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Cop Killer is the name of a Song written by the Rapper Ice T as part of the Metal band Body Count . Their debut self-titled Album received heavy controversy over the song "Cop Killer." The criticism surrounded Allegation s made by critics that the song incited people to kill Police Officer s. The song provoked a national Debate about whether or not the song was acceptable, and about Freedom Of Speech in general. BACKGROUND This song came out originally on Body Count ( 1992 ), an album by a Rap and Heavy Metal band of that name which Ice-T was using. They had been playing a version of it in concert for a year, including as part of the 1991 Lollapalooza tour. The recorded version includes the names of Daryl Gates and Rodney King , a black motorist whose beating by LAPD officers had been caught on videotape. Shortly after the record came out, a Suburb an Jury acquitted the officers and Riots Broke Out In South Central Los Angeles Soon after that outbreak, a Dallas police group called for a Boycott of the Ice-T record. Said Ice-T, "I'm singing in the first person as a character who is fed up with police brutality. I ain't never killed no cop. I felt like it a lot of times. But I never did it." The criticism escalated to the point where death threats were sent to opted to release the band from its contract. Ice-T answered the controversy by saying the song was written in character, and that "if you believe that I'm a cop killer, you believe David Bowie is an Astronaut ," in reference to Bowie's song Space Oddity . Ice T's view of the matter is as follows: "When I started out I was signed to Warner Brothers and they never Censor ed us. Everything we did, we have full control over. But what happened was when the cops moved on Body Count they issued pressure on the corporate division of Warner Brothers, and that made the music division, they couldn't out-fight 'em in the battle, so even when you're in a business with somebody who might not wanna censor you, economically people can put restraints on 'em and cause 'em to be afraid. I learned that lesson in there, that you're never really safe as long as you're connected to any big corporation's money." Several years later Tipper Gore (the wife of former vice president Al Gore ) began a crusade against obscenity in music. The RIAA 's response was to self-regulate with respect to song lyrics. As a result, albums that have words or phrases deemed to be vulgar or offensive in the United States now have a Parental Advisory on them stating as much. In contrast to his earlier views of law enforcement, Ice T has played the role of a police officer in several ''. ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE SONG Many people were vociferous in their criticism of the song. For example, Dennis R. Martin (Former President, National Association of Chiefs of Police) has argued that: "The misuse of the First Amendment is graphically illustrated in Time-Warner's attempt to insert into the mainstream culture the vile and dangerous Lyrics of the Ice-T song entitled Cop Killer. The Body Count album containing ''Cop Killer'' was shipped throughout the United States in miniature Body Bag s. Only days before distribution of the album was voluntarily suspended, Time-Warner flooded the record market with a half million copies. The ''Cop Killer'' song has been implicated in at least two shooting incidents and has inflamed Racial tensions in cities across the country. Those who work closely with the families and friends of slain officers volunteering for the American Police Hall of Fame and Museum, are outraged by the message of ''Cop Killer''. It is an affront to the officers—144 in 1992 alone—who have been killed in the line of duty while upholding the laws of our society and protecting all its citizens." ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OF THE SONG Many people from the music world and other fields were supportive of the song. For example, in direct response to the criticism made by Dennis Martin above, Mark S. Hamm and Jeff Ferrell argued the following: :"Ice-T is not the first artist to embed a 'cop killer' theme in United States Popular Culture . This theme has been the subject of countless cinematic and literary works, and has appeared many times before in popular music. During the Great Depression , for example, Musician s celebrated Pretty Boy Floyd and his exploits, which included the murder of Law Enforcement personnel. Similarly, the highly respected Fiddler Tommy Jarrell wrote and sang 'Policeman,' which begins, 'Policeman come and I didn't want to go this morning, so I shot him in the head with my 44.' But perhaps the best-known case is Eric Clapton's cover version of Bob Marley and the Wailers' 'I Shot the Sheriff,' which reached the top of the U.S. music charts in the mid- 1970s (a feat not approached by Ice-T). 'I Shot the Sheriff,' though, never suffered the sort of Moral and Political condemnation leveled at 'Cop Killer.' How do we account for this difference? :"First, ' I Shot The Sheriff ' was released by a white artist, and in an era when the availability and allure of Firearm s and Ammunition had not reached the saturation point we see today. Clapton's white bread portrayal of an armed and heroic Jamaica n 'rude boy' was therefore comfortably Abstract and romantic. In contrast, Ice-T's Shotgun -toting black U.S. Gangster is all too concrete, stripped of romantic pretense and lodged uncomfortably in everyday life. Firearms and ammunition are now prevalent in the black community, and are the leading cause of death among young black males. Within the context of Gangster Rap , artists like Ice-T portray, with chilling clarity, this tragic obsession with lethal weapons." LYRICAL EXCERPT Cop killer, better you than me. Cop killer, fuck police brutality! Cop killer, I know your family's grievin' (fuck 'em) Cop killer, but tonight we get even. EXTERNAL LINKS
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