Body Count | |
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Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
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Website | bodycountband |
Body Count is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1990. The group is fronted by Ice-T, who first established himself as a rapper but co-founded the group with lead guitarist Ernie C out of their interest in heavy metal music. Ice-T took on the role of vocalist and writing the lyrics for most of Body Count's songs, while Ernie C has been responsible for writing the group's music.
Body Count's self-titled debut album was released on Sire Records in 1992, and garnered much attention due to a controversy around the song "Cop Killer". Their label, Sire Records, and their parent company, Warner Bros. Records, defended the song; however Ice-T chose to remove it from the album because he felt that the controversy had eclipsed the music itself. The group left Sire the following year, and they have since released six more albums.
Three out of the band's original seven members are deceased: D-Roc died from lymphoma, Beatmaster V from leukemia, and Mooseman in a drive-by shooting. Body Count's current lineup includes vocalist Ice-T, guitarists Ernie C and Juan Garcia, bassist Vincent Price, drummer Will "Ill Will" Dorsey Jr., and backing vocalists Sean E Sean and Little Ice (Ice-T's son).
The band received their second Grammy nomination and later won the award at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2021 for Best Metal Performance with their song "Bum Rush" from the album Carnivore . [5]
Ice-T's interest in heavy metal stemmed from sharing a room with his cousin Earl, who was a fan of rock music and only listened to the local rock stations. Ice-T particularly enjoyed heavy metal, citing Edgar Winter, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath as his favorite bands. [6] Ice-T attended Crenshaw High School, where a few classmates shared his interest in the genre, including musicians Ernie C, D-Roc the Executioner, Beatmaster V, and Mooseman. Ice-T began a solo career as a rapper, and later decided to form Body Count with these friends. [6] [7]
The earliest formation of Body Count was in 1989 when Ice-T had Ernie C, Mooseman, and Beatmaster V participated in live instrumentation on Ice-T's album The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech... Just Watch What You Say!. They did live instrumentation on the tracks The Girl Tried To Kill Me, Hit The Deck, and What Ya Wanna Do? [8]
Ice-T co-wrote the band's music and lyrics with lead guitarist Ernie C, and took on the duties of lead vocalist, even though he felt that he did not have a great singing voice. [9] The original line-up consisted of D-Roc on rhythm guitar, Beatmaster V on drums and Mooseman on bass.
Ice-T introduced the band at Lollapalooza in 1991, devoting half of his set to his hip hop songs, and half to Body Count songs, increasing his appeal with both alternative music fans and middle-class teenagers. [10] Some considered the Body Count performances to be the highlight of the tour. [11] The group made its first album appearance on Ice-T's 1991 solo album O.G. Original Gangster . The song, "Body Count", was preceded by a spoken introduction in which Ice-T responds to allegations that he had "sold out" by incorporating rock elements into his rap albums by pointing out that rock music originated with African-American artists such as Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and Little Richard, in addition to stating that "as far as I'm concerned, music is music. I don't look at it as rock, R&B, or all that kind of stuff. I just look at it as music. [...] I do what I like and I happen to like rock 'n' roll, and I feel sorry for anybody who only listens to one form of music". [12]
Body Count's self-titled debut album was released on Sire/Warner Bros. Records on March 31, 1992. On the strength of the album, Body Count toured internationally, developing a strong following. [6]
The song "Cop Killer", intended to criticize corrupt police officers, encountered controversy, as it was seen as an attack against the entire police force. [9] [13] According to Ice-T, "I thought I was safe. I thought within the world of rock'n'roll, you could be free to write what you want. Hell, I was listening to Talking Heads singin' 'Psycho Killer'. Fuck it, I'll make 'Cop Killer'! But, that was the cross of metal with something that was real. Now we're not just killing your family, we're killing somebody so real that everybody just went, 'oh shit'". [14]
The Dallas Police Association and the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas launched a campaign to force Warner Bros. Records to withdraw the album. [15] Within a week, they were joined by police organizations across the United States. [15] Some critics argued that the song could cause crime and violence. [15] Many defended the song on the basis of the group's right to freedom of speech. In The Ice Opinion: Who Gives a Fuck, Ice-T wrote that "The people who did have a platform were way off backing me on the First Amendment. That's not where all the anger should have been directed. The anger should have been generated back at the police. [...] Because people jumped on the wrong issue they were able to drive this thing totally through Warner Brothers." [9]
