Veteran Brooklyn rapper Special Ed sparked a big debate when he said that N.W.A. brought Hip Hop down with gangsta rap.

"N.W.A. brought the age of destruction to our children and our culture," said Ed on Drink Champs. "I respect all of them as men, but as the art form ... that's where it started.  That's where the agenda started, and that's where the destruction began."

None of the N.W.A. members responded to Ed publicly, but Ice Cube weighed in when the subject was debated online.

Bullshit. Crack was in the neighborhoods a decade before gangsta rap. In the 70s they called it freebase. So was heroine, weed, Mollys, gangbanging, drive bys, pimping and hoing, dropping out of school, young girls getting pregnant, cussing and the using the word Nigga. It was… https://t.co/XK5QAdWRnU

— Ice Cube (@icecube) September 28, 2023

"Bullsh*t. Crack was in the neighborhoods a decade before gangsta rap. In the 70s they called it freebase," he tweeted. "So was heroine, weed, Mollys, gangbanging, drive bys, pimping and hoing, dropping out of school, young girls getting pregnant, cussing and the using the word N*gga. It was all here before NWA."

Cube then pointed the blame elsewhere.

With no gangster rap around, who inspired the mafia that made Francis make a movie like The Godfather (which is a period piece)?
Who has the power to mainstream anything?
3 generation? Who fucked up the 10 generation before gangsta rap?
Social has always been a ugly, sir.
And… https://t.co/UpSoSfR0zv

— Ice Cube (@icecube) September 29, 2023

"With no gangster rap around, who inspired the mafia that made Francis make a movie like The Godfather (which is a period piece)?" he asked. "Who has the power to mainstream anything? 3 generation? Who f*cked up the 10 generation before gangsta rap? Social has always been a ugly, sir. And when you’re ugly, you can’t blame the mirror."

Is Cube right?