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.
By that point, Ice has dedicated Point the Finger to the late Riley Gale of cult thrashers Power Trip and, during Psychopath, indulged in some vintage metal theatricality, “killing” his son and backing vocalist Little Ice while dressed as a slasher villain. It’s not Iron Maiden-level pageantry, but it’s the same intent.
Body Count’s crossover thrash incites a maelstrom of mosh-pits and walls of death throughout these 90 minutes, Kentish Town proving so rapt that even as-yet-unreleased cut The Purge gets the masses moving. Between all that intensity, though, there are surprising amounts of vulnerability from Ice. Not only is Gale solemnly remembered but – during Talk Shit, Get Shot – the rapper shares his family with his onlookers, daughter LeTesha joining him and Little Ice on vocals. The topics of shootings and street violence then get a more evocative treatment during This Is Why We Ride, where Ice openly asks how he survived the gangs and drive-bys of south-central Los Angeles.
Ultimately, especially for a band still most famous in the mainstream for espousing the virtues of shooting the police, Body Count’s return to the UK is a consummate and emotionally broad hard-rock showcase. Ice remains angry and engaged, as proven by such newer tracks as No Lives Matter. Yet, the star is also a family man and a loving champion of metal, and it’s the darting between those characteristics that keeps this evening entertaining until the end.
