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Ice-T Says Controversy Doesn't Make Money: 'You Get a Lot of Buzz, but Now You Need Lawyers'

Rapper Ice-T recalled the furor of his heavy metal band Body Count’s 1992 protest song 'Cop Killer' and the legal actions he took to protect himself from the backlash.

Upon the song's release, The Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT) called for a boycott of Time Warner's products, which police organizations followed across the country. Former National Association of Chiefs of Police president Dennis R. Martin claimed at the time that the song stoked "inflamed racial tensions in cities across the country" and was partially responsible for two officer shootings. Warner Bros. executives and shareholders began receiving death threats, ultimately leading to Ice-T, born Tracy Morrow, to announce he would be pulling the song from all subsequent copies of Body Count's self-titled debut.

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