Over the next month, controversy against the band grew. Vice President Dan Quayle branded "Cop Killer" as being "obscene", and President George H.W. Bush publicly denounced any record company that would release such a product. [15] At a Time-Warner shareholders' meeting, actor Charlton Heston stood and read lyrics from the song "KKK Bitch" to an astonished audience and demanded that the company take action. [15] The criticism escalated to the point where death threats were sent to Time-Warner executives, and shareholders threatened to pull out of the company. Finally, Ice-T decided to remove "Cop Killer" from the album of his own volition. [9] [13] [16] In an interview, Ice-T stated that "I didn't want my band to get pigeon-holed as that's the only reason that record sold. It just got outta hand and I was just tired of hearing it. I said, 'fuck it,' I mean they're saying we did it for money, and we didn't. I'd gave the record away, ya know, let's move on, let's get back to real issues, not a record but the cops that are out there killing people." [16]
"Cop Killer" was replaced by a new version of "Freedom of Speech", a song from Ice-T's 1989 solo album The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech... Just Watch What You Say! . The song was re-edited and remixed to give it a more rock-oriented sound. Ice-T left Warner Bros. Records the following year because of disputes over the Ice-T solo album Home Invasion , [9] taking Body Count with him. Despite the controversy, the album received some praise, including A− reviews from Entertainment Weekly and The Village Voice , who later ranked the album among their list of The 40 Best Albums of 1992. [17] Variety reported that the album had sold 480,000 copies by January 29, 1993. [18]
In 1993, Body Count recorded a cover of "Hey Joe" for the Jimi Hendrix tribute album Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix . [19] The band released their second album, Born Dead in 1994 on Virgin Records. Prior to the recording of Body Count's third album Violent Demise: The Last Days (1997), bassist Mooseman left the group and was replaced by Griz. Drummer Beatmaster V died of leukemia soon after the album was completed, [20] and a new drummer named O.T. filled in the position. Bassist Griz left the band later on, and in the meanwhile, former bassist Mooseman was shot in a drive-by shooting in February 2001 after recording an album and preparing for another tour with Iggy Pop in his band the Trolls. [20] In late 2004, rhythm guitarist D-Roc died due to complications from lymphoma, leaving only Ice-T and Ernie C from the original line-up. [20]
Ice-T has stated that "For me, honestly, after something like that, you can either come to a dead stop or you can go on. [...] It was so emotional. We were in the middle of making a new record together and he goes and dies? It was like, 'damn!' Soon enough, though, everybody was like, 'c'mon c'mon you gotta do it.' It was make-or-break. The key essence of Body Count is it's a band made up of friends. It's not about going out and hiring the best drummer or the best guitarist. If we don't know you, you can't be in the band." [14]
In July 2006, Body Count released their fourth album, Murder 4 Hire on the indie record label Escapi Music. [14] Its album cover, featuring Uncle Sam holding a cardboard sign reading "Will Kill for Money", compares the United States military to contract killers. [21] The then-line-up included drummer O.T., bassist Vincent Price and rhythm guitarist Bendrix. The band then took an extended hiatus for a couple of years; in regards to the future of Body Count, Ernie C stated, "We will carry on the band. I don't know if it will be Body Count, but in some form, Ice and I will always play together." [20]
The band's presence between after 2009 was sporadic: On September 6, 2009, Body Count made an appearance at the Vans Warped Tour 15th-anniversary party at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles. The group played a 20-minute set, covered Slayer, and closed with their controversial classic "Cop Killer". [22] Also on the bill were NOFX, Katy Perry, Pennywise, Bad Religion and Rise Against. Mike Sullivan of ExploreMusic caught up with Ernie C at the 2010 edition of the Vans Warped Tour. While briefly chatting, Ernie C divulged that the band was recording its fifth studio album. [23] Body Count wrote an exclusive song, "The Gears of War", for the video game Gears of War 3 , and performed it at a party promoting the game. [24]
On December 9, 2012, Ice-T announced on Twitter that Body Count would begin production on a fifth studio album in January 2013. [25] The following day, Ice-T revealed that Body Count has signed with Sumerian Records. [26] Ice-T suggested that the album was going to be titled Rise! [26] or Manslaughter. [27] [28] On May 10, 2013, Ice-T announced that work on the fifth studio album had begun and that it would be titled Manslaughter . The album was released on June 10, 2014. [29] On May 13, 2014, Ice-T played the song "Talk Shit, Get Shot" as a teaser for the new album.
