. The president was on them for that, too. FBI. Yeah. FBI. FBI was. Who started that? Yeah, but They dropped Def Roe with Ted Turner Because they were concerned

It was a ripple effect Dionne Warwick was involved Did you see Dolores Tucker Let me give you a jewel though It's not hip hop that they were afraid of They were afraid of the fact that white kids Were getting this information It's like, as long

as you sing to the hood, no one really cares because they already say we one big nigga. But once we express it and they see their little daughters just walking around, fuck the police and cock killer, and then now you're infecting the rest of the world, and that's when you

become a threat. So that's when they saw me have thousands of white kids yelling, fuck the police with me, they were like, we got to deal with this cat because he's infected. That's why one of my albums was called Home Invasion because it was me saying we've invaded your kids.

We're in there. You got a different perspective on cops now that you played one? Wait, wait, wait. You skip it. I'm going to have to ask you to relax. I'm going there, Charlie. I got a message to my man. Great interview. Drake Sampson said it's for real.

Nori can interview. I like good questions. You know how you do an interview and the niggas ask you dumb questions? You're like, I'm a hip hop fan. How long have you been in the NBA? What the fuck you talking about? So now,

after Cop Killer, one of my favorite records of all time still to this day is created. I still want to create, I actually think

I created this record but I didn't do it justice. You didn't, yeah. And it goes, I am a, if y'all know the record, if y'all real hip hop,

come on, open another bottle. We already got bottles open. Come over here. Come y'all know the record, if y'all real hip-hop... Nightmare. Come on, open another bottle. We already got bottles open. Come over here. Come over. You're the barber. Relax. Relax.

Relax. Relax. That's my new shit right there. Relax. Relax. I want everybody, if you real hip-hop, to sing along.

Help me sing along, Ice. I am a nightmare walking, psychopath talking, king of my jungle, just a gangster stalking. Yo, from when, what was the movie? Did you write it before? Was that inspired by the movie?

Or before the movie? Did you already know? Let me take it to where we was going, to where I was going. I hadn't heard of California at this time. What year was Colors? Can you Google it? That's got to be like 92, no? 93, I think. No, I think it's 92.

I think it's 92. But I hadn't heard of California. We had, you know, damn, we're all off. We got visions of California. But this is the first time in my opinion. This is the original California love colors And when I heard that when I sink the movie

I had no idea that was popping off right What the fuck was going on on the West Coast? All I used to see was beaches. Right. And I had no idea you could get killed in California until colors came. Like, I had, I knew about Cop Killer, but I was just like, I didn't know. Yeah, well, colors was before Cop Killer. Yeah, yeah, before. Colors was...

Colors was before Cop... I thought Cop Killers came out first. Okay. What happened with Colors was they was doing this movie called Colors. Dennis Hopper was directing it. And apparently, it was going to be a Warner Brothers film. And due to the fact it was a Warner Brothers film, I was the first rapper assigned to Warner Brothers. So they're going to, of course, look at my music first.

So they wanted to use a song I did called Squeeze the Trigger off first album and the movie was already done you had a movie still okay good so they got that they got they got this scene with Don Cheadle in it you know rocket he was listening to my song so I'm like well let me if you want to if you want to use my song let me see the movie that. That's what I was about to ask you. Damn. So I got to see the movie. So I'm looking at the movie. I'm like, okay, there's some wrong shit in it. Because at the time, the blacks wasn't fighting the Mexicans.

There was some other stuff. But I'm like, it still kind of gives you an overall. You know, the most real shit is when you see the tank in the county with 3,800 and the Crips and the Bloods across with the fence. That was a powerful scene. But they never let that many niggas out at the same time. Wait, wait, wait. Say that scene again?

There's a scene where you see them coming at the Crip module and you see the Crip module on one side and the Blood module on the other side. You're saying that's not true? No, they never let that many people out. And also in jail, you don't wear all the colors like that. Oh, okay.

You know, so they let them, in jail, you're in a uniform by this point. But they showed it like that to kind of, you know. Right. So I'm sitting there, so I'm like, I'm not going to critique that. I'm happy they're making the movie. Now, when they wanted to do the movie, first they said, let's shoot it in Chicago. And then Dennis Hopper said, let's shoot it in L.A. The people said, we have gangs in L.A.?

Oh, so it would have been about Chicago? Well, they wanted to make a movie about gangs, but they didn't know there were gangs in L.A. That year, 360 kids had died, almost one a day, in L.A. But no one even, it wasn't spoken. It's like Black Lives Matter. No one talks about us. We were just getting killed. So I'm like, okay, so I watched a movie. So I said,

do they have a title song? And they had a song, and if you want to track the movement, get the Colors soundtrack. B-side, last record is a song by Rick James called Colors. It's whack. That shit is whack. It's like Rick James talking about, look at all these colors. You song by Rick James called Colors. It's whack. It's like Rick James talking about, look at all these colors.

You know, Rick James out. So I'm like, nah, I can't fuck. So I told Africa Islam, who was producing me at the time, I said, let's make a record. I said, I know this gang shit like the back of my hand. I mean, let's take them in the brain of a gangbanger. So at the time, I was

vibing. Here's another something you never know. I was vibing off of King Sun's record, Mythological. Mythological. Myth, myth, myth, a lot. And remember, he comes on when I get ill. It's a reason, because it's Doug's season. When I am a nightmare walking, psychopath talking. Oh, I never knew that, man.

That's the cadence from Mythological. Yeah. You fucking me up right now. Well, see, I think rap, you're influencing each other. You're not biting because you never knew. But I'm like, yo, I'm coming in like King Sun because he said, when I get ill, it's a reason. Because it's duck season. Hunter of the fronter.

You know, I was like, that shit is hard. That's the Fronter. You know, I was like, that shit is hard. That's the part right there. I just came in, I am a nightmare walking, psychopath talking. Same shit. So, I wrote the song, did the video. It was so big, people thought I was in the movie. People walking to me like, y'all saw you in colors. I swear to God, I still think I can see you

in colors. Yeah, I'm not in the movie. And I saw the movie so many times. But now, that movie The song might be bigger than the movie. And I saw the movie so many times. But now, that movie... The song might be bigger than the movie. That movie was single-handedly the introduction to California lifestyle. And put me in the game. Because all my other records, I was

still bubbling, but that was a national hit. I mean, that crossed all... And everybody wanted to see the guy that made colors. So I went out on the Dope Jam tour with Eric B. and Rakim, Doug E. Fresh, Kumo D., Biz Markie, and I was out there with them. I was the only West Coast guy. West Coast.

I was about to say the only West Coast guy. Must have been crazy we would perform that song in that. We shut them down. And, you know, it's funny because Eric B. and them were kind of like, you know, L.A. niggas. They had that New York shit going, and they, you know, they had the chains and Supreme Mathematic,

Supreme Magnetic was out there. Yeah, from Decepticon. Yeah, Brooklyn. So we got, my intel had told me, you know, I've got my own intel. I'm like the CIA, they're like, okay, he's the one, watch him, he's the shooter. We watch him, we're like, who are these niggas? I don't walk in there, I don't walk, I know what's going on. So they was like, okay, the one watch him he's a shooter we watch him like who are these niggas i don't walk in there i don't walk i know what's going on so it is like okay this one's live and

there's one right there and he's cool so they was looking at us they had no idea who we were and when we showed up they was like oh these are la gang members like these niggas is crazy we had all that we had just the same shit they had but but the West Coast version of it. And when I hit the scene, I came out and I opened with Cullis on the tour, and this shit rocked. I just came out, and that shit, doo, doo. And the whole stadium went up. And all of a sudden, KRS-One started talking to me. Everybody on the tour realized that I was pulling my motherfucking weight out there. And we all became close friends. I came in and I have friends today

but they resized me up out the gate no but did you understand that colors in a way like right now you could look at you could go in Harlem and I'm sure because you live in New York for real right like you're not a fake guy who just visits New York you live in New York

Jersey you around you've been around places I be at. I'm like, damn, I used to live over there. So did you ever think that from colors that New York would be gangbanging the way New York is? I still don't truly understand it. Like, I roll with Tretch a lot, right? And Tretch, it's over in Jersey with the bloods. But, you know, I can't really get it, totally understand it.

But one thing I do understand is respect a nigga with a gun. That's for the day. Niggas say, nigga with a gun. You know, I'm going to walk up to a nigga and say, well, you a fake gangbanger. He's like, yeah, this is a fake bullet, too. Take this. So I don't know. When you're from L.A. and you hear guys in other cities saying they're Hoover Crips,

but they never seen the street or, you know, whatever. They're 60, but they're from Florida or something. I'm like, how is that possible? Because 60s is a street. Yeah, 60s. All of them are. 30s are a street. The 40s are a street. That's 83rd Street. It's usually the hottest street in that 10 block radius is the street that gets named like 111s, 120. So, so, you know, I,

I learned, but I know how it happened. What happened was when the drug trade really hit and it stopped coming through Florida, it started to come through Mexico. Should I even tell this story? Yeah, please. Nobody listens to us. This is vague gaming, and this is old game. But what happened was the Coke became less expensive in California. And as it moved across the country, it became instantly like a key

would double. So everybody in LA was trying to put the game on the road. So you got a cousin in Seattle, right? So you send a couple of homies up to Seattle and you say, okay, at this point y'all niggas playboy gangsta crips because that's what set we from. And these

niggas are from Seattle and they don't really know about it, but then there's some real like, we from. And these niggas are from Seattle and they don't really know about it. But then there's some real like, yeah, we take these niggas and get them khakis and shit like that. Then maybe you might send a nigga from L.A. to put some work in. They ain't never seen violence like that before. You know, they turned out and they move and wait. And this happens all over the country. Niggas coming from St. Louis.

So there's somebody from L.A. that took that gang out there. Now, are they respected in L.A.? Well, to an extent, but you can't come. I don't care if you're from whatever, Wyoming or whatever, and you come to L.A. and you're actually in Hoover's hood and you claim Hoover, you're going to bow down to that street.

That actual street. Them niggas on that block, that's the G's. So, you know, I was up in Harlem, and I met some Bloods, right? So I was like, yeah, nigga, we Bloods. I'm like, like that. I said, okay, like that. He said, you was a crip, right?

And they're like, yes. It was cool. I'm like, well, you ain't supposed to be doing it cool with me. You know, like, if your nigga's really banging, right? I said, well, gangbanging is the act of murder. So then they was like, they was like, I said,

show me a blood sign. So they did like this. I was like, turn it upside down. I said, that's a blood sign too. They were excited. They were like,

yeah, that's a Piru. Oh, okay. Okay. So he does a B. I said, I just turn it upside down.

I said, that's a blood sign. Like I'm giving him gang tutoring. They that's a B. I said, turn it upside down. I said, that's a blood sign. Like, I'm giving them gang tutoring. They were like, thank you. I was like, man, but nobody that comes from that wants it to happen. The gang thing happened. We were young. Kids was out there.

We were protecting the neighborhood, and it got taken out of control once the drugs came in. Once the drugs came in It split into little sets So now Crips is fighting Crips Niggas don't care what color you're in So you're saying back then Crips wasn't fighting Crips Because it seems like Crips always had beef with Crips No

If you was a Crip you was a Crip But now it's sets The sets just splintered So say for instance We all won Cripset and then you got the sack. And you're like, nigga, we the Nori Crips now. Us four just splinter. And that's what happened. And he said because the price of the drugs went down.

Like when Escobar went down and it all started going through Mexico. Greed. You're blaming the Cripset and Escobar? No, it's greed. It's greed. It's just greed. But that did change the trading. Yeah, the trade came to L.A. But greed. Greed. It's just you. But that did change the trading. Yeah, the trade came to L.A., but greed.

Greed. It's just you. He's the boss. You start counting his money. As soon as a side nigga starts counting the boss's money, you have the potential for deceit. Anything can happen. So you always telling me, man, Norrie's making a little bit too much money. Why are you counting the boss's money, man?

Why are you worrying about what he's making? And eventually you're going to say, man, let's go this way. And that happens in any type of organization. In gang culture, let me ask you a question. In gang culture, can there ever be one leader or no? Yeah, the leader of each set. I rolled with a dude named Tony Bogart, who was the leader of Imperial Courts of the P.J. Watts Crips, which is a whole project. And I seen him walk into like a rec room, a room,

and I seen a hundred niggas stand up and get quiet until he came in and they sat down. I'm like, yo, that was a G, but they killed him. Wow. You know, he's gone. I mean, you know, the thing about gang membership, the thing about crime, period, is everyone is a liar, a cheater, a thief, a double. I mean, you're dealing with a group of bandits.

So anything can fucking happen. You know, you hope there's loyalty inside of it. But you're dealing with a bunch of murderers. Everyone is cold blooded, you know. So your idea is to get the fuck out of there as soon as possible. You know, that's why I'm square as a pool table twice as green. I wouldn't steal a nickel off the mantelpiece, man. I'm not really

I'm not really, you know, I'm fortunate. I live through it, but it's not what I'm about no more. I don't want to live like that, man. That's just crazy. Now, Ice, you survive the scrutiny from the Cop Killer record. You pull out the Colors record.

