Ice-T’s otherwise spirited Drink Champs interview was marked by a brief moment of poignancy when the gangsta rap legend reflected on the demise of 2Pac, saying Death Row Records was “training him to be a killer.”
During his lengthy interview with N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN, Ice-T was asked if he felt there was a difference between ‘Pac’s early career as a backup dancer and occasional MC for Digital Underground and his commercial peak when he was signed to Suge Knight’s infamous record label.
“Absolutely,” he answered. “When I first met ‘Pac and Money-B and all them, it was Digital Underground, so you got Shock G who’s a hundred percent different. I didn’t even recognize ‘Pac as militant or nothing like that, just as a dancer, friend, cool.
“And when he came out, I was like, ‘Yo, that’s the same dude!’ But I couldn’t disrespect him because his lyrics were deep, and I got to work on [Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z…] — me, him and Cube on ‘Last Wordz.’”
He added: “So what people don’t understand is, I love ‘Pac. But he’s an artist to me, he was just another artist. People are like, ‘Pac is a God!’ But ‘Pac is an artist. We were friends.”
Ice-T then recalled the time that Shock G — the Digital Underground frontman who was ‘Pac’s early mentor and who sadly passed away himself in 2021 — visited his house and pleaded with him to have a sit-down with the All Eyez On Me rapper during his ultimately fateful stint on Death Row.
“I had a story where Shock G came to my house,” he said. “I lived in the Hollywood Hills, Shock came to my door. I said, ‘Why the fuck you knocking on my door?’ He said, ‘I was up in the Hills, I asked does any Black people live up here.’ They said, ‘Ice lives right over there.’ So Shock knocked on my door.
“We sat down and he was like, ‘Ice, talk to ‘Pac, man. They feeding ‘Pac gunpowder. ‘Pac is not listening to…
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