Rating:
Genre:
Rap
Release Date: 10/06/1992
Run Time: 52:37
Divorced from the controversy that surrounded its release,
Body Count's self-titled debut is a surprisingly tepid affair. Apart from the previously released
"Body Count" (which appeared on
Ice-T's 1991 album
O.G. Original Gangster), the record is devoid of serious commentary, trading intelligence for a lurid comic book depiction of sex, violence, and
"Voodoo." All of
Ice-T's half-sung/half-shouted lyrics fall far short of the standard he established on his
hip-hop albums. The controversial
"Cop Killer" -- which is nothing more than a standard
thrash metal chant -- stands out because it is one of the few tracks that doesn't rely on garish, cartoonish imagery. There's the saga of
"Evil Dick," which tells
Ice-T to not "sleep alone." There's
"KKK Bitch," where he crashes a Ku Klux Klan meeting and screws the grand dragon's daughter. There's
"Voodoo," where a witch doctor cripples our hero with a voodoo doll. There's
"Mama's Gotta Die Tonight," where
Ice-T offs his mother cause she's racist. By the time the band works around to the power
ballad "The Winner Loses" and
Ice-T is crooning, "My friend's addicted to cocaine," it's unclear whether the record is a parody or a flawed stab at arena
metal. Either way,
Body Count is a humorous curio from the early '90s that will appeal either to metalheads or listeners with a twisted sense of humor. [After
"Cop Killer" was pulled from the album, it was replaced with a bland version of
Ice-T's
rap classic
"The Iceberg" recorded with
Jello Biafra.]
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
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