The Colors record bring you everywhere. Now, where is Ice at when he hears N.W.A.? Fuck the police. You remember where you was at when you first heard it? Well, I knew N.W.A. because N.W.A. used to open for me. We used to go out. Yeah. You just said that mad nonchalantly.

It had to be around Colors, too, as well. Ask Cube. You're going to do Cube. I would take out N.W.A. We would all tour together. It would be N.W.A., Ice-T, D.O.C. And then when Eazy put out his record, they split it and they tried to do Eazy with another group.

And we would all go all over the place together. We used to fight together. We used to get out there and get it going because we were West Coast. Cube and me are like brothers. I love Cube. We were close. When they came out with Fuck the Police, we was out there rapping.

We was out there rapping and they hit them in the head with that. I'm like, oh shit. The first time you heard it was on tour with them. Yeah, because Easy and them were playing it before they dropped it. So I heard it on the radio. I'm like, oh, y'all niggas about to go there. I used to say, I used to say, fuck the police on my shows. Right.

So I don't when I would before I would do six in the morning, I would go out and I would say would say yo the police told me i can't do this song right and then i would like get the audience picked up and i was like yo i say fuck the police and the crowd went crazy so maybe a little light went off in easy's head like i just got something right but i used to say i say i had an echo i said my Ice-T. I gotta rep like a killer, killer. No one gets wilder. No one gets iller, iller. I don't get high. I don't drink Miller, Miller. But if your girl's empty, I'm sure I can fill her, fill her.

I make stupid-ass records because I just don't care. Motherfuckers can't even play my shit on the air. But y'all know you like it. You say you want more. Because every time I leave the crib to go to the store, I hear six in the morning police at my door. The American West with Dan Flores is the latest show from the Meat Eater Podcast Network. Hosted by me, writer and historian Dan

Flores, and brought to you by Velvet Buck. This podcast looks at a West available nowhere else. Each episode, I'll be diving into some of the lesser known histories of the West. I'll then be joined in conversation by guests such as Western historian Dr. Randall Williams and bestselling author and meat eater founder Stephen Ranella. I'll correct my kids now and then where they'll say when cave people were here. And I'll say it seems like the Ice Age people that were here didn't have a real affinity for caves. So join me starting Tuesday, May 6th, where we'll delve into stories of the West and come to understand how it helps inform

the ways in which we experience the region today. Listen to The American West with Dan Flores on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple.

Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multibillion-dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad.

Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I was with them at the time, and, you know, it was a movement. And I always knew, and to me, honestly, NWA, I needed NWA because I was by myself. And to have four more cats rolling, you know. On the West. Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah we weren't enemies so it's like and you know now they would always hit harder to me because i'm one rapper versus a gang of motherfuckers rapping it sounds better when people are spitting on top of each other but and

then they wrote some incredible records then they had dr drake the neighborhood or no no no they're from different areas cuba is from 120th Street. I'm from the 40s. So I knew Dub C. Dub C used to be beatbox for clientele who was in the Wrecking Crew. But that's the thing. L.A. is a small tree. Like you guys, hip-hop over here is a big tree.

Everything in L.A. is either N.W.A. and who they became, the syndicate, my crew, and who they became, which included Cypress Hill. Everlast. Which includes Everlast, which includes WC and Aladdin. Them or a few groups that were on Delicious Vinyl, which was Tone Loke and Young MC. So if there's beef in L, you can call me, Cube, Snoop, you know, and shut it down because there's only, it's everyone that comes up

from under us. So, that's why the only time there was ever beef on the West Coast was Family Feud when they fought and everybody just had to step back because how am I going to get between Eazy and Cube when I know, you know, so it's a family feud. So when Fuck the Bullies came out, did you know exactly what they was going to get between Eazy and Cube When I know It's a family fuse So when Fuck the Police came out Did you know exactly what they were going to go through at that moment?

No, I had no idea Because you were the first We were hardcore rap though They weren't really fucking with us like that I didn't have no idea that the police would intervene I had no idea You hadn't gone through the body counting yet We were going through cursing shit

No, it's after that So were going through cursing shit. No, no. It's after that. It's after. 92 was... So, Fuck the Police came out first? Yeah. Oh, no. Yo, I got my history fucked up.

I thought Cop Killer came out first. No, no, no. Cop Killer didn't come out to... Body Count didn't come out until the OG album came out. So, that was later. But they did it first. And we were already getting in trouble for cursing. This is how bullshit... On shows or on records?

On shows. Remember, this is the loop thing and the whole advisory thing. If you curse, we're going to arrest you. That was, you can't curse. So they would show up at the shows and show us that shit. And then what we would do is we would do the show and the cops would be on the

side and they used to shut the lights off and I would jump off into the pit and run out the side door. So we would run from the cops and then we would get the tour bus and we would get to the next state. He really paved the way for us. That shit just wanted a total perspective. When a person says it like that. Because Luke said it and I thought Luke was being bad. I didn't think Luke was being bad for said it And I thought Luke was being bad I didn't think Luke was being bad for cursing I thought Luke was being bad for being vulgar

All of the time cursing But just cursing you saying In the bible belt when you're down there They were running that whole They would show up at the show With a piece of paper that says If you curse we will shut the show down And that was my cue to go

harder like yo fuck that you know what I'm saying we gonna come out here and I would always say the police warned me and you know that just got the shit even more crazy and stuff like that but my whole thing was I had already been breaking the law right

so whatever this charge was was nothing I was like, compared to what I was used to doing, I'm going to jail for talking. Kiss my motherfucking ass. Let's go. And I had money, and I'm like, we'll bail out. I mean, I knew it was a petty charge. So I'm like, you know, so

that was, yeah, we used to run from the police a lot. I remember we had a big-ass fight. We had lots of fights out there on the road. Because when we would come to towns, they would want to test you. I remember the big names of the yoke, Easy, come here, Easy.

They wanted to see Easy. So Easy was small, so he wouldn't want to really do it. I'm always like, take me to your leader type nigga. I'm six foot tall. I'm like, let's go. We can go a couple rounds, MMA up in this bitch. Let's go. So I never really felt I had no problem

with street niggas. When I got to Detroit, I'm like, take me to your leader. Let me see who the toughest nigga is. I'll befriend him and I'm good. I'm not here. I'm here to entertain you anyway. I'm not your enemy. I'm not here to sell you drugs and take your block. What's up? You need some backstage passes?

Is he the boss? Hook him up. Now, we good? Yeah, we good, nigga. You good. Now I got security. You know? That's how I played it. Everywhere. But it's like Quick said. Quick said, everywhere is like Compton. Remember the joint? Yeah. If you smart, if you know, I mean, the same thing you do in prison. Like, shit.

I was just about to say that. So before we get into all that, did ice tea wind up in the army i got in the army because when i was in high school i got my girlfriend pregnant i was i just got out of high school and uh i graduated early i was a student i was on the honor roll all that shit i graduated 20 week report card i I was out. I had all my credits and I started trade technical college. I wanted to do, I can paint cars. I can do all kinds of

body and fender and all that kind of shit. That was what I thought I was going to do to pick slow riders. I was into cars. I've always been into cars. And I got my girl pregnant because I didn't really know how easy it was to get a girl pregnant. You know, I was just like a young nigga. No rubbers. Rubbers was not in style. I wasn't really know how easy it was to get a girl pregnant. I was just like a young nigga. I wasn't getting that much pussy up to that point.

I got her pregnant and I was like, fuck. Now I got a baby coming and I'm a small time hustler doing small bullshit, stealing car radios. Nothing. Nothing had come up that was going to make me rich. And I was also very athletic.

I was in gymnastics in high school. I was doing, you know, parallel bars. Isn't Englewood the high school you went to? Crenshaw High School. Yeah, so I was strong. I was very strong. So they had an enlisting office on Crenshaw. And I just walked in there. And I was like, you know, I got to get out of the game because I got a kid.

And so I went in there, and I just basically was picking uniforms. I was like, well, what's that? And they go, well, that's infantry. You get $2,500 bonus. I'm like, word? Okay. And he said, that red beret, that's airborne. You get another $2,500.

I was like, but I can't come home in no red beret. I couldn't wear no red. I was like, yo. So then I said the next one was the black beret, which was the Rangers. Which is serious shit. I like that because that was like the Black Panthers, right? Then the next one was Special Forces, the green beret. But that was 52 weeks of basic or AIT. Wait, so hold on.

You was about to join the Army and they tried to offer you red? And you just refused? No, no. I was taking a piss. When I went in... Damn, this nigga refused the army for red. Well, when I went in there, I was picking uniforms.

I just was like, what am I going to look like? And then they was like, well, this is regular infantry. This, this... Call Mike Booth. I'm going to do an interview for him. This right here, if you go, you This, this, uh, call my booth. I'm going to do an interview. This right here.

If you go, you know, airborne, you get to wear red beret. And I was like, I can't come home. No red beret. You dig what I'm saying?

I was like, I can't come to my neighborhood. Okay. Yeah. So that's what it was. So then I had a black beret and a green beret. So I picked the black beret. And,

uh, basically it's just a bunch of training, bunch of athletic shit if you long as you have a good cardio you could do it you know but you just got to be disciplined you got to get used to people yelling in your face and all that kind of humble rangers is kind of tough yeah my boy charlie was in the army he knows more than that well you know if he was in the army you know it's sentimental shit they're going to yell at you they're going to try to fuck you up mentally but then you, but then you deal with sleep deprivation.

How did you accept the discipline? The hood is in the military. You know in that movie, Officer and the Gentleman where the man says, why are you here? He says, I ain't got nowhere else to go.

That's the only way you're going to make it through that training is you have to believe you have no options. You can't. It's not something you just say, I just think I want to do. You got to be like, what is my other option? I got to do this. And so, you know, the training was exciting to me and the athletic part was exciting to me. The discipline stuff, I realized they was trying to mind fuck me.

So I've worked against that And I just knocked it out. But, you know. Somebody call Kapol. It's just some. Do you feel that any of those skills you learned in the military helped you? Yeah, when I started robbing banks. I wasn't ready, but I'm ready. Yeah, when I started.

That's how it plays after the military? Yeah, yeah. Well, when I came home. You grabbed the seltzer water from out there? Yeah. Yeah. Well, when I came home. You have to sell some water from out there? From the service. Because I went to the service right out of high school. Service in country? Then you started robbing in country.

Well, that wasn't my country. They're insured. Robbing banks. Private banks. They're insured. Hello? Yo, you live on the podcast with Ice-T. It's Capone.

Y'all, Ice-T. What's up, baby? What's up, Capone? I asked about you. Yeah, I told him. Hey, listen. Hey, listen, listen, listen. How long you going to be around?

I'm going to be here. This conversation might go all night. I don't know. But they going in. We just getting halfway. We're at the halfway point. Baby, you know what I'm saying? Well, where you at, man?

Hey, hey, I'm close. I'm not far. I'm not far. All right, come on. Hey, point. Baby, you know what I'm saying? Well, where you at, man? Hey, hey, I'm close. I'm not far. I'm not far. All right, come on. Hey, Ali. Hey, Ali. He knows it's his birthday. Happy birthday.

And we celebrating your party tonight. Happy birthday. Happy birthday, Capone. All right, done deal. Done deal. All right, hey, Ali. We're going to finish this interview with Ice-T. We're going to hit you back.

You at the Yotel? We're at the Yow-U. All right, one left. That's funny. When niggas be talking on the phone, and they be whizz-eye, kizz-eye, the feds talk that shit way better than you.

You hear what I'm saying? When niggas be on the phone, and they be whizz-eye, kizz-eye, I say the feds talk that shit way better than you. They break that shit down. They say it's better to talk regular if you're not doing that much because the feds put whatever behind you. Oh my God, hold up.

That was the Yemli? That was the straight vodka just now. That is not good. You ain't champ. I thought you helped me out. I thought you were my friend. You over here shampooing for no over here So what we were talking about I'm sorry

I was talking about robbing shit Bank robbery There's two ways to rob a bank After you served in the army Alright this is what happened Just so you know Ice-T We praise foul niggas In the way you describe yourself You're like All right, this is what happened. He's trying to do the right thing. Just so you know, Ice-T, we praise foul niggas in our district.

And the way you describe yourself, you're like the foul nigga president. Because you got out the army and were out of the bay. Let's make some noise for that guy. You're trying to do the right thing by calling foul niggas. When I got home, when I left, my niggas was small-time criminals. When I came home, they had elevated their game. So I'm like, so what are y'all doing? They said, we robbing jewelry stores.

We getting check, cash, and booths. We getting credit unions, you know, occasional banks. You know what I'm saying? It's like that. A bank. So I was like, so what's the get down? Now, due to the fact I had all that military training, I was able to up the game up. And I told him, you know, basically any operation deals with intelligence.

