On This Day in 1992, Ice-T Decided to Take Down His Anti-Cop Anthem Long Before He Joined ‘Law & Order’

Nowadays, a lot of people just know Ice-T as a detective on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. But long before he started playing a cop in television and film, he was known for the infamous “Cop Killer”. As part of the heavy metal group Body Count, the highly controversial song played a massive role in drumming up buzz for their debut album.

However, on this day in 1992, the LA-based band decided to make the tough decision of taking the song down. After months of criticism and death threats to Warner Records, Ice-T gritted his teeth and removed it from future releases of the band’s debut album. In a 2007 interview, he revealed that he didn’t want to be known for controversy alone. It was never about money, and to prove it, he would give away the song for free at shows.

“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, ‘f**k it,’ I mean they’re saying we did it for money, and we didn’t. I’d gave the record away, ya know?” he said. “Let’s move on, let’s get back to real issues, not a record but the cops that are out there killing people.”

Ice-T Takes Down The Highly Controversial ‘Cop Killer’ on This Day Over 30 Years Ago

In response, Body Count would release “Freedom of Speech”, a record from Ice-T’s 1989 solo album The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech… Just Watch What You Say! Additionally, just a year later, he left Warner Records anyway after bickering with the label over his 1992 solo album Home Invasion. Consequently, that meant Body Count would come with him.

Ultimately, Ice-T never felt like the label was out to get him and his band. Instead, he looked at it as business; he’d rather not get his business partners caught up in unnecessary strife.

“It wasn’t like they disagreed with what I was saying. It was a reaction to what they thought that the real assholes were gonna try to do to them. It’s business, and I can understand that, so I’m like ok, I’ll go over here,” Ice-T added.

“If I was on your label and I thought I was gonna cause your label to crumble, I might pull out just for your sake. I’m not the kinda person that goes, ‘F**k it, you signed me, and I gotta do this,’ while I see you lose every dollar you ever had for me, and you might not even believe in what I’m saying. If you want to have free speech, you also have to have your own network to put it out.”

Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images