Everybody has opinions about who the best rappers, albums, songs, etc. in the history of hip-hop are. Rappers weigh in on the subject not infrequently and last night, Ice T made his contribution to the conversation on The Tonight Show.
During a segment called “Ice T Settles It,” Jimmy Fallon asked Ice a series of rapid-fire questions and eventually, he tasked Ice with making his pick for the greatest rap album of all time. He seemed intrigued by the question, giving an “ooh” after he asked. Ice didn’t take long to give his answer, though, replying after only a short delay, “I’ll say Paid In Full by Eric B. & Rakim.” Fallon asked Ice to elaborate and he continued, “‘Cause that was the most influential album to me when I was making my album.”
He also offered his No. 2 and 3 albums, and like Paid In Full, they’re also from the late ’80s and early ’90s, when his own music career was at its peak. He continued, “I’ll say Fear Of A Black Planet [by] Public Enemy would be a close second, and then Straight Out Of Compton, NWA, would be top-3. But each one of those albums had a lot to do with influencing me as an MC. But when I heard Rakim, I had never heard nobody rap like that. And it was so many hits on that album. Get Paid In Full and you’ll bang it all the way to the house.”
Watch the full interview above.