The more you know about the mark, the better. So I added that to the game, like lots of heavy duty case and lots of understanding what the alarms and the response times was and stuff. So, you know, I mean, there's lots of ways of doing it. There's, there's what's called like with jewelry. There's this basic snatch and grab where you just walk in and get a watch and run. There's a, basically the bash where you knock out the glass and stuff.

Then you've got the burglary, which is a four or five, nine. But if you're going for the safe now, see, I can give up some game of shit. I got, well, if you want to hit it,, now, see, I could give up some game of shit. Give him some game. See, I got it. Well, if you want to hit it, all right, fuck it.

It wasn't 459. Look at 459. It's a burglary. All right. If you're going to rob a jewelry store, rob it at the time it opens or the time it closes. Why? 459. Why?

Because the safe's open. Right. In the morning. So what you want to do is you want to get there right when they let pulling the shit out of the safe. Right when they're pulling those plaques out. We're talking bank robberies? No, that's just juice. That was when.

So when you see a jewelry store at night, when they close that door at the last minute and they start to. And if you really want to time it, let them lay the plaques up. Let them get everything out and up. No, out of the window. Let them do it for you. So that everything is stacked, but right before it's getting ready to go on the safe, that's when you want to hit them. And then, you know, we're not going to

give you the step-by-step details. And also, bottom line is, anything you do, you got to do it backwards. So it's not as important where the lick is. It's where you're going to escape to, and not as important where the lick is as where you're going to escape to. That has to be like a maze of how you're going to get away. You don't just do it and then

say, now where do we run? All that is all thought out. We use motorcycles on one-way streets. I could take a motorcycle. I could hit the jewelry district over here and put a bike. All I'm going to do is hit one-way streets backwards.

Do they got helicopters under the ground? Do you know the best way to get away from a high-speed chase is take them into a parking structure? Not out on the street. A parking structure where now the cops got to stay outside. They can only come in one.

Then you can ditch the car and you can go through the steps. So all this stuff is shit I did for years anyway. You're going to end up getting killed or murdered at some point. But yeah, I done it.

Whatever. Whatever. Bank robberies aren't... But the thing of it is, most of the times, there's two ways. You rob a bank, you play a note, you play a teller, you go for the vault. What you saw in the Heat is a takeover robbery where they would take

the whole vault. That's a lot of exposure. You ain't make it to that part. I was around Cassidy winning the vault and stuff like that, but you're going to be in there a long time. Most times people just walk up and play the note and just get the one teller or everybody to tell.

You said the note? Yeah, how did you do it? The note. You just walk up and you just say, I got a gun. Give me the money, and they just hand you the motherfucking money. That's called playing the note. That's the easiest way to rob a bank. That's called playing a note. That's the easiest way to rob a bank.

It doesn't matter. They used to have the thing that blew up. Well, those are ink packs and stuff. They still got them. They had it back then? Yeah. But you know what? At the end of the day, I feel very uncomfortable talking about this stuff.

You seem very comfortable right now. The thing of it is, and also, a lot of my friends are still incarcerated. They're in there saying they didn't do it. Here I am saying we did it. That's not good.

Nobody listens to us. It was a time and when I got that chance to rap, I jumped in. You know, because I knew my days was numbered in low digits. I knew that that wasn't going to last. When you're hustling like that, you make a lot of money, then you spend it. You make a lot of money, then you spend it.

You're up and down. Those are licks, you know, and you make it and you spend it. And it wasn't, you Those are licks. You make it and you spin it. I didn't see a long life like that. When the rapping came along, I was like, damn, I could do this. Then I tried to rap like New York and the niggas was like,

rap about what we do. We invent what we call the crime rhyme based around that. I got archives and archives of that shit so i started making stories and the stories like i call it faction so it's it's factual occurrences put into a fictional scenario so things i'm saying did that happen did that yeah really yeah that happened they could and i combine them so the story sounds really real because the shit really happened, but just not in that

particular order. Does that make any sense? He briefly mentioned, I think we need to talk about it a little more, Rhyme Syndicate. Which might be one of the first crews in hip-hop, maybe

BDP and Rhyme Syndicate is around the same era. And who are all the members of Rhyme Syndicate is around the same era. And who are all the members of Rhyme Syndicate? I know Everlast, House of Pain. You know House of Pain, Everlast? Yes. What happened was when I was trying to, when I decided I wanted to rap, I had to kind of leave my crime friends alone and get

with these rap niggas, right? So I'm with all these different rap people, and I would seem like I was going to make it first. So I said to homies, I said, if I make it, I'm going to try to help y'all. So I was reading up. I'm an avid reader. So I was reading that, you know, Lucky Luciano had started this thing called the commission. The commission.

Where it was a group of groups with one common goal. A syndicate is an organization with a group of groups with one common goal. So basically, I'm not the boss. You're the boss. You're the boss. You're the boss of your own organization. Like a network. But we agree to sit down and talk before we fight.

Right? So that's what a syndicate is. So I just brought groups in. It's kind of like the West Coast Zulu Nation. Really, kind of like. But I knew L.A. wasn't really going to ride with the Afrocentric shit. They was too gangsta. So I created a term called the

Syndicate. And we had Low Profile was in it, which was Dub C. Of course, when we had Muggs, Muggs was in a group called 783 at the time. He was a DJ. And of course, Everlast, Divine Styler, Donald D from the Bronx.

Everlast is from where exactly? Everlast from L.A. He was from the Valley. He had the hair at the time. I remember the joint. He was brought to me by a guy named Bilal Bashir. And Everlast first sounded like Rakim. When I heard him him he was rapping

now new rappers are rapping someone else's voice and I'm like right right you know what I'm talking about yeah yeah and I'm like you sound dope but you gotta use your own voice you know and so once he sounded his own voice he started to rap and stuff but it was just my

way of I got Everlast a record deal I got Divine Styler a record deal I did a compilation album it was just my way of, I got Everlast's record deal, I got Divine Styler's record deal, I did a compilation album. It was just a way of me trying to help West Coast niggas, you know, and try to create peace versus war, which is not profitable.

This is educational. So now, New Jack City. Okay, we're moving on. Which is a New York City classic. But that is so disrespectful. It's a hip-hop classic, man. Relax. No, you relax. Relax.

Relax. I love that. I'm closing my eyes. Relax. Relax. Relax. I love that. I'm even closing my eyes. Relax. Because this is how much New Jack City means to me. New Jack City is not only a New York classic. Right. It's not only a hip-hop classic.

Right. It's not only. It's a worldwide classic. A cinematic classic. But I need to know, you as being the most gangsterous gangster, you had the 60s on your back when it wasn't cool to say the 60s. You had the crip shit on your back when it wasn't cool to say the crip shit. You had the gang shit on your back when it wasn't cool to say the shit. And now you get presented with this role.

As a cop. Word. Yeah. At that time, it would have been controversial. But it's a joint called New Jack City, and they're saying that it's based on this guy, which is not Nino Brown, because Nino Brown is a fictitious cat. It's based on some cats from New York City and also somebody from the Bay, from Frisco. Was it any brothers or something like that? I thought Cash Money Brothers.

Cash Money Brothers from New York. I met the actual guy that said he was. Was it Washington Heights dudes? Wait, wait, wait. Don't tell me. Yeah, just. I think Felix. You just told me.

Wait, wait, wait. Okay. Cash Money Brothers. CMB. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, all right, all right, all right. All right, I got that. You're right.

Got money. But. Got it in my face. But how does they even approach you? Okay, so what happened with New Jack City was they wanted to make this movie, and they had written the movie, and they didn't know who they were going to get. And at the time, there just wasn't a lot of black actors. Now there's hundreds of black actors, but at the time, Wesley Sn wasn't a lot of black actors. Now there's hundreds of black actors. But at the time, Wesley Snipes had only done Major League. He was, you know, he wasn't a big known actor.

So George Jackson and Doug McHenry, the producers, they just had a brainstorm. They said, let's just take people from pop culture. Ice is selling millions of records. He's a little, you know, kind of a little pro this, pro that. Let's get him. Let's get Chris Rock. He's the most grimy new. So they just took all the people that they knew that were hot and different.

And so let's make. Because a lot of us never knew who Chris Rock was until New Jack City. Let's see if they can act. So I'm in a club and Mario Van Peoples was in the club. And he says to me, he heard me. Give me a phone. I'm going to throw it off the roof. All right.

He said he heard me in the toilet. I was talking shit to somebody in the bathroom. In the toilet? I was in the bathroom. I was on my shit. I was like saying, I said, yeah, nigga. If the motherfuckers can get a microscope and find one molecule in me that gave a fuck, then they can angle me. But they can't angle me because there's not a molecule there that gives a fuck.

So he said, whoever said that's going to be the star of my movie, right? So I was just on my ice t-shirt. So I'm out there, and now I'm parlaying with three females talking my bullshit, you know, trying to sell them a dream. So I'm in the middle of it and then he walks over and says, Hey Ice, would you like to be in a movie? So I'm like, Hollywood bullshit, right? Who? Mario Van Peebles? Mario. I'm like, Hollywood

bullshit. For the people who don't know who Mario Van Peebles is, that was the main cop. Yeah. Yeah, and his father was in Sweet Sweet Back. Badass song. He's a G. Melvin Van Peebles.

So he hits me with this bullshit about being in a movie. So I'm like, nigga, you just trying to talk to these girls like, you know, I introduce him to the females. He's like, I'm serious. Show up at Warner Brothers tomorrow. We got this. So we exchanged numbers. And you were already on Warner Brothers as a record leader. Everything revolves around Warner Brothers. I'm noticing right now.

At the time. So, I show up at his thing, and I look at the script. I'm expecting I'm going to get four or five lines, so I read Scotty's part. I'm like, yo, this is the whole movie, son. Like, really? I'm not an actor. He said, you can do it. I'm like,

this nigga got dreads. Like, I got a perm. I'm like, and he's a cop? I'm like, this nigga got dreads. Like, I got to hurt him. And they were like, and he's a cop? I'm like, man, I don't know. I don't know. So I got home. I started talking to people, you know, talking to my boys.

I'm like, yo, they want me to play a police in the movie. Man, what you think? Word? Could I be in the movie? They ain't even worry about you. They ain't worry about them. Yeah, you. Niggas from jail was calling me. I'm like, yo, yeah, Blau, yeah, yeah. We sent the package and all that, but

yeah, you know, I know you're in the bowels of the devil. I understand that, but they want you to play the police right now. What do you feel about that in the movie? Word? If I was out, could I be in the movie? So no one was saying no. Everybody was like, nigga, that's an opportunity. And then the girls where I used to get my hair did did i used to get my hair done twice a week i had my shit permed up you know more wavy than the ships in the navy you know

you know we got to keep sharp as steak knives up in this bitch you dig what i'm saying i gotta out match a motherfucking woman before i can she can understand what i'm saying so i was sharp so i was sharp and the girls at the beauty parlor they was was like, no, I'm from the hood. I called the beauty parlor. I'm not no fucking salon. It was like I said, they want me to tell the police. They're like, you got to do it, nigga, because you're going to be one of them real niggas. And when you get over, you ain't going to forget the hood.

And you're going to tell everybody what the fuck's going on, nigga. And if you don't do this movie, don't come back up in this motherfucker. So the sisters sent me out on that mission. And I did the movie. I was shitting nervous. But now, did they know this story took place in New York? Didn't matter. It was just an opportunity. Opportunity. Go ahead. You know, Norrie, I believe

this, man. We come from a background with no opportunities. And we always are, you know, upset about that. When you get an opportunity and you don't take it, then you're a real life sucker. You're a real life sucker because you bitching about it

and now you get it and you don't take it. You got to put the jets on when you get that opportunity because we don't get them. We don't get them. So I got that opportunity so I went and I tried my best to do the movie. I was We don't get them. So I got that opportunity. So you took it. I went and I tried my best to do the movie. I was nervous.

This is at the same time Original Gangster came out. This is my biggest album. I was platinum. I was like, yo, like, I might fuck this all off. You're not telling me you had a choice between going on tour to sell your album and do New Jack City. No, there was no tour at the time, but my album was hot. So New Jack City was, can I tour at the time, but my album was hot. So New Jack City was can I risk this and fuck up my record?

My record is hot. But now when you got the script, did they tell you the actors that was attached to it? I didn't care. You were going to play a cop and then you didn't know how that was going to land. I was playing a cop and I had a record out called Original Gangster. That was a dilemma. You didn't know how that was going to land. That was a dilemma. And would this movie be whack and ruin everything I got going?

Right. And would my niggas accept me? I was worried. Straight up. I've always been more concerned with my friends, my close friends, whether they're in prison or home. That's been my thermometer on if I'm doing what's right. I got to keep their respect. And my niggas is street niggas.

