Following controversial antisemitic remarks made by rapper Kanye West last month, fellow hip-hop artist Ice-T has now revealed why he hasn’t spoken out against the star.
Speaking to AllHipHop for an interview published on Monday, Ice T explained, “I don’t really have any opinion, and I don’t want to be somebody trying to slander somebody. That’s not fly.
“Right now, people want just come out and say shit. I mean, whatever my view, I like to keep that in private.”
He added, “It’s not gangster to come out and talk about somebody like that.”
Ice-T went on to argue that while people have the right to free speech, you still need to “watch what you say”.
“So, when you say something, you have to be prepared for the ramifications of what you say, and apparently he is.”
The drama comes following a post made by Ye on October 7th, in which he shared a screenshot of a conversation between himself and P Diddy on Instagram.
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“Ima use you as an example to show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me. I told you this was war,” he wrote.
Shortly after, the rapper was banned from Instagram. He then took to Twitter to make more anti-Semitic comments in a now-deleted tweet. Kanye wrote: “When I wake up I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE. The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also. You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.”
It’s inferred that West was referencing DEFCON 3, which is an alert used in the US military that means “increase in force readiness above normal readiness” and is regularly used to signal a serious threat.
Following the statement, West was dropped by a number of companies, including Def Jam Recordings, Balenciaga, and Adidas, with the latter receiving harsh criticism for their initial silence on the matter.
For more on this topic, follow the Hip Hop Observer.
