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Tha D and KK say that Ice T brought a new type of storytelling to rap.
Growing up in Compton, California in the 1980s, 2nd II None members Tha D and KK say that Ice T and his breakthrough 1986 song “6 In The Mornin’” changed rap.
"That was, right there, the ‘OK' for us,” Tha D says during an exclusive interview with HipHopDX. "For any rapper that came after a lot of that – you know the pioneers – it was OK to say 'Fuck you.' It was OK to say this, 'Fuck the police [the name of N.W.A’s most notable single].' It was OK. Ice-T stemmed under that, as well. Everything they was puttin' out back then, '6 in The Morning,’ the shock value on that was so consistent of what we was going through...Before, it was like you keep that under the hush, 'cause you're trying to get away with something. But, that's what he gave to the game. Just like [Ice] Cube.”
2nd II None released its eponymous album in 1991 and released its 13-cut Compton Muzik album this year. KK and Tha D say they have always appreciated Ice T’s perspective, the street-centered and informative storytelling he brought to such songs as “High Rollers” and “You Played Yourself."
"Being an originator or being one able to do it or actually was doing it when no one else was doing it,” Tha D says. "Then, to have the knowledge to speak on the street elements and what's going on on that, Hollywood. And it's the truth.”
"It's like a short film with music,” KK adds, "with a score and soundtrack all in one."