Their sixth album, titled Bloodlust , was released in March 2017 via Century Media Records. [30] On December 28, 2016, Ice-T posted a preview of the first single "No Lives Matter" to Twitter. Guest musicians confirmed to appear on the album are Max Cavalera, Randy Blythe and Dave Mustaine. Upon the release of Bloodlust, it was confirmed that Ice T's son Tracy Marrow Jr, aka Little Ice, is now a part of the band, performing backing vocals.
In May 2018, Ice-T revealed to Loudwire that Body Count would enter the studio around September to start recording tracks for their seventh studio album Carnivore . On the meaning of the album title, the rapper said, "It's basically: 'Fuck vegans.' We figure, anything carnivorous pretty much kicks ass. We're carnivorous! I'm not [really] saying 'Fuck vegans.' Everyone's so pussy right now, [so] we're carnivores". [31] The recording sessions began in April 2019. [32] The title track was released as the first single on December 13. [33] The album was released on March 6, 2020. [34]
On June 22, 2021, Body Count announced on their Facebook page that they had started work on their eighth studio album Merciless. [35] In 2022, it was ranked by Metal Hammer as the 46th most anticipated metal release of that year. [36] After several delays, Merciless will be released on November 22, 2024. [37]
Ice-T's lyrics focus on reality-based themes, including gang life, because he felt it would be scarier than the fantasy-based horror themes of most heavy metal bands. [6] The band's third album, Violent Demise: The Last Days , featured album cover art depicting the hand signs of these gangs. [6] According to Ice-T, "We named the group Body Count because every Sunday night in L.A., I'd watch the news, and the newscasters would tally up the youths killed in gang homicides that week and then just segue to sports. 'Is that all I am,' I thought, 'a body count?'" [9]
When the band's debut album was released, Ice-T defined it as being "a rock album with a rap mentality". [38] Like Ice-T's hip hop albums, the group's material focused on various social and political issues, with songs focusing on topics ranging from police brutality to drug abuse. Ernie C has stated that "We were just a band that played the songs that we knew how to write. Everybody writes about whatever they learned growing up, and we were no exception. Like the Beach Boys sing about the beach, we sing about the way we grew up." [39]
While a good portion of Body Count's lyrics are current issues, Ice-T notes that he also considers Body Count "grindhouse", and that some of the songs are humorous exaggerations of violence; [40] he also expects fans to be able to tell the difference. [41]
Body Count's musical style derives from the dark, ominous tones of traditional heavy metal bands such as Black Sabbath and thrash metal bands such as Slayer, [6] as well as hardcore punk's aggressiveness. According to Ernie C, "We wanted to be a big punk band [...] Our first record is almost a punk record." [39] The presence of a rapper in a heavy metal band has been credited for paving the way for the rise of rap metal and nu metal, [42] [43] [44] [45] even though Ice-T does not rap in most Body Count songs and considers it to solely be a rock band. [6] According to Ernie C, "A lot of rappers want to be in a rock band, but it has to be done sincerely. You can't just get anybody on guitar and expect it to work. [...] Ice and I, on the other hand, really loved the music we were doing, and it showed." [39]
Current
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Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||||||||
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US | CAN | AUS | NZ | AUT | GER [46] | NLD | SWI | BEL (FL) | BEL (WA) | UK [47] | ||
Body Count | 26 | — | 12 | 18 | — | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | |
Born Dead
| 74 | — | 5 | 16 | 5 | 5 | 27 | 10 | — | — | 15 | |
Violent Demise: The Last Days
| — | — | — | — | — | 45 | 92 | — | — | — | 129 | |
Murder 4 Hire
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Manslaughter
| 102 | — | — | — | — | 92 | — | — | 143 | 129 | — | |
Bloodlust
| 157 | — | 12 | — | 24 | 13 | 89 | 18 | 24 | 47 | — | |
Carnivore
| — | — | 27 [48] | — | 8 [49] | 5 [50] | — | 10 [51] | 39 [52] | 34 [52] | — | |
Merciless
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country. |
Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||
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AUS [53] | GER [54] | NZ [55] | SWI [56] | UK [57] | |||||
1992 | "There Goes the Neighborhood" | 86 | — | 35 | — | — | Body Count | ||
