ICE-T On BODY COUNT Song 'Cop Killer': 'Anybody That Thinks Controversy Is A Way To Make Money, It's Not'

In a new interview with The Guardian, hip-hop legend, actor and director Ice-T spoke about "Cop Killer", the controversial protest song he released in 1992 with his metal band BODY COUNT. The track was said to be a violent revenge fantasy in which the narrator has his "12-gauge sawed off" in order to "dust some cops off."

Asked if there was ever a moment during the furor over "Cop Killer" when he was feeling the heat and/or questioning himself over releasing it, Ice-T said: "I never really questioned myself, but the heat came when they started sending bomb threats to Warner Brothers. I threw the rock; that's my heat. But when other people could get hurt, that's nerve-racking. But I got news for people: anybody that thinks controversy is a way to make money, it's not. You get a lot of buzz, but now you need lawyers. So don't just say something stupid and then backpedal. If you're going to say something, stand on it."

Four years ago, Ice-T was asked by the Washington Post if he thinks folks will understand "Cop Killer" now more than they did at the time of the track's original release. Ice-T said: "It was a song about somebody who, during a moment like this, got so mad that they went after the cops. We don't want that guy. But a lot of times you warn people by saying this can happen. I never killed no cop. I've written better songs that are more on point with what I believe today. I was a little more radical back then. 'No Lives Matter' addresses my feelings at this moment. You got to remember, [32]-years-ago Ice is different than [now-66]-year-old Ice."

According to Billboard, "Cop Killer" is not available on any of the streaming services, including Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music. It's also not for sale as an iTunes download or a new CD.

"It should be there. It absolutely should be there," Ernie Cunnigan, also known as BODY COUNT's longtime guitarist Ernie C, previously said. "Some of these kids that are out there [protesting], they're 30, 31 — they were newborns when this was going on. What we talked about 30 years ago, we're still talking about."

"Cop Killer" was apparently removed from later versions of BODY COUNT's self-titled album at Ice-T's request after shareholders in Warner Brothers, which released the record, threatened to pull out of the company. The members of BODY COUNT were even threatened with arrest if they played the song live.

At the time, Ice-T said concern for the well-being of the staffs of Warner Bros. Records and Sire Records, who he said had received death threats from police officers as a result of distributing the song, also motivated him to pull "Cop Killer".

As part of the agreement to remove the track, Warner gave Ice-T the masters to "Body Count".