Ice-T tells Soulja Boy to “Eat a Dick”; Shaq Disses Kobe

In just about one week, long after Jay-Z and Nas have “squashed their beef,” we’re seeing a couple new battles being played out over the airwaves and Internetz.

In one battle, we’re seeing one of hip-hop’s OGs, Ice-T, telling party rapper Soulja Boy to “Eat a Dick” because he believes that the Superman-ing rapper has singlehandedly killed hip-hop, which caused Soulja Boy to disrespect Ice-T via YouTube in pretty shocking fashion.

The two rappers have about thirty years of age and experience separating one another and are coming from different perspectives, but it’s nevertheless shocking to see one of hip-hop’s youngest “stars” (can we call him that?) insulting one of the pioneers of the genre that made him who he is, along with one of the anthems (”F*ck the Police”) that was one of the raw forms of gangsta rap that controversially put the genre on the map. 

However, Ice-T saying that Soulja Boy singlehandedly killed hip-hop is a little extreme, though I’d agree that the dancing rapper helped its rapid decline. I’d argue that hip-hop has been enduring a long and winding downward spiral through its mainstream evolution and melding with other genres.

Sure, there are still great artists out there, but just like when basketball had Isiah Thomas, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, and others, there was a bit of a lull before the league established its new stars. With MCs like Nas and Jay-Z becoming more known for their previous contributions to hip-hop rather than their more recent (unless the rumored “Kings of Hip Hop” album comes out), like Lil Wayne, who continues to evolve as an artist, it feels like the genre is waiting for its next group of “stars” to break out.

Is that star Soulja Boy? After this, probably not.

While Soulja Boy would be someone that you’d never want to get in an insult fight with, simply because some of his jokes/jabs are so ridiculous that they’re pretty funny, it’s a brave thing for him to insult one of hip-hop’s best known names. Part of hip-hop is clearly about assuming an identity, acting hard and overconfident, but there’s also a lot about the genre that is about paying tribute to the past - through sampling, appropriation of different hooks, and memorable guest spots. With his attack on Ice-T, Soulja Boy disrespects “the game” in a way that few dare to if they’re not desperate. With his success, it seemed a little much for him to do something like this.

Then, on the flipside, Shaquille O’Neal (remember him? Plays for the Phoenix Suns? There ya go) went back to his Shaq Diesel identity by insulting Kobe Bryant via a freestyle rap in a club. While Shaq says it was all in fun, it will be interesting to see if Kobe takes the high road because we all know that none of us want to see him rap.

On this one, I believe that Shaq is telling the truth that he was just messing around and meant nothing malicious by his comments about Kobe.

Yes, I’m sure that it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows between the two former teammates, but Shaq was on stage, struggling a bit through a freestyle, and he had to hold his own by finding a topic that he could create some easy and silly rhymes with to please the crowd.



Since he’s a basketball players and the NBA finals just happened, Kobe was an easy target. While I could see Kobe making a well-crafted statement through a publicist, I have a feeling that Kobe won’t be making YouTube videos or cussing Shaq out like his wife did to USC alum Laura Lane.

One week. Two feuds. One with the intention of causing harm, the other a result of some peer pressure circumstances, but both are buzzworthy for what they are in the space where both battles operate.