Ice-T Gets Emotional Reflecting On 2Pac's Demise: 'Death Row Trained [Him] To Be A Killer'

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 me.'”

Ice-T then briefly paused his story as he began to choke up off-camera. However, he was able to quickly regain his composure and continued reflecting on 2Pac’s tragic and untimely ending.

“See the thing is, when you working with a rapper, you have to get a rapper in a state of mind,” he said. “Death Row was training ‘Pac to be a killer, which you heard in the music.

“But I did a thing for Mike Tyson which is like, you train a man to be a pitbull then you get mad when he eats the furniture. You see what I mean? So that energy bled into the streets, to his demise.”

During his previous appearance on Drink Champs back in 2017, Ice-T spoke more about his relationship with 2Pac and revealed he rebuked the late rapper the first time he heard “Hit ‘Em Up,” his infamous 1996 diss song aimed at Biggie.

“He was at my house with The Outlawz, a couple of The Outlawz, and he played me ‘Hit ‘Em Up.’ And I didn’t like it,” Ice said. “I was like, ‘You gon’ start some shit.’ I didn’t like him starting the beef. I said, ‘You going in on dude’s wife and all that.’

“Then at that time, he thought B.I.G. had shot him. You ain’t supposed to be handling that with a record. Really, are you? So, we kinda was on bad terms with that because he wanted me to ride with him, but I was like, ‘I couldn’t.’”

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Meanwhile, fellow West Coast rapper Kurupt also recently reflected on 2Pac’s turbulent time on Death Row, revealing his 1996 murder was the reason he departed the label.

“Everywhere we was going we had to keep our eyes open, 10 toes on the ground,” he told The Art of Dialogue. “We had to stay heated and make sure that we protected ourselves. And then to go to Death Row and feel the same way as when we in the streets: we all kinda got burnt on that.”

“We all was a little tired of walking on egg shells,” Tha Dogg Pound member continued. “Because if we gon’ be here and it feels the same was as being on the streets, then what’s the difference? If a n-gga gotta come to the studio heated, what’s the difference?

“Dr. Dre set up the woo-wop, like, ‘It can be done, you can leave.’ When I saw Dr. Dre do that, then 2Pac died, that was the final straw for me. N-ggas is getting shot even with Suge. Now that is it.”