Ice-T contains multitudes. Thirty-two years ago, the man born Tracy Lauren Marrow was one of the most righteously furious-sounding figures in music, Body Count’s breakthrough single Cop Killer having smashed the barrier between hardcore hip-hop and hardcore metal while its incendiary lyrics drew condemnation from then-president George Bush. Tonight, however, the prevailing emotion isn’t the anger that burst from that signature song; Body Count’s first London show in six years is more instantly a love letter to heavy music.
After the seven-piece – long Ice’s main career focus, beyond even his solo and film work – bound out with Body Count’s in the House, they tear through a medley of songs by extreme metal antagonists Slayer. A similar tribute to punk legends the Exploited comes later in the set.