"The Winner Loses" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
1993 | "Hey Joe" | 67 | — | 31 | — | — | Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix | ||
1994 | "Born Dead" | 52 | 32 | — | 44 | 28 | Born Dead | ||
"Necessary Evil" | — | — | — | 41 | 45 | ||||
"Medley" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
1997 | "Truth or Death" | — | — | — | — | — | Violent Demise: The Last Days | ||
"I Used to Love Her" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
2014 | "Back to Rehab" | — | — | — | — | — | Manslaughter | ||
2017 | "No Lives Matter" [58] | — | — | — | — | — | Bloodlust | ||
2019 | "Carnivore" | — | — | — | — | — | Carnivore | ||
2020 | "Bum-Rush" | — | — | — | — | — | |||
2024 | "Psychopath" | — | — | — | — | — | Merciless | ||
"Fuck What You Heard" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
"Comfortably Numb" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. |
Year | Award | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
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2017 | Best Metal Performance | "Black Hoodie" | Nominated | [59] |
2020 | "Bum-Rush" | Won |
Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, is a subgenre of rap music that conveys the culture and values typical of urban gangs, reality of the world and street hustlers. Emerging in the late 1980s, gangsta rap's pioneers include Schoolly D of Philadelphia and Ice-T of Los Angeles, later expanding in California with artists such as N.W.A and Tupac Shakur. In 1992, via record producer and rapper Dr. Dre, rapper Snoop Dogg, and their G-funk sound, gangster rap broadened to mainstream popularity.
Tracy Lauren Marrow, better known by his stage name Ice-T, is an American rapper and actor. He is active in both hip hop and heavy metal. Ice-T began his career as an underground rapper in the 1980s and was signed to Sire Records in 1987, when he released his debut album Rhyme Pays. The following year, he founded the record label Rhyme $yndicate Records and released another album, Power (1988), which would go platinum. He also released several other albums that went gold, including The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech... Just Watch What You Say! (1989), O.G. Original Gangster (1991) and Home Invasion (1993).
Ernie Cunnigan, better known by his stage name Ernie C, is an American musician best known as the guitarist of rap metal band Body Count.
Forbidden is the eighteenth studio album by English rock band Black Sabbath, released on 5 June 1995. This recording saw the reunion of Black Sabbath's Tyr-era line-up from 1990, with the return of Neil Murray and Cozy Powell. It was the last album to feature Tony Martin on vocals and Geoff Nicholls on keyboards, and the last by the band until 2013 when Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler returned for the album 13. The album sold 21,000 copies in the US in its first week and as of 2013, Forbidden has sold 191,000 copies in the US.
"Cop Killer" is a song by American heavy metal band Body Count. Released on the group's 1992 self-titled debut album, the song was written two years earlier, and was partially influenced by "Psycho Killer" by Talking Heads.
Body Count is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Body Count, released on March 10, 1992, by Sire Records. The album's material focuses on various social and political issues ranging from police brutality to drug abuse. It also presents a turning point in the career of Ice-T, who co-wrote the album's songs with lead guitarist Ernie C and performed as the band's lead singer. Previously known only as a rapper, Ice-T's work with the band helped establish a crossover audience with rock music fans. The album produced the single "There Goes the Neighborhood".
O.G. Original Gangster is the fourth studio album by American rapper Ice-T, released May 14, 1991, by Sire Records. Recording took place from July 1990 to January 1991 in Los Angeles. Its production was handled by seven producers: Afrika Islam, Beatmaster V, Bilal Bashir, DJ Aladdin, Nat the Cat, SLJ and Ice-T himself, who also served as executive producer. It features guest appearances from Body Count, Prince Whipper Whip and various Rhyme Syndicate artists, such as Donald D, Evil E and Randy Mac.
The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech... Just Watch What You Say! is the third studio album by American rapper Ice-T, released on October 10, 1989, by Sire Records. The album has an uncharacteristically gritty sound, featuring some of the darkest tracks that Ice-T ever released.
