Body Count's massive hit Cop Killer brought the band widespread notoriety – but frontman Ice-T says the profits from the song were mostly spent on lawyers to help fend off the controversy.
The track was released on Body Count's 1992 self-titled debut album and it brought Ice-T and his bandmates a world of heat. Usually, that kind of widespread controversy results in pockets full of cash. But not so for Body Count.
Ice-T tells the Guardian: "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 back-pedal – if you’re going to say something, stand on it."
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Recalling the heat that came with the song, Ice-T says he never felt it personally. But when the band's record label came under fire, he got nervous.
He adds: "I never really questioned myself, but the heat came when they started sending bomb threats to Warner Bros. I threw the rock, that’s my heat. But when other people could get hurt, that’s nerve-racking."
Body Count recently unveiled their first new single for four years, Psychopath. It came as the band prepare to release their upcoming eighth album Merciless on November 22. It is available for pre-order.
They also recently released a cover version of Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb, featuring Dave Gilmour on guitar. Gilmour said: "Body Count's version of Comfortably Numb is quite radical, but the words really struck me.
"It astonishes me that a tune I wrote almost 50 years ago is back with this great new approach. They've made it relevant again. The initial contact from Ice-T was for permission to use the song, but I thought I might offer to play on it as well.
"I like the new lyrics, they're talking about the world we’re living in now, which is quite scary."
