Ice-T has launched an EDM record label. What does this mean exactly? Well it means that there has been a huge convergence the past few years where EDM and hip-hop have joined forces to create an entirely new sound. Take into consideration collaborations between hip-hop artists like Post Malone, 21 Savage, Cardi B, and EDM artists like Excision, Tiesto, and Diplo.
Hip-hop isn’t just about the lyrics, it’s also about the music behind the lyrics. You can hear hip-hop tracks thrown into sets of EDM artists with a new twist. Ice-T, a pillar of music culture has noticed this evolution of music and is seeking to make an impact by creating a space EDM can thrive in a new environment.
Electronic Beat Empire the name of Ice-T’s label was a long-time in the making and it started with Ice-T’s lengthy career which began in the early 80s. When Ice-T was starting out as a rapper, electro and techno were beginning to gain steam in popularity.
Ice-T sampled electro that was popular at the time and layered it with aggressive freestyle lyrics surrounding rap culture, thus creating a new wave of musical inspiration for him and others that would follow, an inspiration that has stuck with Ice-T throughout his musical journey.
Being a DJ has never been exclusive to EDM. Hip-hop culture has a long history of tapping into the DJ lifestyle but in its own way.
Harken back to a time when hip-hop was being played in underground clubs on turntables with vinyl. Battles even utilized beat-making to create the music rappers would layer over their freestyle lyrics to prove their witty dominance over others.
This is where Ice-T really found his niche. And ever since then he’s held a long-standing respect for dance music, a respect that he’s paying homage to now with Electronic Beat Empire. It is said that to know where you are going in your life, you have to know where you’ve been and never forget what it taught you. Ice-T hasn’t forgotten, nor has he wanted to.
Teaming up with another Hip-Hop heavyweight, Afrika Islam, to produce strictly techno-inspired EDM music, Electronic Beat Empire will become a place for artists to thrive, to learn from someone with so much roots in the music industry, and perhaps change the way we view genres in general.
