Home Page

Ice-T Tells Us About His Twitter Pet Peeve, The ‘Law & Order’ Crossover Event, Body Count, And… Laundry?

by
Getty Image/Ralph Ordaz

Ice-T remains an institution throughout the various realms of pop culture, going strong for over 30 years now. From his earliest 1980s solo rapper days to his heavy-metal stylings with Body Count (the group recently won a Grammy), his influence cannot be underestimated. Nor has his career remained predictable, although once Ice-T makes a move, he does not waver, which is precisely why Law and Order: SVU fans have dug him as Fin Tutuola since the year 2000. He’s done reality TV and tells it to everyone straight on Twitter, and the man has never been anything but consistently entertaining.

Such a reliable nature might work to Ice-T’s advantage with his new ad campaign for Tide alongside Stone Cold Steve Austin. You’d probably never expect to see him associated with a laundry detergent brand, but he’s on board to educate people (through the #TurnToCold campaign) about the environmental (and money-saving) benefits of washing clothes in cold water. Not that Ice-T actually does the laundry at home, which is something that he had no problem admitting while he was cool enough to chat with us. We touched upon plenty of topics during our discussion, including when he’ll tour again, how he feels about working with Chris Meloni on the Law and Order: SVU crossover with Organized Crime, his approach to Twitter, and other assorted odds and ends.

Is this really the O.G. Original Gangster on the line here?

Hey! How you doin,’ Kim?

I should tell you that Law and Order: SVU was once a go-to syndicated show while I did cardio at the gym. Now we don’t go to the gym, and it’s a little bit sad!

Can I tell you a funny story?

Please do.

I was in Miami one time, and this lady walked up to me, and she goes, “I was on the treadmill, and I said I would go off when Law and Order went off, and it was a marathon, so I ran 26 miles.” I was like, she did a TV marathon and a marathon at the same time, okay yeah, be careful with that.

It’s strangely motivational to watch you guys take down the indisputably bad guys, and you’ve been on the show for over 20 years at this point.

Yeah, 22 years. I technically came in during the first episodes of the second season, but they shot it during the first season, so I try to claim the first season, but there’ll be arguments. [Laughs] But I’ve been on it a long time.

You’re a pretty fit guy. With gyms being closed and all that and touring not happening, are you still getting your workouts?

I stay in shape. I have a little mini-gym in my house, so I do my dips and my calisthenics, so I’ve always pretty much been in shape. You can get out of shape very easily as you get older, so I gotta stay on top of it. Since I’m on television all the time, I don’t wanna look at myself and say, “Look at yo’ fat ass!” I’m forced to be vain in that respect, but when you marry a swimsuit model, it’s not smart to get fat, so I’ve got a lot of motivation around to stay slim and trim, but I’m doing okay.

You’re SVU-ing it on an April 1 crossover episode, which is the premiere of Chris Meloni’s Organized Crime spinoff. What’s it like to have him back in the saddle?

Well, it’s fun for me. The thing of it is, the difference between me and the fans is that I’ve been in touch with Chris over the last ten years while he’s done his movies and while he had his show, Happy. Me and Chris kinda became friends because we worked together twelve years, so when we got back and we did our scenes together, it’s just like old times. We’re glad to have him back, but Chris wanted to do other things. A lot of actors, well, you don’t become an actor to just play one role for twenty years. It’s about being able to be different characters, and that’s what actors love to do. So, now he’s back, he’s happy, and he’s got his own show, so when you see this reunion, it’s gonna blow everybody away because it’s written well, and it’s good.

Speaking of blown minds… dare I ask how you got involved with your new Tide commercial?

I got cold-called. When people want you to do commercials, the first thing you do is ask, “Does the shoe fit?” “How am I gonna be connected to Tide?” Although I use Tide already, so they told me that cold washing helps the environment, it saves money, and also, it doesn’t ruin your clothes, which is smarter. And Tide does not require hot water to activate. It cleans just as well in cold water, so I thought that was cool. I was like, “Okay, okay, got that!” And then I figured out, “Oh, it’s because my name is Ice.” And they said, “The campaign will be you and Stone Cold Steve Austin,” so I was like, “I’m in.” I’m a fan of Stone Cold Steve Austin, so we went and did the campaign, and it’s a really cool campaign. We’re cold-calling people and telling them about the benefits of using Tide in cold water. We cold-called Mr. T, and it’s kind-of a cool commercial.

And does Ice-T do the laundry at home?