And they love Law & Order. They like, nigga, hey. Hold on, we going there. They love it, dude. But I'm telling you, my niggas ain't corny niggas. They told me, yo, a hustler is supposed to get the money

by any means by the path of least resistance. And television has a lot less resistance than 25 to Life, nigga. So you do the right thing. Get that paper. All right, stop resistance than 25 to Life, nigga. So you do the right thing. Get that paper. Stop playing. Do your numbers. So now I'm... Where was I? New Jack City.

You were contemplating whether to do it. I was struggling but I did the damn movie and it was successful. And I was scared. They said, we're going to put dreads on you because we want people not to just see Ice-T. We want them to give him a chance for you to be another character. If they're so familiar with how you look, throw them off.

And I remember I went to the movies like three days after it came out. I was sitting behind some niggas, and I heard them niggas, look at that T with that motherfucking hat on. That nigga look crazy as a motherfucker, man. Oh, you snuck in the movie and you ain't let people know. DL in the cut. You didn't have to say poverty. I'm like, yeah. You did it too, right? Yeah, I wanted to get

a real response in the nigga. About 10 minutes into the movie, 15 minutes, I'm chasing Chris Rock. They're like, get it, Scotty. They start calling me the other nigga's name. And I was pissed when you called. I was like, yo. I was pissed when he called.

But I was like, I'm pulling this shit off. Like, they're rolling with me. Did the movie. It was a huge success. No negativity. Hip hop embraced me. And everybody, you know, nobody even tripped off the cop thing. They was like, nigga, you acting.

That's a job. And I've been rolling like that ever since. You know, like, acting is acting. So that was your first movie role that you fell in love with? My first movie, I actually got to speak. I was in those other movies, Breaking, back in the day. I was called Feature Rap Talker. Yeah, yeah.

But then you get the call about to do a movie with Denzel. Oh, shit. Then we got Elliot Wilson's ambulance. Oh, shit. In New York. In New York. But you get the call. That was my next movie.

The Denzel movie. Yeah, from Joel Silver, one of the biggest producers in history. He does The Matrix. What was the name of this movie? Ricochet? Ricochet. Ricochet with Ice Cube, right? I got the shirt.

No, Ricochet was with Denzel and John Lithgow. Trust me. Because this is the craziest shit. Trespass. Trespass is the one with Ice Cube, yeah. Denzel is not Denzel. Right. He's dead.

He ain't got the Zell yet. He's just dead. Yeah. And you do this movie. Did you know that this motherfucker is going to be the illest actor in the world? He said, yeah. And when did you? You didn't know that?

I knew he was. I mean, to me, Denzel was. Because you heard of Denzel prior to that? But I just knew Denzel Washington was the biggest actor I ever worked with. You know? I remember I was just working with these new people. I'm working with Judd Nelson on it. Denzel, well, I knew who Denzel Washington was. I was not...

Because Wesley wasn't really big. Women were loving Denzel. Denzel was the shit. He was the pill. He's like Billy Dee Williams. Yeah, he was the nigga. So when I met Denzel, he just... He came down to my level. He was like, look, man, I've been on television.

I did this, and I'm just here, and we're just getting ready to go do this. And I'll never forget, I was in the first scene with him, and, you know, these really good actors, they'll laugh and joke, and they go, action. And then, bam, they'll hit their characters. Method acting. No, that's not method acting. Okay. Method acting is when people. Method acting, they're dickheads.

Yeah. I was on a set with a method actor, and I called him his real name. Yeah. And he's like, what do you want to tell me? Yeah. I'm Joe. Like, whatever the fuck. That's close.

Like, when they... It's crazy. They won't break... They are that person. They won't break the code. Like, if they play in a drug addict, they gonna go out and sleep with real drug addicts and come to work dirty and all that old bullshit. Fuck that.

Yeah. and come to work dirty and all that. Fuck that. The American West with Dan Flores is the latest show from the Meat Eater Podcast Network, hosted by me, writer and historian Dan Flores, and brought to you by Velvet Buck. This podcast looks at a West available nowhere else. Each episode, I'll be diving into some of the lesser known histories of the West. I'll then be joined in conversation by guests such as Western historian, Dr. Randall Williams, and bestselling author and meat eater founder, Steven Rinella. I'll correct my kids now and then where they'll say when cave people were here.

And I'll say, it seems like the ice age people that were here didn't have a real affinity for caves. So join me starting Tuesday, May 6th, where we'll delve into stories of the West and come to understand how it helps inform the ways in which we experience the region today. Listen to the American West with Dan Flores on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes, but there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple.

Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Acting is lying. Acting is lying. Like if I said the next person that comes in the door make him convince him you're my manager. That's acting.

So they say, where do you learn how to act? I'm like, stand in front of a judge. We've all done that. It makes a lot of sense. I mean, Denzel was talking and he was joking. Then they said action and the nigga jumped into character on me. And I flubbed my line and the nigga did like this. He was like, come on, Ice.

What's happening? And I was like, oh, that's how we getting down, huh? Like, he's showing me like, come on, like, we can, we joke, but I'm going to hit my line. So that's when I was like, I want to learn how to act just like that dude. And you're talking about the movie with Ricochet? But that's when my first chance learning somebody who can. You know, when actors do that. And that was Denzel who taught you that?

It's almost like they're going through their legs with the ball. They're playing with you. They're like, ah, yeah, they're already acting. Bam. And they'll hit you. And then they'll come out of it and start telling other jokes. You're like, whoa. That's some dope shit right there.

You know what I'm saying? So I always wanted to learn how to act like him. And, you know. But Denzel wasn't like, he wasn't the Oscar award winning at that time. But to a bum nigga like me, he was. I was like nobody in the acting world. I was a rapper. Like, how the hell am I even on screen with Denzel Washington?

Really? You know? So I'm, one of my keys is humility. I'm about to kick y'all out. The whole, this whole side of the room. I'm about to go. Section B. I smell smoke and shit.

Niggas is hitting wax and all. Relax. I got to pay for this. Okay. You know, I didn't get any money for that. Like, New Jack City, I got to pay for this. Okay, good to know. You know, I didn't get any money for that. Like, New Jack City, I got $26,000 for New Jack City. And that was a payout? It paid off.

Oh, you get royalties. It paid off. 80 million bucks, probably 100 million by now. No, no royalties. I got paid scale. My first movie. And that's just how it goes. Whatever you ever got is that 26.

That's it. Yeah. And that's not, that's not, that's just how the game is. All that shit you did to get pooky. They couldn't use anybody. But it's what,

it took them to the next level. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, of course. Yeah, you can't, how do you negotiate? You have no leverage. Who are you? They'll get another nigga.

They'll get motherfucking a kick. They'll put Chuck in a fucking wig. I know he was in there. They got Chuck D in there rapping and singing. You know, I knew, everybody knew, okay, they'll replace you. You couldn't tell I was 26. Bless you. Bless you.

So after that, when I went to go see Joel Silver, I thought I was going to get paid. Right. So I walked in there. I'm like, yeah, well, you know, my last movie, you know, made a lot of money. You know what I'm saying? I know I'm about to get paid. Now he walked in there. I'm like, yeah, well, you know, my last movie made a lot of money. I know I'm about to get paid. Now, he goes, Ice-T, you done one movie. He stuck it to me again.

So that movie, I got like 48 for less work. So what movie was this? Rickets. I didn't get any money in movies until I did Tank Girl where I played a kangaroo. I didn't even hear a tank movies until I did Tank Girl, where I played a kangaroo. I didn't even hear Tank Girl. What is this movie?

A movie called Tank Girl with Lori Petty. And I played a, listen, I'm making a movie with Keanu Reeves called Johnny Mnemonic. I'm in Canada. So I get a call from my manager. He says, will you play a stripper in Arizona? I said, from my manager he says will you play a stripper in Arizona I said you motherfucking right I'll play a stripper in Arizona so that night I did like 2000 sit ups

I'm like yeah I'm gonna be right it's time for me to get my sex thing going so the next day they send me a picture of this kangaroo and it was like what am I a stripper that's a kangaroo? They go, no, you're a ripper.

A ripper is a mutated person. I'm like, what's the name of the movie? They said, the movie's Tanker. That shit sounds so generic. I was like, yo, am I not with Keanu Reeves? I mean, what the fuck is going on? And they told me how much money I was getting. I was like,

I learned to bunny hop. going on? And they told me how much money I was getting. I was like... I learned to bunny hop. Now that was... That was my first check. I got a million dollars. And you ain't never seen it. Let me find out. I was like, if you Google, you'll see a picture of Ice-T and the Tank Girl right now. I look crazy, right?

Huh? Did you hit my boob? It's like a mutated person. I'm going to know it. It's like some sci-fi shit? Yeah, like a fight over water. Tank Girl, Ice-T, you're going to see a picture of me. Surviving the game.

Okay, so why are we pulling that out? I want to respect my brother, Charlie. Charlie's my brother for 20 years, and he dove right into it. Yeah, look at this. Look at this picture. We're going to see. That's me. Oh, shit.

Let me see. You got a million for that? Yeah. Holy shit. Let me see. 22 days in that shit. Is that CGI or is that makeup? No, that's Stan Winston.

That's Stan Winston. That's five-piece application face. That's so insane. That's crazy. You got to watch this. You got to put it on camera. It's a bugged out movie. Yeah, we got to show it to the camera.

Where's the camera? So now. Yeah, that was Tanker. So that was, you know, and the to show it to the camera. So now. Yeah, that was Tanker. So that was, you know, and the thing of it was, now I'm at this point where I'm just taking jobs and I'm rolling with it and they're coming in. So I'm like, shoot, you know, I'm starting to make money now, finally. So now you consider the actor.

You consider the actor. Yeah. You're killing every role you get. Yeah. Then CSI comes to you that's the same shit to me I'm so sorry that's so awesome

relax relax no one can do that we have to do a relax challenge y'all take a shot every time we say relax if you're watching it take a shot listen so Law and Order Take a shot every time we say relax. If you're watching it, take a shot. Listen, so, law and order.

Doom, doom, doom, doom. The soundtrack is... They come to you, and they say... What do they say? Okay, little pre-story to that. My first time working with Dick Wolf, who's the executive producer, is that he's in New York undercover.

Oh, yeah. Makes it look extra. I was at my house in L.A. Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. Benzino. Come on, guy. What's wrong with you? Yo, what's up with my phone?

She don't even want to answer for it. You got buttery fingers. You got buttery fingers. Yo, Benzino. What it do, no? You live on the podcast. Zeno, what up? We here with Ice-T. What's up, Benzino? It's Ice. What's happening, baby? We here with Ice-T.

What's good, man? Where y'all at? You in New York? Yeah. All right. Let's edit this out. We have 541 Lexington The W Hotel, come through Okay, cool, alright You know my last name, right?

Oh, yeah See how he treat me, huh? So, New York Undercover I was with Fab Five Freddy in my house Were you on New York Undercover as well? I was on three times I played a guy named Danny Yup And Andre Harrell was talking to Fab Five.

Freddie Fab Five was like, I'm at Ice-T's crib. He said, put Ice-T on the phone. He's like, yeah, you got to come on my show, New York Undercover. Andre was part of that. I'm like, I told him, nigga, that's a ripoff of New Jack City. You know, New York Undercover. I said, you. I never thought of that.

I never thought of that. That's real. I never thought of that either. Yeah. Was I too young to peep that? Nobody's been through it. Yo, that's fucking crazy. I didn't know that. That's why I'm here to clarify this shit.

Hey, yo. I swear to God, that's what he said. That's why I had to do drink chat. So anyway, he's like, yeah, well, come on the show. And I'm like, all right, alright you know I'm doing movies now nigga and then he was like oh alright you too big now you know how to do that I was like alright well give me a bad

guy role and I'll play it cause I've been playing it totally I said give me a bad guy role so there was this role called Danny up I played it I get a call from Dick Walton he go we don't want to kill you at the end of the episode will you do more and I fought with him. We renegotiated and got a better room. Moved me from

a bullshit hotel to the Four Seasons. I did two more episodes. I shot Malik Yoba's girl and I just wilded out. So after I did that show, I did a show for him called Swift Justice. I played a bad guy. I did Law and Order. I played a pimp that came with a bowling pin.

Then I had a show called Players on TV. It was my own show with Costas Manilow and Frank Hughes. Okay, when those shows were over, Dick Wolf, he says, I wish I had a stronger vehicle for you. Right? Meaning you got it. So I'm like, cool. So I was back in L.A. doing my business, doing my shit, trying to create iTunes. I was trying to create MP3 bass that we could put rap music on and people could get it, go straight to MP3.

Niggas was looking at me like, what is MP3? Niggas was like, that'll never work. Never work. Niggas ain't getting rid of these CDs. So I'm like, no, niggas, it's a digital. I was like, niggas. Like Napster era? This before Napster, after Napster?

During the time Napster was doing it, but my thing was, I would take your album, I would digitally... I was going to create iTunes. I would take your album, I would put it onto a website where we would download it for money. It's iTunes. Before iTunes. Ice Tunes.

Ice Tunes. Not only that, I was going to do it regionally where there'd be a map. What the fuck, man? Police. How many noises can we hear? Put on speaker.

