Hip hop icon, rap metal pioneer and all-round star of film and TV, Ice-T is a formidable presence. Ever since Body Count’s controversial 1992 single, Cop Killer – which protested against police brutality, in the wake of four white officers beating black motorist Rodney King that year – Ice has remained outspoken.
On latest Body Count album Merciless, he still takes aim at the issues that infuriate him, from class division to US politics. But how will he hold up against your questions (and one from a legendary Floridian death metal band)?
When and how did you get into metal?
James Kinder, Facebook
“I got into rock’n’roll – not necessarily metal – growing up. When I lost my parents [both died of heart attacks] and moved out to LA, I was stuck in a room with my cousin. He’d act like Jimi Hendrix and ran around playing air guitar. He kept the radio stations tuned to the LA rock stations, so I learned all about rock’n’roll – everyone from Boston to ELO to Edgar Winters, Black Sabbath and Blue Öyster Cult. I got into metal when I found Slayer. I was always interested in different types of music, so I got the idea to form a metal band after coming off tour with Public Enemy, seeing kids moshing to fast rap in Europe.”
Who’s your favourite SVU [Law & Order: Special Victims Unit] co-star? Emilystrange_alt13, Instagram
“That’s interesting, because I’ve worked with so many! Probably Kelli Giddish, we got really tight. I loved working with Christopher Meloni too, though, and Mariska [Hargitay] is the star, so any time I share a scene with her it’s always fun. I really like working with Kevin Kane now – he’s my new partner.”
How does Body Count collaborate to create music? Riffs first then words?
Mark Pruett, Facebook
“Absolutely, Body Count is created with riffs! We usually start out with a bunch and short pieces of songs, which are sent to me, and I’ll cut and paste them together to create a song. Sometimes that song sucks! But I might then say, ‘Well, make a song out of this breakdown.’ Once we have the track assembled, I start putting words over it. My band is in LA – I’m usually in New York or New Jersey, so the early process starts with sending me ideas.”
Who would win an Ice-T, Ice Cube, Vanilla Ice rap battle?
Ben Wilmott, Facebook
“We actually were in a TV show, where they had Claymation pieces fight it out. Celebrity Deathmatch! Me and Ice Cube fought, and both got killed by Vanilla Ice with a Zamboni. Refer to that! Ha ha!”
Smooth or crunchy peanut butter?
Kevin Shanks, Facebook
“What kinda fucking question is that?!”
What’s your favourite rap and metal album, respectively?
JeremiahJohnDempsey, Instagram
“My favourite metal album is the first Black Sabbath album – it’s the one I probably listened to the most growing up. I’ve actually sampled songs from Sabbath on my rap albums – and rock, too. I used Black Sabbath for [solo rap track] Midnight. So far as my favourite rap album… probably Paid In Full by Eric B & Rakim which came out around the same time I was doing [1987 debut] Rhyme Pays. Or maybe Yo! Bum Rush The Show by Public Enemy. Those records were very important to me, particularly in the creation of the Ice-T records.”
When we touring together?
Possessed_Official, Instagram
“That’s possible! Body Count haven’t done a US tour in many years because of my Law And Order schedule, so we just do spot [one-off] dates. Any time we’re coming in your area, you could be on the show with us. That’s not up to us, though – it’s up to promoters!”
What’s your proudest achievement?
Madkappiktures, Instagram
“Transitioning out of trouble. I got into music as an option for not going to prison. Rap came along and gave me a way of paying the bills without breaking the law. That’s one of the most difficult transitions for anybody. Anyone who knows about street life and hustling, that life, trying to become a legitimate citizen and get a social security number, a bank account and become part of the system is difficult. I have friends that are 40 or 50 who’ve never had a driver’s licence.”
How does it feel to be involved in the game for as long as you have and what changes have you seen in the music industry throughout the decades? StevenEsray, Instagram
“Fortunately I’ve got my hand into the acting business, which is a lot more secure than the record business. I love making music, but the music business has evolved. I’m from the era where you’d make an album and you’d sell a million records, but now you have streaming and it’s very difficult to understand how you get paid. Snoop [Dogg] made a comment that he’d had over a billion streams and made less than $43,000 – that should scare the shit out of everyone in the music business. How many of us can hope to get a billion streams on anything?”
Would you ever cut a record with Schoolly D?
SIoan McCarthy, Facebook
“I did! I cut one of his most recent records [2022’s Cuz Schoolly D Is Crazy], with the track The Real Hardcore. Schoolly’s way out, so the track is about how I first heard of him, met him and how he inspired me to do 6 In The Mornin’.”
What’s your favourite dinosaur?
Stacie Ghia van Vuren, Facebook
“T-Rex. Some of my friends have T-rex arms when it comes time to pay the bills at the restaurant! Ha ha!”
What would you change about heavy metal if you could?
Jeff Stoakes, Facebook
“I’d get rid of all the categories they’ve decided to split rock into. I got so tired of all these different hybrid categories, I created my own for Body Count – grindhouse. That’s what we do. Other than that, I wouldn’t change much.”
Would you ever collaborate with Cannibal Corpse?
Kuba Juppa, Facebook
“There’s a song on the new record with Corpsegrinder [The Purge]! But I also did a record with [original Cannibal Corpse singer] Chris Barnes, too [One Bullet Left, by Six Feet Under]. So that’s two different variations of the group.”
What’s your favourite cheese?
Paul Coates-Rutherford, Facebook
“Another dumb fucking question! American cheese!”
Do any other rap icons [Ice Cube, Snoop etc.] listen to metal and come to your shows?
Luis Loubriel, Facebook
“All kinds of rappers come to my shows. Everybody has messed with [metal], whether it’s Chuck [D] with Anthrax, [Ice] Cube using metal licks in his records… But they’ll come see me, I don’t know if they go see anyone else. I had DJ Paul from Three 6 Mafia standing side-stage the other day. At the end of the show he was like, ‘You the only motherfucker really doing this – everyone else is bullshit.’”
Would you ever get Chuck D on a Body Count track?
Vaughn Dehyle, Facebook
“We’ve come close. It’s never out of the question because he’s definitely one of the people that inspired me to go down the Body Count path, with his work with Anthrax.”
Has the anger that gave birth to Cop Killer abated or got worse?
Jim Gordon, Facebook
“It’s just become more focused. The problem is still there, but the young Ice was just mad and didn’t really know the causes behind the problem. Now I’m very aware of the causes behind the problem, so it’s more focused.”
What band would you like to tour with the most?
Toni Kauranen, Facebook
“First, probably Slayer, because we love them. But they’ve retired, so maybe someone like Lamb Of God, because we’re cool with Randy. Maybe other groups similar to us – Biohazard, Hatebreed… we play with them a lot, so a tour with those bands would be cool.”
What would you tell the 20-year-old version of yourself?
Christopher Thelen, Facebook
“Wear a condom.”
Would Body Count ever consider working with an orchestra?
Rob Sierra, Facebook
“I think some of the best music comes from collab situations, so I’d like to collaborate with an orchestra. On [1997 track] Last Days we used a choir, so that’s a step towards it.”
Is there a rock artist you would still love to work with given a chance to?
Vinnie Vincent, Facebook
“All the people I’d loved to have worked with have passed. I was a big Prince fan. I’ve been very fortunate to work with all the people I dig. I’ve met all my heroes.”
Who do you regret not seeing?
Billy Martin, Facebook
“I’d love to have seen Jimi Hendrix! I’ve seen all his movies, so just to kick it in a room with him, get the way he saw things. There’s a lot of similarities with us – we were both in the military, for one. He had a very unique worldview.”
Merciless is out now via Sony/Century Media
