25 Years of Killing Cops with Ice-T

The MC looks back on “Cop Killer,” Body Count’s controversial hit from the early 90s.

This article is part of Noisey Australia’s series ‘Nice Song, What’s It About?,’ where we revisit old greats and go deep to get the stories behind them. To see the column’s archive, click here.

In March 1992, members of the Austin Fraternal Order of Police became aware of “Cop Killer,” a song by Body Count, the Los Angeles metal band fronted by hip-hop MC Ice-T. Concerns were raised about the song’s title and subject matter, which portrays a character threatening to “Bust some shots off / Going to dust some cops off.” A spoken word introduction calmly explains how he’d like to “take a pig out into the parking lot and shoot them in the motherfucking face.”

The Combined Law Association of Texas soon initiated a boycott on Time Warner, the parent company of Sire Records (who released the album), and a wave of protest included police organizations, members of Congress, President George Bush, and even controversial Iran-Contra figure Oliver North who somehow found a way to compare the song to Charles Manson.

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