Put on speaker. Put on speaker. We keep it on. Hello? Hi, good evening. I have Kapoor here. Let his monkey ass up. Let him up.

It's okay. Let him up. All right. All right. Really? So, my thing was, it had a regional map. So if you could go to, like, if you wanted Pennsylvania, it would show all the rappers from Pennsylvania. So it would break it down regionally because hip-hop was regional.

So you could do it. But anyway, that was I was creating when I got the call to do SVU. Right. And I said no. Okay. I said no because I had 15 employees. I had databases. I had servers. I was trying to go.

And then my boy, we had a little problem in LA where one of my buddies had set me up to get robbed. What? Iceman? Yeah. What's his name? Let's just shit on him right now. He's no longer with us. Right here.

Okay. God bless him. Yeah. So, but basically, one of my friends who I looked out time through prison, he sent some people up to my office and it was a robbery that took place. So, everybody finally figured it out and it was a little hostile moment. Everybody was worrying about what's going on and then we figured out who did it

and it was tension my daughter was in the room it was an ugly situation it's in my book when it happened one of my boys from 60's they called an emperor he was with me everyday

they offered me to do the show. He said, get out of town, man. Get out of town. You know, fuck it. It's four shows. It's what we're going to rob you with some money here. Like, you know, like, you know, we weren't making no money yet in the business yet. He's like, I got this.

So I came out here to do four episodes for SVU. And it's been 18 years. God damn, make some noise for that guy. Make some noise for the emperor too. Let's respect the emperor. But then also the negativity is also one of the reasons they say

go and shake the New York because all this drama is going on. How hard was it to adapt to New York? Because right now you like just as much as a New York nigga than me. Well, I always loved New York. I was actually born in Newark, New Jersey. My mother passed when I was in the third grade.

My father, when I was in the seventh. I lived in Summit, New Jersey over there with my father. And then I left to go to L.A. when my father died. And I was in LA ever since. Who was LA with? My aunt, his sister.

I lived out there with them and stuff. This brought me back. Music brought me back. I was coming out here to get... To me, being a rapper, I had to get the cosign of New York. You can't be a rapper and not have New York's cosign as far as I was concerned. Make some noise! You can't be a rapper and not have New York's cosign as far as I was concerned We like halfway through my life story here. Happy birthday, my brother. We like halfway

through my life story here. These guys ain't leaving no stun on terror. But that's good. That's good. I mean, it's better for it to come from my mouth than somebody on the side

talking. Please continue. Please. Naming that bullshit. Freakiest guy ever. So when you moved to L.A., right? What's up, bro? Freakiest guy.

So when you moved to L.A. Yeah. Yeah, so that was when I moved to Cali with my aunt. And you moved directly to where you lived in Cali? Well, no. When I moved out there, I was living in an area called View Park, which is above Crenshaw and Vernon. It's like a nice area.

It's up in the hills. And I got bussed to a white junior high school called... Like Cube kind of situation he was in. Palms Junior High School. Crenshaw High School was right down the street. So when I got to high school, I said, I ain't catching the bus. And that's when I walked into the Shaw. And that's what I say in Original Gangster, how I was introduced to the gangs.

And I did a song called That's How I'm Living. I said, you know, I was born in New Jersey. I said it before, but I guess nobody heard me. My mother died young. No sisters or brothers. I was her only son. When I was young, my pops died too. What's a nigga supposed to do?

They sent me out west to live with my aunt. I guess they thought that was the best, but there was no love there. And growing with no moms, I guess I was prepared to live in a vacuum. The bedroom, the kitchen, the hall, the bathroom. I didn't leave home much. I didn't like L.A. I didn't have no friends to trust.

I got bussed to a school. Blacks and whites. I guess the shit was cool. But by high school, I changed. I didn't want to buss. I didn't want to play the game. I walked to Crenshaw High. Shit was fly. I hooked up with

a new crew. Some niggas that act like they knew what the fuck to do. Now you may call it a gang but we called it set and it was our own thing. The whole school was down and one way or another everybody fucked around. Whether hardcore or not, you wore the right color

your ass got shot. Make some noise. We're wore the right color, your ass got shot. Make some noise. You're wearing the right color. So yeah, that's how I ended up out there. So anyway, yeah, I ended up on SVU 18 years, and it was a very, you know,

the negative situation along with my buddy's insight. What do you think about Dave Chappelle when he made the skit about that? Dave Chappelle's a genius. It's going to be hard to find somebody as funny as Dave Chappelle. Like, every once in a while, a comic genius

comes out. Like, I lived through Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy, but Dave Chappelle just hits comedy from some other angle that niggas ain't. It's just abnormal. I'm a fan of everybody.

I love everybody. I was with Kevin Hart the other day. But Dave Chappelle. Kevin Hart, if you don't bring your monkey ass on here. Yeah, Kevin Hart's cool, dude. Come on, man. We need you over here. Yeah, Dave Chappelle, too. Kevin, Chris Rock, all them.

Dave's comedy is different. Yeah, Kevin's the best. And Dave Chappelle, too. Kevin, Chris Rock, all them. But Dave is... You have the whole bottle, bro. Dave's comedy is different. See, Dave is natural. You know what I'm saying? He don't try to be funny. It's something different, though. And he... I mean, we did the player haters bar. He doesn't give a fuck.

Who writes that shit? Buck Nassie. I'm going to go home and put some more milk in your mama's bowl. Like, who writes shit like that? What was the event? Actually, I spun an event in Miami. I think it was the Players Ball in Miami at Luke's Club. Oh, that was the Players Ball, probably.

I was DJing. I have a picture. And you're, like, right next to me. And you told me you wanted to rhyme. And you're like, play Shook Ones Part 2. Oh, yeah, I rhymed in that spot. Yeah. I was the one spinning.

Yeah, yeah, I remember that. I have a I was the one spinning. Yeah, I remember that. I have a picture of it. Okay, that's what's up. Looking hot. You got it on? Yo, you don't have it on me? It's a real picture. It's a real picture.

Yeah, I think me and Coco were in there that night. Were you? Oh, I just saw you. So now, this is where I was going to go. Before we go there. Ice, I probably think you're probably the first rap album i might have ever jerked off yeah oh there's the cover it was in jail at the same time that was power

well you know what it was it was it was just like nobody was doing it. Nobody was connecting sex. Was this for me or no? You know, the guns and all that. And I was like, this is part of it. Well, Luke did it, but he didn't do it like the gangster way. He did not. That was classic.

That was artistic, actually, the way you did it. When we did the front, the back. Well, that was the second album I did it. On Ryan Pace, Darlene was in the car with us, like in a bathing suit, and me and Evil were in a Porsche, and we had a palm tree. And we were trying... Glenn Friedman shot that.

And we were trying to say, this is Cali. We wanted that to say California. When the time I did the Power album cover, I was dealing with power, like the three levels of power. One is sex. That's the biggest power, right?

So you see her. The next power is weapons, sex, money, and guns. So you see the weapons. And then the next power is deception. And when you turn it over, you see me and Eva were strapped. So I feel deception is the ultimate power because you never know who's giving it to you. I think you fired

me, but really he called the shot and he walked away. So people that work in that realm of deception and that's the ultimate. That's the boss's business. You don't know where the shot comes from and that's the scarier power. So that's what I was dealing with on the album cover.

Of course, Darlene looked incredible at the time. You keep saying Darlene, but we don't know. Darlene was my, that's my son's mother. No, I've never been married before, but that was my son's mother at the time. And, you know, me and her still got a good relationship. Big up Darlene. Yeah. She got a book out now, right?

Yeah. And big up your son. I love you. Your son is so small But she you know At the time I was In a world where I thought I thought you had to be real

I thought you couldn't lie So I didn't know you could wear other people's jewelry I didn't know you could stand I didn't know you could have a girl On your album cover that wasn't your girl I didn't know you could have a girl on your album cover that wasn't your girl. I didn't know that. So everything was 100%. It had to be.

I didn't know you were drunk and he didn't drink that. Pay attention, motherfuckers. I didn't know. I had to shoot in my own house. I had to shoot. I didn't know that that was. Your guns. Those were your guns. Oh, that's what I say. The gats in my promo shots ain't props, nigga. You know?

So I didn't think that was okay. And, you know, I ran my career based on those principles. If, you know, I said what I said, I don't rap about Gats I ain't got, hoes I ain't caught, you know, guns I ain't shot. The game to me Is too fucking deep If I did I honestly believe I'd die in my sleep I

If I don't have it I'ma rap about Not having it right now You know Until I get it The bone is late too But it's in Oh that goes

This will duck down We're doing this And we will duck down Buckshot shorty Come with me That's my guy Yo let me Let me just tell you something, Ice-T. At the end of the day,

me and Capone, we met in jail. Thanks. We never, ever, ever in jail said we're going to come home and rap. Right. Me and this foul nigga, and I'm a foul nigga to him.

He's my brother, though. He's my brother. But we came home, we was in jail, in jail saying, we're going to flip some cocaine. We're going to come home. Absolutely.

I came home and Capone was rapping and it was just like, oh shit. I was like, what? And I was rapping too in jail but we ain't never really shared raps together in jail.

So we had this whole altitude we had embarked on. And this is the reason why I named it Gangsta Rap or Reality Rap. If it wasn't for you, there probably wouldn't be us. Absolutely.

And that's real shit. Because when I look at the history, and sometimes I could Google something. I hate Googling. Because I like to remember and the first original person that ever spit Reality Rap, Gangsta Rap, whatever it is,

is you. Thank you. And we all owe you. We didn't know how to be fake either, though. That's the thing. We didn't know that either. That's why we're here today. We didn't know you could do a photo shoot and have a fake gun.

We did a photo shoot for the vibe, had a real gun, and it went off. And it went off. Not a photo shoot. It went off. It's real shit. But I don't understand. I don't real shit. But I don't understand. I don't. This is what I don't understand.

How people can get on Instagram and all that and lie and talk about shit, but then all their friends see it and they know it's not real. But their friends let them do it. So are their friends fake too? They're going along with this illusion. No, we live in a fake society. They check by the likes. If the likes are there, the numbers,

that's their reality now. But you gotta have balls to do that. To actually me to put a picture up of me saying this is my house and the niggas know that. What kind of person is that? You got Instagram police that's catching motherfuckers too. But I'm talking about your homeboy.

I'm talking about your friend. I'm talking about your friends. I was'm talking about your friend. You've been talking about that, but you're right. I'm talking about your friends. Like, I was held accountable for every lyric, every rhyme. Like, Ice, you know, come on, Ice nigga, yo, what? You know, I had to make sure I stayed within the lines because my niggas would have laughed me out of town. They'd be like, come on, Ice. You know, and my homie said, Ice, you don't never have to lie

because you live such an incredible life. You don't have to. Just within it, if you don't, have to lie because you live such an incredible life. You don't have to. Just within it. People ain't going to believe most of the stories I tell. I need a nigga right here just to cosign half the shit. But I don't get it now. I just look at people and I'm like, it's a false reality.

I would like to ask you, hip hop now, what is Ice's feelings on hip hop now, what is ice feelings on hip hop now? I just don't think it's held to the same rules or same standards. When I got in hip hop, I understood. But gangbanging

isn't held to the same standards as it was when you started. Nothing is. But I think when I got into rap, I understood, you know, people that brought me in, Mel and everybody, the G's to me. They said hip hop requires skill. That's what I did in the art of rap, my movie.

I said it requires skill. You have to have skill to be a breaker, a skill to be a rapper, a skill to be a DJ. Right? Once you lower the bar to where there's no skill, it's no longer an art form. It's not evolving anymore either. Yeah. So I came in when niggas would call you whack and you had to take it. Like you whack or you had to get better.

You try to get better. It's now to me, it's kind of like dance music. It's kind of like disco. It's just beats. And the production, some of the, some of the production. I mean, I'm being honest. I'm being honest.

I'm being honest. I can go into a club. I can go into a club and listen to trap beats all night long. And I'm rocking. I mean, that's the sonic, the sound production is everything, but the lyrical content.

Hold on one second. Hold on one second. This guy doesn't know how to put his phone aside. Nah, everybody's stars is calling me. Yo, Jack Thriller, you live on the podcast with Ice-T. And we have Jack. Man, get out of here. This Ice-T?

This Ice-T. Yo, what up, fool? This Ice-T right here. Nah, I'm Ice-T. What up, Jack? It's Ice-T. No, I'm the real Ice-T. I'm the real Ice-T.

I'm a really big fan, man. You're a funny nigga. I was with Jack in the Bronx. Yo, where you at? Hey, Ali. Ali. Ali, know the address. Come through.

Hey, we about to come over there right now. All right. All right. All right. All right. Bring some F and vodka. God damn it. That's why I make niggas turn off their phones when they in my house.

