Ice-T Claims 50 Cent, Bobby Shmurda Were Last Gangster Rappers

The rap game has evolved over the years and Ice-T has shared his thoughts on the rhymers he considers to be gangster rappers.

During an interview with Unique Access Ent., which was uploaded to YouTube on Wednesday (Dec. 2), Ice-T said that 50 Cent and Bobby Shmurda were the last artists to embody the true essence of a gangster rapper.

“To me, the last gangster rapper was 50 Cent,” the veteran California MC begins. “Because he basically embodied that image, that ‘I don’t give a fuck.’ 50 Cent had you really believing you didn’t wanna fuck with him. I heard 50 Cent when he was beefing with Fat Joe and he was like, ‘Fat Joe, I’m right down the street.’ It’s real hard to find a nigga when he got a gun, ain’t it? But, I think 50 was the last one who did it that I believed.”

Ice-T included The Game as well, but says that once Fif and The Game’s rap movement dissipated, his thoughts on Game being a gangster rapper appear to have faded.

Later on in the conversation, T named the currently incarcerated Brooklyn rapper. “You know who the real last gangster rapper was? Bobby Shmurda,” he continued. “But, that’s when keeping it real goes wrong. You dig? That’s when them GS9 boys… And you know when I saw ‘em, I said, ‘These little niggas is probably the business. These little niggas look wild like that.’ But, they were bar-for-bar snitching on themselves.”

He then said that gangster rap was needed to basically shock America and let people know that this type of music is pure, unapologetic and shouldn’t be “fucked with.”

Ice-T also said that while the new age trap rappers don’t fit the gangster mold, they have convinced him that they can “get high” and that they can “sell a little drugs,” but they don’t “scare him.” He added that a real gangster rapper has to impose a little fear onto their listeners.

50 Cent has been on the music scene executive producing and appearing on Pop Smoke’s posthumous debut album Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon. However, as far as his own solo efforts, his last release was Animal Ambition in 2014. Fif has since dove into the TV, film and author space.

As for Bobby Shmurda, he is still behind bars following the arrest of himself and members of his GS9 crew. Bobby is serving time for conspiracy and weapons possession charges. He recently had a parole hearing, in which he was denied being released early. He’ll be serving out the remainder of his sentence and is expected to be a free man in December of 2021.

Check out Ice-T weighing in on the last gangster rappers around the 4:00-mark below.