No, I don’t do it. Coco does the laundry. We’ve got a very old-school family situation, so she loves doing laundry, and she’s like, “I’ve got this.” Because she knows that if I do the laundry, I’m gonna half-ass do it.

You know what people say: you can’t be good at everything.

But I told her, and she got the memo that we no longer have to use this hot water, from what I understand, to clean it. And I don’t have to shrink my clothes up and have the colors running and all that stuff, so it’s great.

Can we talk about your wonderful Twitter account? It is consistently entertaining.

Let’s talk!

You’re out there lobbying for an “edit” button while saying that you’ve heard all of the comments for and against one, but dammit, you want one.

I think it’s stupid that they don’t have one! I mean, Instagram has one. People are so concerned: “Oh, you could say something, and then you could take it back!” You can screenshot, and all the reasons they don’t want an edit button are negative. It’s just based around catching someone saying something and then trying to deny it. It’s based in negativity, it’s not based to help people. There’s a million different ways they could do an edit button. They can make it so that if you edit it, it says it’s been edited — it could have a little symbol. What they don’t understand is that I’ll put up a tweet, and it might get 2000 likes, and then I’ll realize that something’s spelled wrong, and then you don’t wanna take that one down. Because I’ve had times when I’ve had a bunch of people like something, and I took it down, and they got offended. But you know, it’s Twitter, and maybe Twitter’s just not wanting to be like IG, but you know, whatever. Then don’t comment on my spelling! All the spelling Nazis, stop.

Twitter is for bursts of 240 characters. Typos happen that way.

And also, Twitter’s something you’re doing on your phone! Your thumbs are moving, and they won’t have an edit button, but they’ve got autocorrect. So why do you have autocorrect if I’m talking slang? So whatever, it’s nothing… I just had a moment when I felt like saying it because I just tweeted something where I didn’t put an -ing on a word, and I felt like, “Man, why can’t I just edit this stuff?” Whatever, who cares.

You once tweeted about blowing through a toll booth on accident and briefly getting arrested.

Yeahhhh. [Laughs]

There was quite a reaction to that saga on Twitter and on the news.

It was stupid. You’ve got real crimes and all that going on, and as far as arresting me? Yeah, I think they overreacted. They could’ve given me a ticket. A lot of times when a cop arrests a celebrity, it gives them the chance to be famous. They never arrested anyone, but they arrested JLo. So now, they get to say, “Ahhhh, I put JLo in handcuffs.” It’s something that they do for themselves. You know, as many crimes as I’ve committed in my life, and you’re gonna bust me for running a toll? It’s funny to me. If there’s nobody in the trunk, I’m not sweating, so I’m not really worried about it. The thing is, I was on my way to go play a cop! on TV! And you guys are busting me.

Speaking of your SVU character again, there was a Cameo you did for some John Mulaney fans, and they got you to poke fun at Fin Tutuola — that time that he took a long time to grasp the concept of sex addiction — and you played along, and that Cameo clip went viral. People ask you to say some really odd stuff.

I don’t even remember that one! On Cameo, most of the people just want you to say “hi” and “happy birthday” and anniversaries. There were some people who had a sixty-second wedding anniversary. When I first started Cameo, I didn’t think that was as cool as it was until I saw the reaction. When I saw the way that people reacted to cameos, I thought, “Oh, this is cool.” So there’s “tell my brother to stay in school,” or “congratulate my teen” for this or that, it’s a cool platform, and I enjoy doing ’em.

We are almost out of time here, but I’m a Body Count fan, and you guys won a Grammy this year. You once talked about your heavy metal influences, like Black Sabbath. Do you dig any particular contemporary metal bands?

We based our band off of Slayer and Suicidal Tendencies, and of course, Black Sabbath. I like Lamb of God and Fit for an Autopsy, which is the band of my producer (Will Putney). We’ve been out with so many bands. Of course, I like Power Trip, but it kind of sucks because this past year, we couldn’t tour. We put out Carnivore, and then the pandemic hit, so we dropped an album, and we haven’t been able to do a single show.

Do you know when touring will likely resume for you?

Everybody’s saying 2022, so we’re gonna come up with some other ways to get the music out to the fans. Right now we’re doing an EP to connect to Carnivore because we don’t wanna just step over that album like a dead body. We got a Grammy for it, so we’re trying to keep our fans entertained, so we’re thinking of different options. We just did a fan video for “The Hate Is Real.” Have you seen that, the one with the puppets?

Oh, I saw it on Twitter and did not click on it yet, so I’m doing fantastic here.

You’re gonna bug out on that one. I had a concept where I said, “The fans are gonna make the video,” and this one was the winner. It’s outrageous.