Nah, nah. You know what? You know what? Let me tell you something, Ice. So they don't accumulate more and more niggas. I haven't said this the whole interview. And one thing that I have to say to you is, Ice, although I give the same love that you give to me to younger artists,

but you not have ever been obligated to give me any love that you always gave me. Yeah, because I'm a fan. It's real, though. I'm not a fake nigga. Let me keep... I like more niggas. Let me keep bigging you up. Like, who they?

I don't know them niggas. Let me keep bigging you up, because Ice, you always had our back. Yeah. From the beginning. Like, you were one of them guys... Because Ice be fucking lit. Listen, you're one of them guys that I know I call, and I know you're going to respond. I know you're going to respond.

I know you're going to be. And, you know, I always haven't been able to do what I got to do. But when I've been at the lowest, the medium, the highest, you've always been in my corner. Because real niggas ain't ones that show up at the party. Real niggas meet you in the parking lot in the rain with the pistol. Got you, dude. You know what I'm saying? We got to give a gift.

We got to give it a gift. And I want to thank you. I want to thank you. We're going to talk about Soulja Boy. Hold on. But before, before I get into the Soulja Boy,

because I want to know who you got in the fight, but before that... Clown-ass niggas. Sure, T-shirt. Before that, I would like Well you didn't let me finish

You didn't let me finish I was saying The music now sonically is incredible But I just feel it's lacking The lyrical content I think that they're rapping They're rapping fast But I'm not taking nothing from it

Now I listened to J. Cole The other day. He has his record, and I was like, whoa. And that's the only thing. I just think that although you're a star now and you're rapping, take a minute and make a record and try to move somebody. Try to change somebody's life with it.

I understand it. I'm like, okay, you got the baddest bitches, you got the money, you high all the time. I got that, but what else? Is there anything else? There's more to life. Is there? Now, some people, there is nothing else. It's just getting money.

And I grew up with cats like that. It's just getting money. But some people got it in them to try to help and move. And if that's in you, do it. But you changed my life, Ice. Let me just tell you. That's my point. Hold on, hold on.

Before you say that. You changed my life one day somebody asked you and said well ice when you dropping something and you said I don't want to drop something because everybody's dropping mixtapes for free I don't want to spit my game for free

and that shit totally fucked me up I was like yo he said if you notice it's only east coast niggas That do the mixtape Game for free Yeah West coast mixtapes

They drop mixtapes They sell they shit Like Nipsey Killed the game Like we killed A lot of people Will sit back And say

The downfall Hold on The downfall of New York Was whatever The downfall of New York Was We. The downfall of New York was we downgraded our own self. And I said that one day and nobody paid attention.

But me. There was a website called Daft Piff. We put out a thing called the anti-mixtape. They were dropping 20 free mixtapes a day on that website. It was like, yo, this is so diluted now. There's no value. they were dropping 20 free mixtapes a day on that website. Yeah, yeah.

It was like, yo, this is so diluted now. There's no value. Now their labels are suing them for that. But still, it's like, yo, man, I mean, like. Sprint Rello. Sprint Rello, they just sued. Sprint Rello. If this is your business, then you got to hold it.

You got to take its content. You can't just give it away. I never threw out a free mixtape since you sent that statement. Nah, it's ridiculous. It's like, what are you doing? it away. I never threw out a free mixtape since you said that statement. It's ridiculous. It's like, what are you doing? Especially somebody like you who's already known. I mean, if you knew, you might have to give it away. I'll do a streaming mixtape.

But I don't. And then how do the producers get paid when you're giving away all that? Exactly. You just put yourself in the same person that didn't put half the work you put in the game. You put yourself on the same level as them when you drop a mixtape. But that's why you got to have producers that's lawyer-like, Hazardous Sounds, SBK, Scram Jones, Incredible Cuts, you know, people like that. Because I'm not getting no money off of this and it don't work neither.

Yeah. So you got to have people that's willing to take that risk with you. But mind you, there's Capone. He's from Korea. Come on, Capone. We all fall asleep. But mind you, it's Capone. He's from Queensbridge. Come on, Pone. We all fall asleep. I wish I didn't answer my shit. Absolutely.

But when you said that, Ice, it changed my mind on how... Did you just say I was from Queensbridge? Yeah, you are from Queensbridge. And why does your vapor smell like Roombas? My vapor smells good. It smells like old Spanish pussy.

I'm just keeping it real. Let's make some It smells like old Spanish pussy. I'm just keeping it real. Let's make some noise for some old Spanish pussy. With a heap of strawberries. But he knows my shit smells good. This shit is crazy. Niggas say old Spanish pussy. You can text me the picture when you rock it, please. What is this?

My album, my album. That's EFN's album. Let's make some noise for EFN. It's an album. rock it please what is this my album that's EF's album that's EF's album that's EF's album that's EF's album that's EF's album that's EF's album that's EF's album that's EF's album

he's from the ice he's from the ice he gave away shit he gave me the bag he said it's just a shirt I'll be honest our interview with you is so perfect right now

I ain't giving away shit it's so perfect right now. I ain't giving a waste of it. It's so perfect right now. The American West with Dan Flores is the latest show from the Meat Eater Podcast Network hosted by me, writer and historian Dan Flores, and brought to you by Velvet Buck. This podcast looks at a West available nowhere else.

Each episode, I'll be diving into some of the lesser known histories of the West. I'll then be joined in conversation by guests such as Western historian, Dr. Randall Williams, and best-selling author and MeatEater founder Stephen Ranella. I'll correct my kids now and then where they'll say when cave people were here. And I'll say it seems like the Ice Age people that were here didn't have a real affinity for caves. So join me starting Tuesday, May 6th, where we'll delve into stories of the West and

come to understand how it helps inform the ways in which we experience the region today. Listen to The American West with Dan Flores on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple.

Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multibillion-dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1 Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Yo, Ice, I just can't thank you enough because I know you're humble, and you, and, and... Holy... What the fuck's going on? Yo, that's my kid. Welcome to Dream Shades, Ice T-Word. Shit, it's my child.

The noise is from fucking podcasts. Yo, Ice, I'm talking to you. Hey, but keep going, man, keep going man Keep going You so humble And I just want to thank you Because you know why Ice And I know you don't give a fuck I know you're a real nigga

But You know What I feel Is real niggas Should be saluted nowadays At the end of the day Fake niggas have they time And that's the reason why me and my partner

right here started this podcast. But you can feel it. If you notice, we've never interviewed not one new guy. And if we interviewed a new guy, he came with an old guy. And you know what?

This is the only generation in the world that when you become old, they kick you out. Rock and roll, you can still do it. Jazz, you can still do it. Salsa. Salsa, merengue. You could be 67. Even pop stars get more love for longer.

And hip-hop is the only thing. So you know what? For me and my partner, that's why I got a rock album now. But listen. But you ain't got to have a rock album. You can stick with hip-hop. And you know what?

Hold on. Hold on. No, but it's real. It's the same shit. It's the word, bro. Sometimes you got to snuff your man. You know what I'm saying? You got to chill out a little bit.

All right, we're done. But it's birthday. You can't get mad. You got to snuff your man, you know what I'm saying? All right, we're done. But it's birthday. You can't get mad. I'm just snuffing it. This is what Drink Champs is. Drink Champs, we want to salute our legends because there's no other platform to salute our legends. Like right now, if you say, I'm going to do the hottest podcast, quote unquote, they want to get Jay-Z. They want to get Nas. They want to get Drake. They want to get Jay-Z. They want to get Nas.

They want to get Drake. They want to get all these people. That's not what we started out to do. We wanted to support our legends. You know, me, myself, like the rappers I liked, one of my prerequisites was what I like to hang out with, dude. Right. You know, I wanted to roll with Rakim. I wanted to hang with Big Daddy Kane.

I wanted to hang around Capone and Noriega and Raekwon. I wanted to roll with Rakim I wanted to hang with Big Daddy Kane I wanted to hang around Capone and Noriega And Raekwon and Cass I wanted to hang with EZ Give us an EZ story, that untold Nah, that's EZ Well, EZ's game was he always tried to tell people he was 15 I'll be doing that shit I'll be doing that shit

You know, so EZ was You said I was 55. I was like, 15 is not a word. I knew you would come out. I knew you would come out. I missed you, boy. We used to just while out in the hotel room, some stuff. I mean, I seen Eazy.

You know, the ladies, they'd be cleaning the thing. It's like tackle the chick. Like, this was before niggas was getting charges and stuff. Niggas was wiling out. But, you know, know Easy was a good dude I mean he was The street member of the group He funded that group right out the gate

They said that So I'm going to give you other people names That I just want to see You want to continue with Easy I mean The thing of it is Easy has passed away So it's kind of odd to talk about it. I'm not going to say no wild stuff.

I'm going to ask you a couple of people who have passed away. But I got wild stories. You got stories. Tell us something about Jam Master Jay. Jay was another person who was the most authentic part of Run DMC. He was a street

cat. So I would always actually somehow they would gravitate to me and we would end up talking and stuff like that. But Jay was a solid dude. I mean, it's amazing that no one caught who killed him. That's just amazing that somebody of that

caliber, that's like somebody from the one, the Super Bowl, like Tom Brady get killed, nobody knows about it. You know, that's crazy. To us, somebody from the one, the Super Bowl, like Tom Brady get killed, nobody knows about it. You know, that's crazy. To us. To us, not to the white people. And the thing, you know what's crazy? They talk about not solving big... Hold on, hold on one second. They talk about not solving

big murder, not solving Pac murder, but they never talk about not solving Jam Master Jay murder. And he was just as pinnacle in hip-hop. Jay-Z, let me tell you, Jay-Z, I mean, Jam Master Jay. And he was just as pinnacle in hip-hop. Jay-Z, let me tell you, Jay-Z, I mean, Jam Master Jay and Run DMZ, remember you talking about that moment with you?

That was the moment that made me really rap. I went to a concert they had, and they had everybody put their Adidas on. And Jam Master Jay was on a riser, and they had lasers and shit. And I was just trying to rap. And I was like, yo, this shit is rock and roll. It's a showmanship shit.

No, I like, no, because we had always been doing it in the basements, in the little clubs and shit. And when I seen that, I think I went home that night and wrote like 20 raps. I was like, yo, Run DMC let me understand this was big. But it was bigger than the basement and the small clubs. Hip-hop were... Okay, so I'm going a little bit all over the place. Tupac.

I knew Pac when he was in Digital Underground. Dancing for them? Yeah, he was dancing. Is there a difference between Tupac, Digital Underground? Absolutely. You can see it in the music. Tupac won it.

I remember we were at a Soul Train Awards. It was me and Dre. And we were sitting at a table and Pac walked by. When you say Dre, you talking about Dr. Dre? Dr. Dre. You just can't just say Dre. Yeah. Our fans are stupid.

Dr. Dre. And Pac walked by And at that time he wasn't Tupac yet I think maybe it was Tretch or somebody But he looked at the table and I could see he wanted to sit At that table I could see it

And then as he started to make his move as Tupac I remember one time See Pac was doing some strange things Like he hooked up with the cats In South Central 50 seconds to 5 deuces Pac. I remember one time... See, Pac was doing some strange things. Like, alright, like he hooked up with the cats in South Central 50 Seconds, the Five Deuces, which was rated R. I gotta relax. Is that Hoover's?

No, no. It's Crips. I'm about to kick the producer out. Ali gotta go. He hooked up with rated R. All the conversations about Ali. They created that thing, Thug Life, which was based in South Central L.A. Oh, with dudes in L.A., not homies in Jersey? No, no, no.

No, no. No, that was L.A. No, I know, but I thought that Thug Life was rated R. And Macadocious, they were out of L.A., right? And then, you know, he evolved from that. And then when he got into trouble out here, that's when Suge came in and got him out. But I remember one time I was in L.A. and Pac pulled up on me in a car with, like, this crazy-ass chick, like, some, like, strawberry bitch in the front seat. What's strawberry?

Yeah, that's how I knew this nigga, my brother. That's exactly what I said in my mind. Strawberry is basically bronze to get off for crack. Okay. I wasn't ready. It's a LA street thing for like a crack. Okay. So this broad, I know it wasn't his woman. I'm like, what is this bitch doing in the car? She already, you know, but he's getting high.

And he had weed. He had weed. He had a gun. And he wanted me to sit in the car and listen to a record. I'm like, nigga, are you riding around like this? Like, are you serious, Pop? Are you fucking kidding me? I'm not.

But you were OG. So, you know, let me just tell you something. Let's see. He was trying to impress you, even if he wasn't trying to impress you, because every time I hang out with you, I try to impress you. But he scared me. So I was like, pop. I was like, pop.

Man, this is crazy. But I'll tell you some real inside shit. He was in my house. I had a studio called The Crack House. And he was at my house with the Outlaws, a couple of the outlaws. And he played me hit him up. Oh, wow.

And I didn't like it. And I was like, you're going to start some shit. You didn't like it because of what he was saying. I didn't like him starting to beef. I was like, dog, I said,

you knew where I was going to go. I said, you're going in on dude's wife and all that. I was like, yo, he's like, yo. And then at that time he thought big had shot him.

