Ice-T has warned rap beefs are "not smart" anymore because of the risk of retaliation from other people.
The 66-year-old rapper thinks that although competitive attitudes have always been a part of hip-hop, such feuds have become too dangerous for music as things can "escalate" without the artists' involvement.
In an interview with 'Boss Talk 101', Ice noted his own since-settled beef with LL Cool J was kept within diss tracks, he said: "Hip-hop has always been competitive, so saying 'I'm better than you' is part of hip-hop.'
"The problem with beef is it can escalate away from you.."
Offering a hypothetical situation about feuding with Naughty by Nature's Treach, Ice referenced the aftermath of his controversial 1992 single 'Cop Killer'.
He said: "I could run into one of his fans on the street who wants to get active.
"When I had the 'Cop Killer' beef, I wasn't worried about a cop. I could run into a cop's brother or son who wants to start an altercation.
"Having beef is just not smart if you can avoid it."
And Ice thinks the rise of social media has made the potential risk of escalation even worse.
He said: "Social media is an amplifier to everything. It forces reaction that really could be squashed so much simpler.
"Why people would have a problem and take it to social media is beyond me, especially if you know a n***** phone number."
The 'Mind Over Matter' hitmaker and LL Cool J traded insults in a number of songs in the 1980s and 90s, but caused a stir when pictures of them together at the 2023 Grammy Awards rehearsals in honour of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop were released.
And Ice later insisted their beef had long been over.
He told AllHipHop: “LL and I have been together on different occasions. I’ve worked with him on Rock the Bells, we’ve done podcasts and stuff, but as far as an actual physical picture of us? I think there’s probably one other one out there.
"And I think the other one was before we actually really sat down and talked like grown men about it.
"But yeah, that’s over and lol the beef never really escalated. It was just rap beef."
