Was there ever a moment during the furore over Cop Killer when you were feeling the heat and/or questioning yourself over releasing it? Sophisticles
I never really questioned myself, but the heat came when they started sending bomb threats to Warner Bros. I threw the rock, that’s my heat. But when other people could get hurt, that’s nerve-racking. But I got news for people: anybody that thinks controversy is a way to make money, it’s not. You get a lot of buzz, but now you need lawyers. So don’t just say something stupid and then back-pedal – if you’re going to say something, stand on it.
When you founded Body Count, a Black man performing heavy metal was pretty rare. Have you enjoyed the growing crossover between hip-hop and heavier music in recent years, and the increasing diversity in genres such as hardcore and metal? MrPleebus
I didn’t really care, I was just trying to do me. Of course, yes, it feels good to see the genre merge and change, but that wasn’t my agenda. My agenda was simple: to play in a band with [guitarist] Ernie C. Touring in Europe with Public Enemy, I’d noticed the kids would mosh off of fast rap and that’s what sparked the idea to do Body Count, to do a fast rock band. It wasn’t like, “Let’s get Black people in.” It was just … I’m going to do this shit.