And I was like, yo, well you can have, I was like, yo, he's like, yo, and then at that time, he thought Big had shot him, and I was like, yo, well, you can handle, I wouldn't, you ain't supposed to be handling that with a record, really, are you? You know? So, we kind of was on bad terms with that, because he wanted me to ride with him, but I was like, I couldn't, you know, and so that, we was kind of like

in that zone when he got killed. What he was saying on that record, was he saying that that was reality or was he saying, I'm just saying. It's a rah-rah record. It's a beef record. He's talking about his wife. But it's just a beef record. Like, if you're going to set it and you're setting it yelling West Coast, you shouldn't have set this. I knew that was going to turn into a real situation.

Of course. Yeah, he's talking about people. Yeah, I'm not out rapping you. I'm threatening you. I'm talking real shit. Yeah, and I'm like, rapping you. I'm threatening you. I'm talking to you. I'm like, yo, I was like, yo, have you really been to go there? I'm sitting back

like the nigga, like who I'm supposed to be. I'm older. But he wanted me to go like, yeah, yeah, yeah, this is good shit. Let's do it. Is he saying that he smashed Faith? That's what I was asking. You heard the do it Is he saying that he smashed Faith? That's what I was asking But he said that he smashed Faith

So he said it But in the studio was he saying this is truth Or I'm just saying it No we didn't get there I just listened to the playback and was like dog I don't know It's too much It's not a good idea

Plus I'm cool with New York. Like, yo, you shouldn't start. You knew what it was going to create. Absolutely. You are New York, though. It was going to cause a crazy divide. And all bullshit aside, right? If you think a nigga shot you, why you making a record?

It's street shit. Right? Okay, so we went there. You handle this with a record? Okay, but he wasn't ready for that And I wasn't really trying to send him on I was just trying to get his Come on, man As an OG shit

Like, you know But anyway, long story short You know, I love Pac Pac was a good kid i remember one night shock g came and knocked on my door and he was like yo uh you need to talk to pop and he said you like one of the only people he'll listen to and it was like yo you know he won't he's not listening to me at that time so you know he kind of got caught in that zone see when you're when you're not in the la gang scene and you come to LA and they embrace you,

it's overwhelming. It's overwhelming. You're not necessarily safe. It wasn't where you were supposed to be. You make records, you should be on your way out of the game. You shouldn't be making records and then going into it.

You're making flyers. A street nigga has the power of anonymity. Who shot him? Pookie Loke. Who's Pookie Loke? Nobody fucking knows. Who shot him? Ice-T. Ice-T gonna be on this flyer. He'll be right here. You no longer

have that ability to disappear into the hood. Niggas can pop up on you any motherfucking way. You gotta let that shit go. You gotta let that shit go. You gotta let that shit go. You're no longer in the underworld. Now you're part of the mainstream and you gotta, you have to behave like that. So did you actually

see, like, after that, did you see that Pop was going down a road that wasn't necessarily? Yeah, it wasn't, you know, it was just not a good place to be, you know. But, you know, it was just not a good place to be, you know. But, you know, he was rolling with Suge. Suge had got him out of jail. Everybody had

turned their back on the clock when he got caught in that mess. Suge came and saved him. What was your relationship with Suge? Suge was NWA's bodyguard. I heard. But yeah, but he rolled with them. And me and Suge always had a cool, like, understanding. No beef, but he rolled with them. And me and Suge always had a cool understanding. No beef

because we did no business. But you gotta understand, Suge is a football player and he basically had connections to the mob or the MOB, the cats in his neighborhood where he's from. And they were Bloods. And he surrounded himself with a gang of Bloods.

So that was power But then again My boys they were like We the other side so That don't matter to us and I got niggas as big as Suge So it's like what's happening You fucked me up with that one

My boys was the others Like you know for the rap game All they knew was Shug at one point No but that's But see I'm not operating As that type of a militia Right They got guns

Yeah Yeah but you know it's like, and that's Chug. Everybody was cool. Everybody understood everybody. Everybody had their limits. But me and Chug have never shared a negative word. He was very respectful in areas, and we respect each other. We aren't enemies, so to speak, but then at the same time, we're from two different sides of the

gang world. You know what I'm saying? I'm from the crip side. So they like whatever. Can I ask you a question? This is from Capone. This is a question. This is going to a different stuff. We talk about beef.

What was the deal with you and LL? We said, I crushed Moe D, Ice-T girl. Well, what happened was LL was... Did he fuck Dolly? No. All right, cool.

I had to ask that real quick. I had to ask that. No, I had to ask that because at the end of the day... I mean, not that I know of. He's keeping it. Yo, that's some real shit, though. Not that I know of. He's keeping it. Yo, that's some real shit, though. Not that I know of.

Nah, because Ice-T is a real nigga. Nah, he better be a real nigga. That was equivalent to Biggie and Pogba. Yeah, but no, I didn't take it like that. What happened with him was he was just saying he was the greatest rapper ever, and I was coming out from the West coast. And how was I going to be able to be taken seriously? If I let someone say they were the best. So I had to rep my,

I was just like, fuck whoever you think you are. Nigga. You know, I had a whole coast on my back. So I was like, let's go now. Whether I thought I could actually beat him,

rapping, whatever I, but I had to stand my ground. And I thought I might have been able to be more clever than him. Who knows? But it was no. That shit got shut down. Bam, I'd actually shut down that rap beef because.

Oh, wow. Damn, that was a jewel. Because LL wanted to be part of Zulu. And there was a moment where they were asking me and I'm like, well, if it's up to me, me and him is kind of beefing and shit. But at the end of the day, it's cool. Yeah, because Africa

Islam put me in the game. I might have missed that. Did he say that? No, he said that he was producing it. And that's Zulu right there. I'm catching on. So El, you know, but it was just record shit. It was just He said that he was producing it. I'm catching on. My bad. So L, you know, but it was just record shit.

It was just who's better rapper. It wasn't threatening each other's lives and shit and all that. And I did this and that. I think he said I took the thing to the bathroom or whatever. But, you know, whatever. That's not granting some murder or nothing.

So now that y'all both took TV by storm, y'all both the rap TV icons. How does that feel? I ran into LL in Monte Carlo. We were... What's up, Z? What's up, Pippin?

All right. Good to see you. All right. What's going on, my brother? Come on, sit right here. Benzino's in the building. I was watching TV. I saw you get shot on TV. I was like, man, what happened?

Your relatives shot you? Definitely. Crazy. Don't try to shoot me, man. That's crazy. That's a lie. Don't even say that. Don't try to shoot everybody. But my family. Not him. Not you. That's crazy That's a lot Know each other

Shoot everybody But my family Not him Not you Hold on Hold on Let's get to this Real quick

We went Monte Carlo Doing a television Convention And I Chopped it up With LL And you know

It was like Yo man Back in them days This is what we had to do We had to stand our ground. No disrespect. And we shook and everything. But this happened maybe five years ago.

Up to that point, I hadn't crossed LL's path, nothing like that. And that whole time? We don't have to. We live in different coasts. He live in the West Coast. No, but Hollywood didn't bring y'all like... No. Because he's like the friend of you now.

All right, what about Moe D? Did you ever cross Moe's path? I love Moe D. No, but Hollywood didn't bring y'all like... What about Moe D? I love Moe D. When that happened, did you ever talk to Moe D like, we gotta fuck L? It wasn't that serious. It was rap shit. It was never that serious.

It was just like, I could rap better than you. You got anything to say? Good. As a young dude coming up, as a young dude coming up, like... Don't embarrass me. Come on, man. You take it all on the same person.

As a young dude coming up, right? So I see you like, you were that Soulja Boy for his rap. You're like, yo, that ain't real hip-hop or whatever, blah, blah. Like, I agree with you because I come up on the CNN, Capone of Norievega i know real hip-hop but i'm i'm taking it as like he's a young boy coming up trying to use a platform just to make it out the hood right so it's like i feel like if i was him like i'll be hurt to hear that first it's like i look up to you like why are you going shit on me i'm just trying to make it out

feed my family okay there was a backstory to that is what happened. This is why we were talking about phones off and cameras off. I was making a mix tape for one of my homies in the hood, right? This dude, this is a regular nigga. I'm on his rap, rapping for him, free, right? So when I get into the booth, them niggas start, like, saying,

niggas don't want to hear you. They want to see Soulz Boy. So they pumping me up. They using this shit to get me hot. They like, yeah, they don't want to hear you They want to see Soulz Boy So they pumping me up They using this shit to get me hot They like yeah they don't want to hear you nigga They want Hurricane Chris nigga And of course they hit my G bone I'm like fuck them niggas These black ass motherfuckers

And I went on a rant And I swear to God I went on a rant And the niggas taped it And put it on in the front of their mixtape That's the fucked up shit about hip hop So that was one of my Ice-T old man rants

He was never supposed to heard it So now I'm in Arizona Minding my business My son goes, Soulja Boy's on the internet talking shit about you So I'm like, what? So apparently they playing the tape back He listening So now I'm like

Well I came back down. I did say this shit. So now I'm out there. So let me verify. Let me break down what I said. And I just told a nigga, straight up, nigga, this is how I feel. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And what?

And then rest is history. But at the time, I felt the bar was starting to drop. And I just think that, once again, there needs to be a degree of difficulty in hip-hop that always has been there. And that's what makes it something special. There's something about a star. A star is something you can't reach. That's why Michael Jordan is a star. You can't reach him.

And that's why we look up to him. But when you're doing something that everybody can do, you're not really a star to me. You're just doing what anybody can do. Show me something I can't do and you get the praise. So, you know, God bless Soulja Boy. But, you know, this is what I do know. Niggas will

end up in their own shit if that's what they deserve. So now you're seeing this guy and looking where his life is. You see what I'm saying? You don't really gotta do nothing to nobody. They're going to end up where they're supposed to be because of their

actions. So, you know, God bless you. Good luck. But now he's fighting gangsters. That's like, if you ever heard about the laws of Murphy, what can happen will happen. And that's what happened. Murphy's Law, yeah.

You know what I'm saying? Murphy's Law. And let me just tell you something. You want to join the gangs? My brother, Benzino, is here. You're a good guy. Benzino. There's a lot of history in this room right now.

Benzino said, yo, you know, Ice-T could have killed me. Oh, shit. I thought he had vodka in there for a second. Oh, Ice-T could've killed me. Oh, shit! I thought he had vodka in there for a second. Oh, Ice-T did all the... You got blessed! You got blessed, brother! Ice-T did whatever he... Ice-T spit all his liquor out.

Hold on. It was real because... Ice-T just blessed me with a quick on my neck. It was real shit, though, and I we had the rso crew and we was on tommy boy and when tommy and which is now owned by warner brothers right right exactly at the same time but it's crazy because all happened at that time. But when he came out with the Cop Killer song, we just got a deal with Tommy Boy, a group from Boston,

got a little single deal. We put a song out called One in the Chamber. So One in the Chamber, we talking about two kids who had got killed in Boston and the police got over with it or whatever, you know what I'm saying? Shot a dude under a car, shot another dude in the back of the head and they got over with it. We ended up getting dropped from Tommy Boy because the Boston Police Patronage Association

had sued us. So I forgot there was an interview and it was something that I found if you did interview, if I did the interview, and it was just something because since he had the cop kill song, we got with the cop that was trying to compare things. And it was saying that I said, well, as far as I know, even though, of course, I see legend in the game, but the song, from what I understood, was kind of rock. It was rap

rock, you know what I'm saying? I said it was kind of different. I said, you know, I said we didn't, I said ours was just a rap song. We was just pretty much talking about, you know, I mean, it was almost like the same thing, but we went out and did a show at the Irvin Amphitheater. So, it's just the five of us, you know did a show at the Irving Empathy. So, it's just the five of us.

You know, we had no security, nothing and shit. So, it was four of us plus we had this little Jamaican nigga that did it on the hook

for one of the songs or whatever. So, when Ice had, he came with mad, I mean, this was the time, I guess,

when they was trying to squash the bloody truth. He had like a hundred niggas with him. So, like, one of the niggas was like, yo, I feel without shit on. I said, oh man.

So I said, shit. So I'm trying to think, right? I'm like, fuck, right? I mean, niggas was deep as fuck. Now my side of the story was this. When the shit happened, the word got out that RSO said that we, I was the reason they got dropped.

Right, right, right. But that's how it came at me. So it was like, RSO said something about you. So like I was telling them, I keep everyone abreast of who we might have beef with. So I think RSO, it popped up on our radar

like, yeah, this RSO nigga said something fly. So then I'm at this place and they go, there they go. See, but we felt it though, because I was like, look. I said, look. I said, look. I said, man. We got to stay together. Nobody run. Nobody run.

I don't give a fuck what happens. We're going to get mopped up together. Somebody run, we're going to have a problem. The little Jamaican nigga was like, he was like, what the fuck did I give myself to do? I'm not even over oh, I didn't even, like, he was like, what the fuck did I give myself to? I'm not even on the show. He's like, I'm not even on the show.