I’ll go watch it now, and it’s been real talking to you.

Well, keep following me and stay on Twitter. You never know what’s gonna happen, day by day. Someone might pop off, and I might need to let ’em have it.

‘Law and Order: Organized Crime’ debuts on April 1, and find out more about how to #TurnToCold via Tide’s website.

A New Song That Samples Vanessa Carlton’s ‘A Thousand Miles’ Has Rap Fans In A Tizzy

by

Odds are, you have no idea who FastMoney Goon, Spinabenz, Whoppa Wit Da Choppa, or Yungeen Ace are. But the odds are, you probably know Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles,” so the probability that you’ll soon learn about this crop of hot, young rappers shot up exponentially with their savvy sample of the 2001 pop hit for their new single “Who I Smoke.” Thanks to the chopped-up loop, the song is as inescapably catchy as it is ludicrously violent, and it’s got fans on social media amused and befuddled in equal measure, even though it isn’t the first time a rapper has cheekily appropriated the buoyant hit.

For one thing, the song’s cartoonishly reckless threats of violence clash so much with the bubbly mood of the original sample, it’s hard to figure out if we should be taking these kids seriously or laughing them off. Whoppa’s verse contains an extended riff on enemies he’s supposedly sent to meet their maker, while Yungeen Ace straight up croons about the deaths of foes, with both rappers naming names. It’s so beyond disrespectful that you almost hope they’re just, like, naming Gamertags and referring to Call Of Duty shootouts instead of real ones.

However, that hasn’t stopped the track from becoming a viral hit and inspiring a raft of memes, jokes, and bemused commentary on Twitter pondering the ridiculousness of the situation. As for who these four rappers are, Google has few answers for any of them except for Yungeen Ace, an up-and-coming rapper from Jacksonville who I’ve covered before in passing. Let’s hope that their joyful breakout doesn’t turn out to bite them as it did the members of GS9 back in 2014. For now, enjoy the song above and the memes below.

Nike Reportedly Sues MSCHF Over The Lil Nas X ‘Satan Shoes’

by
YouTube

Over the weekend, Fox News anchor Pete Hegseth speculated that Nike might have grounds to sue Lil Nas X collaborator MSCHF over its “Satan shoes” — customized Nike Air Max 97s supposedly featuring a drop of blood mixed with red ink in each of the 666 pair’s Air Max units — made to promote Nas’ new single “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).” Well, it looks like the sneaker giant really has done just that, with New York Times Sports reporter Kevin Draper posting a copy of the first page of a lawsuit filed in New York’s Eastern District for trademark infringement, false designation of origin/unfair competition, and trademark dilution.

It’s not an entirely unusual move for Nike, which jealously guards its trademarks but usually allows for customizers and collaborators to sell limited runs of its sneaker models. Just recently, Nike settled a lawsuit with streetwear brand Warren Lotas, which sold a lookalike sneaker it collaborated with Jeff Staple on. The “Illegal Fake” sneakers toyed with the design of the Nike Dunk, transforming the trademark swoosh into a hockey goalie mask a la Jason Voorhees of the Friday The 13th franchise. However, rather than going to court, Warren Lotas agreed to cease production and sale of its shoe and refrain from creating similar designs in the future.

As MSCHF and Lil Nas used Air Max 97s to create their controversial sneaker and judging from the confusion displayed on Fox News and in other outlets, something similar could happen here, although there are some differences as well. MSCHF didn’t create a new sneaker similar to Nike’s, it simply bought and customized several pairs of the existing shoe. Still, MSCHF may not want to go toe-to-toe in court with the behemoth brand and choose to settle as well. However, they won’t have to pull shoes from any shelves; according to Lil Nas X, all 666 pairs sold out within a minute of availability.

A Fox News Anchor Condemned Nike For Lil Nas X ‘Satan Shoes’ And Got Checked By His Colleague

by
Getty Image

Lil Nas X’s collaborator on those controversial “Satan shoes,” MSCHF, is living up to its name. The design collective’s marketing for the customized Air Max 97 has certainly riled up a fair number of commentators, including Fox News’ Pete Hegseth. The Fox & Friends anchor bit the bait hard, censuring Nike over the shoes and making a false equivalence to a planned pair of Air Max 1s that was discontinued and recalled by the shoe giant over its use of the original, 13-star version of the American flag.

