Published on Apr 18, 1997
If you want to start an argument amongst people, here’s a quick
way: bring up the subject of “Cop Killer” and Ice-T’s heavy metal
band Body Count.
The controversy over their self-titled debut became so intense
that the song in question was pulled from the album and Warner
Brothers dropped Ice-T from their roster. To this day, there still
are a lot of raw nerves surrounding this issue.
But after the smoke clears,
Body Count has some good moments, some okay playing, and
some disturbing moments… and one of those is not “Cop
Killer.”
Ice-T takes the reins of this all-black heavy metal band (though
they weren’t the first to lay claim to that title – helloooooo,
Living Colour), with a dual guitar attack from Ernie C and D-Roc.
With a solid bass line laid down by Mooseman and backbeat from
Beatmaster V, one would think the basis has been laid for a solid
metal act.
But the band’s youth shows – they hadn’t tightened up as a unit
when they recorded
Body Count; had they maybe put in an extra six months
jelling as a group, this would have been a better album in
general.
And while Ice-T wants to stake a name for himself as a metal
vocalist, he rarely sings on this one – which I found
disappointing. He does clear out the pipes pretty well on
“TheWinner Loses” – and had it not been for an errant portion of
the chorus, this would have been a great song (for you musicians,
the band plays in E minor, they sing in E natural). Ironically, it
is the only one that could have been played on the radio.
And as for “Cop Killer”…. naaaah, we’ll wait a little longer
to go into this one.
When Body Count puts their minds to it, they are able to put
together some songs with good messages and well-crafted rhythms.
“Bowels Of The Devil” is a powerful anti-drug song, while “KKK
Bitch,” despite the “live by the dick” message, is a somewhat
humorous attack on racism. Another anti-racism song, “There Goes
The Neighborhood,” tries to dispel the belief that blacks can’t
play heavy metal. One word –
wrong. With the chops of Ernie C and crew, it doesn’t matter
what race the musicians are, this is a good song played by very
capable musicians.
But while some songs feature some solid humor (“Voodoo”), others
are just a little too graphic in their nature. “Momma’s Gotta Die
Tonight” is the song that does border on the tasteless, wiping away
the message that even parents can teach racist ways to their
children. In the song, the character portrayed by Ice-T solves the
problem by rationalizing his mother is evil and murders her.
Frankly, this song scares me.
It scares me more so than “Cop Killer,” which offends many
people – except me. And I probably should be offended – true story,
I lost a friend who was a police officer to the violence of the
streets. And when I hear this song, I don’t think it has the power
of making young, angry men and women pumping the law enforcement
officers of this country full of lead. Instead, I hear the
frustrations of a generation being taken out in music. I highly
doubt that Ice-T would be chanting “Fuck the police” to an
officer’s face – this is why he does so in song. Call it a release,
call it blasphemy, call it what you want, just don’t blame the
violence of the world on music. (If you have the CD with “Cop
Killer” as I do, you have a collector’s item.)
The short interludes between the tracks are more of a
distraction, though some of the messages they have are important.
Interesting to note that on their following release, these
interludes were all but gone. Hmmmm…
Body Count is definitely not an album for everybody, and is
a raw, obscenity-filled tirade about life and the harsh realities
of the streets. It ain’t always pretty to listen to. But then
again, life isn’t always peaches and cream.