My niggas wasn't even in, we wasn't in that mode. They just identified him, so I walked over to him. No, no, because your man came and was like, Ice-T want a holler. So I said, I'm going to go over there. I'm going to go talk to the OG. We went over there and talked, and I'll never forget this. When you said this, you was like, look, man, I ain't got no beef or nothing. He says, man, you see these niggas? That's the Grape Street.

I'm looking out. I'm like, yeah. I'm looking at it like, yeah, I see it. He's like, man, fuck that. He's like, let's go kill some cops together. That's what he said. You remember that? I was like on some shit like, look, man, my beef is not with you. my beef is not with you.

My beef is not with you. And also, I never really took secondhand information. If somebody say you said something, then I'm going to get you and I'm going to see if you'll say it again. Because niggas get killed over secondhand information. It wasn't real. So if I can't walk up to Ben and say, yo, what's really good? But I was really more or less like, I ain't mad, man. Shit went bad. When my shit got banned, shit went bad for a lot of people.

And everybody said it was my fault. But I'm like, yo, this shit is real. We're real. So if you guys are heated at the cops, then let's go get down. Because I was always like that with niggas. I'm like, you so quick. You kill another homie over an orange soda. But when they come, you run.

Like, where's your gangster at? It's still real to this day. It's still like that. They had the American flag with all red and blue. Remember? The stage turned. Yeah. Like, that was history.

A lot of people didn't even, like, that wasn't documented. But you had the Bloods and Clips on stage. They had American, a big flag. It was big. It was about as many niggas more than Clips on stage. They had American for big flag. It was big. It was about as many niggas more than here on stage. The mics were here. Yeah, yeah. So it was, I mean, it was, that was an ill moment.

It was a moment where L.A. was trying to. And I commend you for that. That was big to do. That hadn't been done before, as far as I knew. You know, I wanted to try to get the L.A. gangs to stop killing each other. I still do. And this is like all in the same gang? No, this is during the 92. This is the truce.

The truce is what's going on. So that's prior to that? And why were you on that record? I was on all in the same gang. And I was after all in the same gang. But you was the reason Boston started when Colors came out. That's when everything started going crazy.

After Colors came's when everything started going crazy after colors everything started everything started going like in st. Louis Boston when colors came out then that's when really I noticed Boston started ganging up you know I'm saying it was right after colors colors like I mean niggas was beefing the movie theater this nigga was going crazy when that shit came out you know you know the thing of it is with me, man, it's like, I'm responsible for a lot of negative shit that happened, but really,

I've always been the person that's really tried to get peace, you know, at the end of the day. My messages can be misconstrued, you know,

because I can go into that mode, but that's not really my get down. My get down is not that. And when people meet me, they go, wow, you're so mild-mannered.

You're so cool. You know, where did all this gangster shit come from? I say, well, people like me are the ones you got to look out for. You dig? The nigga walking around talking all tough and shit like that, he doesn't have any power. That's why I don't understand why Donald Trump, now that he has all this power, needs to calm the fuck down. Relax. Relax.

Relax. All this power You need to calm the fuck down Relax Relax Relax Because when you have When you have that ability Then you don't need To raise your voice You don't need to We can mute him on Twitter You can just become calm Because

It's nothing You know So yeah You know A lot of niggas see me now And I'm not the normal rapper They like Why you ain't

I'm like I don't need to be like that You know That's all that extra shit Right Vin That shit's over It's over It's a different life like, why you ain't I'm like, I don't need to be like that. That's all that extra shit, right, man? That shit's over. It's a different life. It's a different time.

We all grown up with kids. But the same shit can happen. Niggas can bring the gravity quick. It's not all about that smart. I just want to do a real nigga appreciation. I seen my brother Ching Bing is here. My brother Bistro is here. I just want to... Diego, Benzino. That's a great podcast going on right here. I've seen my brother Ching Bing is here My brother Bistro is here Diego

Benzino That's a great podcast going on right here Ice T Ice I can't thank you enough I can never thank you enough for anything you ever did Cause you know what I can never repay you for anything you ever did Let me tell you something

For the culture Ice T was a breaking two man I got you I can never repay you for anything you ever did to me. Let me tell you something. Relax. For the culture. For the culture. I got you. Ice-T was a breaking too, man. I got you. Listen, listen. I can never repay you for anything you ever did to me. It was a breaking. And you know how I repay you with that? What the hell?

I repay you with that is because I always do something for somebody who could never repay me. That's the game. That's true. That's real talk. That's real talk. Pay it forward. That's real talk.

Pay it forward because you're so big, I can't even, there's nothing I can ever offer you. I can never offer you money. I can never offer you anything. All I can offer you is real friendship. But it's always a treat when players meet. It's always a treat when you get around cats of your own caliber and you can chop it up and ain't nobody bragging and talking about that unnecessary shit.

Because at some point, everybody has everything. So there's nothing to brag about now because we all have everything. So now, what are you talking about? What have you done? What are you giving back? You know, that's how really wealthy people brag. You know, that they talk about how much money they gave away.

It's not what they have because we all got the yachts and books. So what are you giving? Oh, I'm giving away $10 million this year. I gave back $50 million. That's how the ballers brag. You know, we still on the nigger side trying to get something. You know what I'm saying? We10 million this year. I gave back $50 million. That's how the ballers brag. We still on the nigger side trying to get something. You know what I'm saying? We ain't there yet.

But my thing is, Ice-T is really just a person that is trying to show people there's no limits. Everywhere you want to go, you can do it. We all come from the hood, and you set your own limits. If you listen to the crowd, you're going to end up with them. You dig? You can just do whatever the fuck you want. You just got to drop a lot of that negative shit. You just got to drop a lot of that boisterous, arrogant shit that gets you shot. You just learn to mellow out.

All of us in this room should live as long as we want. We shouldn't go to prison, all that. Once you get out of your 20s, that's the kill zone right there. If you make it out of that, there's no real. Now you're OG. So I'm the one playing Xbox, Nori. That's all I do. I play Xbox.

Here's the problem. I got a one-year-old dog. That's the game of the day. All right, let me just say this, and then I'm going to end this, right? I'm going to end this. You got a one-year-old dog. Here's the problem. Congrats.

Is they never expected us to make 21. Never. Now, after we make past 25, now they call us an OG. But back in the days, they used to call you

an OG after 35, 40. But now they call you an OG at 25. They used to call you an OG when you Is that messing up our community?

I'm going to give up. I'm out of tune. Understand this, man. I'm on another channel. this man I'm on another channel I'm on a channel called niggas I fuck with and that's only people I care about can you send me that app yeah you on that

you're built in there and everything else is irrelevant and they can come up and they can learn if they don't want to take advice they can learn the way we learn you dig what I'm saying might have to make a detour through the penitentiary, but they gonna figure it out.

Niggas I fuck with. Niggas I fuck with. And that's the only people that answer the phone. Let's make the noise. Niggas I fuck with. Let me just tell you something. I can never thank you

for anything you ever did for me. That's real. And you continue to do it for me. You've never fronted on me. I really, really appreciate everything. I really love you as a person. I love you as an artist. You already know that.

I know. I can guarantee you, when we go downstairs, I could probably know more lyrics than you know to your own shit. Stop it. No, no, no. I'm not going to stop.

I'm going to stop. Because the way he call his verses, no, he really know own shit. Stop it. No, no, no. I'm not going to stop. I'm going to stop because the way he call his verses, no, he really know his shit. No, he don't. So I'm not going to take that challenge. But at the end of the day, Ice-T,

big up to your beautiful wife, Coco. Yeah, everything is good. We're not going to ask you no Coco questions and none of that because you know why? This is hip-hop shit.

Right. So we... Do that to me. Well, you're in love with hip-hop, so you open that door. You open that. Well, you're in love with hip-hop. You open that door. You open that door yourself. You said the right thing. You don't say that.

You open that door. Sorry, dude. Big up to your wife. Chanel is in the building. I got a one-year-old daughter. Look, y'all, just beautiful. And your daughter If you have nice girl

Like you I'm happy I'm happy I'm just very fortunate To still be here To still be in the game I never wanted to be At the top of the game

I just always wanted To be in the game Just bubble You know And just chill I'm about to turn 59 You know what I'm saying Damn I didn't know that

My nigga Nigga I'm standing In the way It's handsome in the face Nigga you know what I'm saying? Damn, I didn't know that. Nigga, I'm standing in the way, it's handsome in the face. You know how we do. I'm not going nowhere. You're 51. Yeah, I'm 59.

Let's make some noise for the 50-year-old niggas in here. So just from that age, just from my age, my perspective is going to be a little bit deep. Of course. The people I grew up with is a little bit different. That's kind of like when you say you cut from a different cloth, I'm cut from a different cloth.

I hold that code, all that. I've always held it. I was telling them earlier, only thing you leave on earth is your reputation and respect that I've earned. My kids, forget the money.

Is it Jack up? Jack Thriller? Tell him we're coming down. We're coming down. But I'm ending like this, right? The only thing that you have in life is your name and your respect and your honor.

And my kids, regardless how much money I can live in, it doesn't matter. If my son says I'm Little Ice and they say, your father was a sucker, then that's his life. He's going to live under that. So if I'm an honorable cat, people are going to look out for him. They're going to go, that's your dad?

You know, the same way we look out for Biggs kids, the same way we look out. And that's what I'm all about. It's about maintaining my respect and my honor for my kids. That's all that's what I'm all about. It's about maintaining my respect and my honor for my kids. That's all. It ain't about the money. It's not. That shit, you know, all that shit comes and goes. It's all about that. As long as you

a player has his health and his freedom, anything can happen, right? If you have your health and your freedom, that's all that matters. So I'm at home playing Xbox, eating tacos. I take my black ass to Law & Order. I come back home. I'm on my motherfucking business.

I'm trying to stay the fuck out the way. I don't want to be on your blogs and none of that old bullshit. I'll pop out when I've got something to sell, when I'm pushing something. Other than that, I'm cool. I'm chilling. You know, because we all got everything we need. Remember this. We all got everything we need.

It's all about now what you want. And this. We all got everything we need. It's all about now what you want. And I can't tell you what you want. We got what we need. What do you need? A pair of pants, some shoes, a car, and rent, and food. That's all you need. Everything else is what you want.

It's a good way. Right. That's all you need. But we got that. Smoke, smoke, smoke. So your life is based around what you want. And you don't know what I want. I might just want to chill and watch TV That's what makes it work

From the bottom of my heart And I'm going to speak for my partner as well Both partners It's kind of awkward This is a religious experience here One partner here One partner here. This is CNN. One partner here.

CNN, what was that? I'm the oldest nigga in the room. I'm the oldest nigga in here. So all y'all pay attention. But half of all of us, we want to thank you because you know what? And we also understand that you had started your podcast. You had did your podcast. But you need to stop that and come with

Drink Champ Network. I'm fucking with you. I did 59 episodes. This is what we were doing. I am Suge Knight and Puff Daddy together. I love it. If they had never had me, if Suge Knight and Puff Daddy got together, this is what Drink Champ Network is. Let's make some noise. Come on.

You never even heard that. Did you? What the fuck was that? Come on You never even heard that Don't die on him bro Then I had to do it all by myself Thank you so much Ice Cause you know why Ice It's a Cuban goodbye There really isn't no other platform Like hip hop Nah we're niggas to talk

We give real talk But not only that We praise our legends Right on my hip hop. Nah, we're niggas guitar. We give real talk, but not only that, we praise our legends. Right. Because every time in our game, after you get 10 years, you're finished.

Yeah. And in every other music or genre of anything, after you get 10 years, you're a legend. Well, come on, man. When you get 10 years in hip hop,

they say you old. Yeah, well, fuck it. And we don't want to do that over here That's another place If I met George Clinton I know George Clinton Regardless of how much money he got in his pocket He's motherfucking George Clinton

And that's how I'm not a disrespectful cat These people are very disrespectful And just so you know You are George Clinton in hip hop Let's make some fucking noise for Ice-Huggin' D. And not only that,

you made it. I'm looking at the kids. That's my kids. That's my children. That's all of them, my children. All of them. They might not look like it,

but they all my children. That's dope. That's all my children. But you are the George Clinton of our hip-hop, and we're going to continue to praise you, keep you alive, and make sure we love you. Thank you, Norris.

Goddamn. Ice-T, make some noise. Drink Champs. Drink Champs is a Drink Champs LLC production, host and executive producers, N-O-R-E and DJ E-F-N. Listen to Drink Champs on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, or Noriega on Twitter. Mine is at Who's Crazy on IG, at DJ EFN on Twitter. And most importantly, stay up to date with the latest releases, news, and merch by going to drinkchamps.com. Why is a soap opera western like Yellowstone so wildly successful. The American West with Dan Flores is the latest show from the Meat Eater Podcast Network. So join me starting Tuesday, May 6th, where we'll delve into

stories of the West and come to understand how it helps inform the ways in which we experience the region today. Listen to the American West with Dan Flores on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.

This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. know. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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