Ice-T supports Swizz Beatz’s plan to create fund for hip hop founders
“There’s no retirement for rappers,” he said. “There is nothing. A lot of them have fallen on hard times.”
Ice-T is on board with Swizz Beatz’s plan to create a fund for the founders of hip hop. Earlier this month, Swizz said that he wanted to raise a million dollars for each of the icons.
“The fact that we’re not paying taxes on who started hip hop, shows we don’t fucking really love hip hop,” Swizz said during an Instagram Live session for Beatz’s Zone Radio. “We need to be paying — fuck the government — we need to be paying taxes to the creatives of hip hop [who] gave us freedom of speech to move forward.”
The “6 ‘N the Mornin’” MC talked to HipHopDX and said that he supports Swizz’s idea. He also revealed that he’s been looking out for his friends Grandmaster Caz and Grandmaster Melle Mel.
“I’ve always looked out for people like Caz and Mel—those have been my friends,” he told the outlet. “I don’t have a problem with it. I don’t expect the young kids to be involved in it, but then you do have enough people like myself and Swizz and people who have been very successful, you know? There’s no retirement for rappers. There is nothing. A lot of them have fallen on hard times.”
“I mean, if it was a fund, it wouldn’t be an individual person giving it to them,” he continued. “I think what they’d have to do is create a board of people—maybe like the Universal Hip Hop Museum — that would be able to handle the funds and get it out to people in need. I think that’s very honorable that Swizz Beatz would bring that up and say that. I think it’s cool. I think it’s just very technical about who they feel deserves that.”
“I think there should be some kind of an insurance plan something people can donate to,” Ice proposed. “See, certain people from that era are okay. Like, I’m okay, Chuck D’s okay. Russell is okay. JAY-Z’s okay. Puff’s okay. LL’s okay. There’s a lot of people that are okay, but a lot of people aren’t. It’s worth investigating. I would be part of it. I definitely would donate.”
Would you donate to Swizz’s fund for the founders of hip hop?