Of course, Hegseth missed the part where Nike wasn’t directly involved in the creation of MSCHF’s limited-edition pair and was promptly fact-checked by none other than Adam Klotz, the show’s weekend meteorologist. He pointed out that “they’re not really Nike. They’re Nike shoes, but there’s a middleman who bought Nike shoes and turned them into these.” To save face, Hegseth posited that the manufacturer could file a lawsuit against the customizer, which … no, man. Just, no.

As far as the story behind those Betsy Ross Air Max 1 goes, those were discontinued by the brand itself after Colin Kaepernick, one of Nike’s most prominent spokespeople, reached out to the company’s leadership with concerns about the old flag’s repurposed connotations. He wasn’t the only one; users on social media also called on Nike to reconsider the design, pointing out how its behind appropriated by some white supremacist groups due to its connection to the nation’s early history when slavery was still legal.

Meanwhile, Nike had just taken flak from conservative groups, including Fox News, over partnering with Kaepernick after his protest of the national anthem at football games. In both cases of conservative backlash, the targets of their complaints would appear to be the victors; not only did Nike boast a 4% sales increase in 2019, Lil Nas X’s customized sneakers sold out within a minute of going on sale.

Watch the clip from Fox & Friends above.

Jason Statham Shoots Post Malone In A New ‘Wrath Of Man’ Trailer

by

As Post Malone has become a bigger and bigger star in the music world, he has gradually been increasing his profile in the cinematic realm as well. Last year, he had a role in the Mark Wahlberg film Spenser Confidential, in which he had to opportunity to engage in fisticuffs with Marky Mark. Now he’s in another movie, and yet again, he squaring off against the leading man. Even just based on the new trailer for the Jason Statham-starring Wrath Of Man, it seems clear that Malone’s character doesn’t last too long.

In the film, Statham works for a company that uses armored trucks to transport large quantities of money. In a scene from the trailer, Malone is part of a crew trying to pull off a heist on one of these vehicles. Statham does his action star thing and kills everybody involved. It seem Malone gets away temporarily, only for Statham to track him down, shoot him from behind, then put one more bullet in him as he lays on the ground.

Malone filmed his parts in 2019, as photos of him on set surfaced around then, seemingly filming the scene depicted in the new trailer.

Watch the Wrath Of Man trailer above.

Fousheé Gets A Feature From Lil Wayne On The Optimistic New Single ‘Gold Fronts’

by

Things have been going great for upcoming R&B artist Fousheé lately. Last week, her breakout hit “Deep End” made history by being the first single by a Black woman to hit the top 10 of the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart in over 30 years. Now, she has a new collaboration with one of the biggest names in hip-hop history, as she and Lil Wayne have shared a video for the uplifting “Gold Fronts.”

Fousheé spoke about the track with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe and explained how she and Wayne came to collaborate:

“I was like, ‘How did you find me?’ And he was like, ‘Well, I’m not really on social media. I don’t search for artists. I have two TVs in my skate room. One is on ESPN, one is on Revolt, and the TV just plays music videos back to back. It’s like, if you end up on that screen and I like you, then I know it’s meant to be.’ And then he was like, he was skating and he saw the video, the ‘Deep End’ video. And it stood out to him because he thought it was like a movie. […] Then he saw me pull out a guitar and he was like, ‘No, stop. Stop the music,’ because I guess he was playing music. […] And he stopped and he listened to it. He was like… he really liked what he heard. The guitar stood out. It’s crazy.”

Check out the “Gold Fronts” video above.

Lil Nas X Wants Fans To Troll Chick Fil-A By Playing ‘Call Me By Your Name’ In The Drive Thru

by
YouTube

Lil Nas X is very, very good at trolling his critics on the internet. Whether through direct responses to his detractors like Joyner Lucas and Dave East or more subtly calling out the hypocrisy behind negative commentary against him, Nas X has shown himself to be one of music’s most creative clap-back connoisseurs.

In the wake of his new song “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” those critics are giving him plenty of ammunition. On the day of the song’s release, he gave a measured response to the complaints against the video, joking, “Y’all love saying we going to hell but get upset when I actually go there.” After five days of escalating attacks though, he’s going on the offensive.

“OMG if you roll down your window at Chic Fil A playing ‘Call Me By Your Name’ they give u a free sandwich and a lemonade,” he tweeted, slyly pointing out how the restaurant chain had reportedly spent millions supporting anti-LGBTQ groups such as Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Paul Anderson Youth Home. Nas, who is gay and pointed out how the “Montero” video was a commentary on anti-gay messaging in pop culture, warned his haters: “I had 9 months to plan this rollout. Y’all are not gonna win bro.”

