Ice-T has elaborated on his reasons for changing the lyrics to ‘Cop Killer’ to ‘ICE Killer’ live recently.
despite the current tensions around ICE in the US at the moment, the Body Count frontman first made the change to the lyrics of the 1992 hit during a show in Los Angeles in July. As he explained during an appearance on Entertainment Weekly’s The Breakfast Club podcast, the change was rather spontaneous.
“I have political things I think about,” Ice-T said. “Now when I did that, that didn’t happen just recently. It happened when we played in L.A. at the Warped Tour. When I was there, ICE was active out there. So it’s like, ‘I’m in the midst of ICE raids and stuff like that, and I’m in front of an L.A. audience, and it just came out’. I didn’t know I was gonna do it.
“My brain just said, ‘Do “ICE Killer.”‘ And it went over.”
The message has become even more significant following the deaths of at least eight people in connection to ICE since the beginning of 2026, most notably the killings of Renee Good and Alex pretti in Minneapolis. The killings have sparked a wave of protests across the US, which have escalated today into a general strike.
US citizens have walked out of school and work and committed not to spend any money today (January 30) and tomorrow (January 31), with activists demanding the permanent removal of ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from towns and cities across the US.
“I’m just protesting,” Ice-T continued. ”I think we’re headed to some really ugly terrain,” he said.”And Black people really ain’t got nothing to do with it. It’s bad. I think the moment somebody shoots an ICE agent, it’s gonna get bad.”
He also encouraged those speaking out to do so from a point of authenticity. “If that’s who you are. If it’s not, don’t do it for publicity. Don’t do it for hype. don’t let your publicist tell you, ‘Speak on this topic.’ Because if you’re not educated enough to speak on it, you’re going to end up caught out there.”
Adversarial Research & Verification – ICE Shooting & Celebrity Responses (as of 2024-01-31 03:09:06 UTC)
Here’s a breakdown of the claims in the provided text, verified against authoritative sources as of the specified date. It’s crucial to remember the source is untrusted, and this is an independent verification effort.
1. ICE Shooting in minnesota & Subsequent Protests:
* Claim: an ICE shooting occurred in Minnesota, leading to protests.
* Verification: This refers to the shooting of Winston Boogie Smith by federal agents (including ICE) in minneapolis on June 3,2021. The shooting sparked protests and calls for ICE to leave minneapolis. (Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-minnesota-police-shooting-idUSKCN2CG28U, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/winston-boogie-smith-ice-shooting-minneapolis-protests-n1271481)
* Status (2024-01-31): The shooting remains a contentious issue.In december 2023, a federal jury found the agents were justified in shooting Smith. (Source: https://www.startribune.com/jury-finds-ice-agents-justified-in-shooting-winston-boogie-smith-minneapolis/600241143/) This verdict has been met with outrage from activists and Smith’s family.
2. Celebrity Responses:
* Claim: Neil Young, Moby, Zara Larsson, Joe Keery, Yuri Lowenthal, Duran Duran, and Dave Matthews (among others) condemned the actions of ICE and/or Trump.
* Verification: Multiple sources confirm these artists voiced criticism.
* neil young: Removed his music from Spotify in protest against Joe Rogan, citing concerns about misinformation, and also spoke out against ICE’s actions. (source: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/neil-young-spotify-joe-rogan-1193479/)
* Moby: Has been a vocal critic of Trump and corporations supporting him for years. (Source: NME article cited in the original text is valid)
* Zara Larsson: confirmed her partner was banned from the US and linked it to political views, implicitly criticizing the administration. (Source: NME article cited in the original text is valid)
* Joe Keery: Publicly criticized Trump and ICE on social media. (Source: NME article cited in the original text is valid)
* Yuri Lowenthal: Expressed outrage over the shooting and criticized ICE and Trump.(Source: NME article cited in the original text is valid)
* Duran Duran & Dave Matthews: Joined a broader statement condemning the Trump administration following the shooting. (Source: NME article cited in the original text is valid)
* Status (2024-01-31): These statements remain public record. The artists continue to be active in their respective fields and have maintained generally consistent political stances.
3. Billy Bragg’s Song:
* Claim: Billy Bragg released a song called ‘City Of Heroes’ as a tribute to the bravery of the people of Minneapolis.
* Verification: Confirmed. Bragg released the song in July 2021. (Source: [https://www.nme.com/news/music/billy-bragg-shares-new-song-city-of-heroes-a-tribute-to-the-bravery-of-the-people-of-minneapolis-3926121](https://www.
