ICE-T Reflects On Controversial BODY COUNT Song 'Cop Killer': 'I Was A Little More Radical Back Then'

June 17, 2020

In a new interview with the Washington Post, 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 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, 30-years-ago Ice is different than 62-year-old Ice."

Pressed about who the 62-year-old Ice is, he responded: "My correct guidance right now is know your allies and let's continue to go forward. Don't let up. Let's go after Breonna Taylor's killers. Let's get it done."

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," says Ernie Cunnigan, also known as BODY COUNT's longtime guitarist Ernie C. "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".

Find more on Body count

Prev More News Next

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).