Ice-T sat down with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show Thursday (April 21) and was asked to offer his opinions on some of the world’s most conflicted topics — like whether it was better to mute or block someone on social media, whether slow walkers are more infuriating than slow talkers and whether PlayStation is better than Xbox. He was then asked to cast his vote on the great of all time rap album, and Ice-T went with a classic.
“I’ll say Paid In Full by Eric B & Rakim,” he said of the duo’s 1987 debut. “That was the most influential album to me when I was making my album.”
He continued, “I’ll say Fear of a Black Planet by Public Enemy will be a close second and then Straight Outta Compton by N.W.A would be Top 3, but each one of those albums had a lot to do with influencing me as an MC, but when I heard Rakim I had never heard nobody rap like that and it was so many hits on that album. Get Paid In Full, you will bang it all the way to the house.”
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The rap trailblazer also released his iconic debut Rhyme Pays in 1987, but the veteran lyricist recently had to quell an online troll who questioned his Hip Hop legitimacy.
“Ice T really had zero joints but he’s still a hip hop legend,” said a user on Twitter. “That’s amazing. Dude is an overall 48 player rating, yet he found the hall of fame.”
The questionable statement spawned immense pushback from rap fans, including Questlove and Journalist Tariq Nasheed, but when HipHopDX spoke with Ice-T, he had no idea his name was being dragged through the mud.
“I had no idea what happened,” he said. “But if you’ve played the game right, your fans will always hold you down when some clown ass tries to diss on the low. I may not be in anybody’s Top 5, but I’ve taken Hip Hop for a ride I hope others get to enjoy. Thanks to all that fuck with me.”
Watch Ice-T’s Jimmy Fallon interview below.
Paid in Full is definitely a top 3 rap album of all time. I have it number 2 behind illmatic.
Paid In Full is a great selection, I like Illmatic, but there are so many awesome joints over the years it is so hard to say. Ice-T totally put it down and anyone who doesn’t understand that doesn’t understand his greatness, or you are too young to have lived during that era. Krs-1 & Boogie Down Productions, Kane, Slick Rick, 2-Short, NWA, etc.
gotta pick em by decade for 80s yup paid in full followed closely by bdp criminal minded, run dmcs self titled debut, ll cool js radio, my top 4ish
90s ridin dirty but way too many to pick just one and then hip hop died in 2000 when corporations pushed that white guy beefin with boy bands to the masses which turned into the mumble dr suess bars we have today so no comment
You hit the nail right on the head?
Paid In Full is damn sure hard to beat, particularly from that era. But don’t sleep on Follow The leader, Let The Rhythm Hit ‘Em and Don’t Sweat The Technique either! Classics, all.
Long Hot Summer by masta ace is the greatest hip hop album i ever heard followed by main source breaking atoms and midnight marauder by tribe.
In his era of course!!I have Makaveli and It Was Written as my GOAT albums
PAC or Biggie couldn’t even lace RAKIM’s laces…
Only buddy 4 Cuban linx
Only BUILT 4 Cuban linx
100% “Paid In Full” is the greatest rap album of all time, and Rakim is the greatest rapper of all time. End of story.
RAKIM is the HipHop ? (GOAT) period…
Ice T fought the law and the law didn’t win. Look it up. He was and is a hip hop warrior. If you don’t know, now you know. Legendary.