Murder 4 Hire is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Body Count. Released on August 1, 2006, this was the first album from Body Count in nine years. It is the band's first album following the deaths of drummer Beatmaster V and rhythm guitarist D-Roc the Executioner in 1996 and 2004, respectively. Although, D-Roc did contribute to the album before he died, and work on the album had come to a pause as a result of D-Roc's death. The rest of the rhythm guitar tracks were handled by Bendrix. It is the only album to feature O.T. on drums and the only one recorded without sampler and backing vocalist Sean E Sean. It is also their first album recorded without hype man Sean E. Mac.
Home Invasion is the fifth studio album by American rapper Ice-T, released on March 23, 1993, via Rhyme $yndicate/Priority Records. It was originally set for release in 1992 as part of his deal with Sire/Warner Bros. Records, and supposed to be his first official release through his own Rhyme $yndicate record label, now in full control of the content as part of a new distribution deal with Priority Records.
Born Dead is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Body Count. The album was released on September 6, 1994.
Violent Demise: The Last Days is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Body Count. The album was released on March 11, 1997, by Virgin Records. It is the last album to feature drummer Beatmaster V, who died of leukemia following the recording of the album, which is dedicated to him. It is also the final full album to feature rhythm guitarist D-Roc the Executioner, who died from lymphoma during production of their next album Murder 4 Hire. It also marks the last appearance of sampler Sean E Sean and hype man Sean E. Mac, who both departed the band in 2001. Sean E Sean would return to the group in 2008, but Ice T's son Little Ice replaced Sean E. Mac in 2016.
Return of the Funky Man is the second studio album by American hip hop recording artist Lord Finesse of Diggin' in the Crates Crew. It was released on February 11, 1992 via Warner Bros. subsidiary label Giant Records. Production was handled by seven record producers, including Diamond D, Showbiz, DJ Aladdin, SLJ, Latif, Petawane, and Lord Finesse himself. It also features guest appearances provided by A.G., Percee P, Harry-O and Shelrumble. The album peaked at number 95 on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and its self-titled single made it to number 13 on the Hot Rap Songs.
Lloyd "Mooseman" Roberts III was an American musician, best known as a bassist for the rap metal band Body Count. Roberts was a key writer in the early years of Body Count.
Victor Ray Wilson, better known as Beatmaster V, was an American musician and drummer of metal band Body Count.
"There Goes the Neighborhood" is a song written and produced by Ice-T and Ernie C and performed by American heavy metal band Body Count. It was released on March 12, 1992 via Rhyme $yndicate/Sire/Warner Records as the lead single from the band's self-titled debut studio album, Body Count.
"Colors" is a song by American rapper Ice-T, co-produced by Afrika Islam, featuring DJ Eric Garcia, or Evil E. It was issued as the title track for the soundtrack to the film of the same name. The song was released as a single in 1988. In 2008, it was named the 19th-greatest hip hop song of all time by VH1. The song was Ice-T's first to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number 70.The song samples "Ain't We Funkin' Now" by The Brothers Johnson.
Dave Halili is a contemporary American fine arts illustrator, graffiti writer and graphic designer of album cover paintings, posters, logos, T-shirts along with other forms of representational merchandise. His best-known works are album covers for Body Count, Ice-T, The Skeletones and Moon Ska Records compilation California Ska-Quake. An array of collaborations in the Hollywood entertainment industry and indie music scene have garnered him a Diamond record plaque, three Platinum awards, three Gold records and two Gold Europe plaques certified and registered by the RIAA.
Manslaughter is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Body Count. The album was released on June 10, 2014, by Sumerian Records. It is the first album to feature new rhythm guitarist Juan of the Dead and new drummer Ill Will. The album also features the return of sampler Sean E Sean, who rejoined the group in 2008.
Carnivore is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Body Count, released on March 6, 2020, by Century Media. The singles "Carnivore" and "Bum-Rush" were released to promote the album.
Back in the day, Body Count was categorized as "rap metal" or "nu metal." Manslaughter sounds like just a straight-up metal album, without the hip-hop tropes that -- because of your background (and ethnicity) -- the band was initially categorized by.
Moreover, the band's second album, 'Born Dead,' released on Virgin Records in September 1994, peaked at a lowly 74. Upon its release, the Los Angeles Times remarked that 'it's time to pull the plug on this genre [of rap-metal]. The novelty has worn off.'