Some fans are already taking his advice to heart, tweeting their own joking — and polar opposite — results after trying out his tip.

Nas also continued his campaign of mockery against the Satanic Panic by sharing an extended version of “Montero.” You can check that out here.

Lil Nas X’s New ‘Satan’s Extended Version’ Of ‘Montero’ Is His Latest Response To The Video’s Backlash

by

Lil Nas X’s video for “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” has been the talk of the music world since it was released on Friday. Some people love it while others don’t care for some elements of it, like its setting in Hell and Nas giving Satan a lap dance. Nas has spent some time responding to the backlash over the past few days and his latest return-fire is a new longer version of the song, which he has cheekily dubbed the “Satan’s Extended Version.”

The original song runs for 2 minutes and 17 seconds, while the extended version is beefed up to 2 minutes and 50 seconds. The longer version extends the outro with more of the instrumental and some lyrics from earlier in the track repeated.

Nas previously addressed the theme of the video, tweeting shortly after its release, “y’all love saying we going to hell but get upset when i actually go there lmao.” Over the weekend, he also responded to criticism from Joyner Lucas, who raised concerns about the song’s potential impact on children who like “Old Town Road.” Nas replied, “i literally sing about lean & adultery in old town road. u decided to let your child listen. blame yourself.”

Listen to “Montero (Call Me By Your Name) (Satan’s Extended Version)” above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Lil Nas X’s ‘Satan Shoes’ Reportedly Sold Out In Under A Minute

by
YouTube

The old adage that controversy sells has never been more accurate than when it comes to Lil Nas X. He first shot to superstardom thanks to the chilly reception from the country music establishment to his breakout single “Old Town Road” and now, he’s making even more of a fuss with his fantastical video for “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” and its clever cross-marketing gimmick. The “Satan shoes” Lil Nas X collaborated with design company MSCHF on may have drawn plenty of criticism for their wild conceptual execution but they also sold out in under a minute, according to Nas himself.

https://twitter.com/LilNasX/status/1376551415540195331

The shoes, which are customized Nike Air Max 97s (without Nike’s involvement), were produced in an ultra-limited run of just 666 pairs and reportedly featured one drop of human blood mixed into the ink used to fill the air unit. They retailed at $1,018 a pair, so for them to sell out so quickly is kind of an impressive feat. They haven’t hit StockX just yet, but you can bet when they do the markup will be absolutely insane.

The backlash to both the shoes and the video have “Satanic Panic” trending on Twitter as Gen X users fondly remember the similar fuss over now beloved cultural icons like Ozzy Osbourne, Harry Potter, and Dungeons & Dragons. Their ridicule hasn’t stopped conservative commentator and grumpy hip-hop heads from trying to condemn him, but as usual, he’s had a witty comeback every step of the way — including a funny, Chick Fil-A-inspired take on his shoes that evokes the backlash against the restaurant chain after accusations of homophobia against it prompted boycotts just over a year ago.

Check out the video for “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” here.

Lil Nas X Claps Back At Joyner Lucas’ ‘Montero’ Criticism: There’s ‘Lean And Adultery In ‘Old Town Road”

by
YouTube

Lil Nas X’s new “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” video has become a moment since its release last week, partially because reactions have been mixed. Some admire the clip’s creativity and execution (like Big Sean) while others pushed back against the imagery of Hell and the devil. It turns out Joyner Lucas has a foot in both camps and Nas has shared his thoughts on the criticism from his fellow rapper.

In a pair of tweets, Lucas (who became a trending topic on Twitter after posting about the video) started by praising the clip before noting the video’s potential impact on children: “That @LilNasX video is wild but as a artist he doing everything he supposed to do. Creating viral moments, making people talk, & creating content he already knew you was going to react to. It’s a formula guaranteed to work. I doubt he actually worships the devil. I think the biggest problem for me is the fact he dont understand ‘old town road’ is every kids anthem. Children love him for that record. They tuned in and subscribed to his channels. So with no disclaimer he just dropped some left field ish & all our kids seen it. Smh”

Nas had a response ready, tweeting, “i literally sing about lean & adultery in old town road. u decided to let your child listen. blame yourself.”

Nas has a point. Despite how popular his global hit became with fans of all ages, the song features lyrics that probably won’t be repeated on Sesame Street any time soon. Specifically, Nas was referring to the song’s second verse: “Ridin’ on a tractor / Lean all in my bladder / Cheated on my baby / You can go and ask her / My life is a movie / Bull ridin’ and boobies / Cowboy hat from Gucci / Wrangler on my booty.”

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.