Body Count Biography

The American metal band known as Body Count was founded in 1990 by already established musician Ice-T. Although Ice-T had long been best known as a highly respected rap and hip-hop artist, his love of heavy metal encouraged him to team up with Ernie C., Mooseman, D-Roc, and Beatmaster V, all of whom had been longtime friends of Ice-T and who shared his love of heavy metal.

Ice-T introduced Body Count at Lollapalooza in 1992, where he was already scheduled to perform a rap and hip-hop set. The performance was a hit, and Ice-T decided to include Body Count on his 1991 album O.G. Original Gangster. The group’s self-titled debut followed the next year, and was immediately well-received. Body Count began to tour internationally, and the controversial debut single, “Cop Killer,” began to garner significant attention, although perhaps not in the manner Ice-T would have preferred.

“Cop Killer” spawned multiple protests from police organizations throughout the country, and ultimately Ice-T decided to remove it from Cop Killer and instead replace it with the song “Freedom of Speech.” Despite Body Count’s controversial start, the album itself received praise from The Village Voice, Entertainment Weekly, and a number of other industry reviewers. Ultimately, “Cop Killer” likely bolstered the early success of Body County, and paved the way for the follow-up albums: Born Dead (1994), Violent Demise: The Last Days (1997), and Murder 4 Hire (2006.)

In recent years, there have been multiple changes to the lineup for Body Count, due to the departure of some members and the untimely passing of others (Mooseman was lost to a drive-by shooting and D-Roc succumbed to lymphoma.) Currently, Body County continues to perform and record with the current lineup of Ice-T, Ernie C., Sean E Sean, Vincent Price, III Will, and Juan of the Dead. Body Count most recently released the album Manslaughter in 2014.