Body Count's self-titled debut album was released on Sire Records in 1992, and garnered much attention due to a controversy around the song "Cop Killer". Their label, Sire Records, and their parent company, Warner Bros. Records, defended the song; however Ice-T chose to remove it from the album because he felt that the controversy had eclipsed the music itself. The group left Sire the following year, and they have since released six more albums.
Three out of the band's original seven members are deceased: D-Roc died from lymphoma, Beatmaster V from leukemia and Mooseman in a drive-by shooting. Body Count's current lineup includes vocalist Ice-T, guitarists Ernie C and Juan Garcia, bassist Vincent Price, drummer Will "Ill Will" Dorsey Jr., and backing vocalists Sean E Sean and Little Ice, the latter of whom is Ice-T's son.
The band received their second Grammy nomination and later won the award at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2021 for Best Metal Performance with their song "Bum Rush" from the album Carnivore.
Ice-T's interest in heavy metal stemmed from sharing a room with his cousin Earl, who was a fan of rock music and only listened to the local rock stations. Ice-T particularly enjoyed heavy metal, citing Edgar Winter, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath as his favorite bands. Ice-T attended Crenshaw High School, where a few classmates shared his interest in the genre, including musicians Ernie C, D-Roc the Executioner, Beatmaster V, and Mooseman. Ice-T began a solo career as a rapper, and later decided to form Body Count with these friends.
Ice-T co-wrote the band's music and lyrics with lead guitarist Ernie C, and took on the duties of lead vocalist, even though he felt that he did not have a great singing voice. The original line-up consisted of D-Roc on rhythm guitar, Beatmaster V on drums and Mooseman on bass,
Body Count's musical style derives from the dark, ominous tones of traditional heavy metal bands such as Black Sabbath and thrash metal bands such as Slayer, as well as hardcore punk's aggressiveness. According to Ernie C, "We wanted to be a big punk band [...] Our first record is almost a punk record." The presence of a rapper in a heavy metal band has been credited for paving the way for the rise of rap metal and nu metal, even though Ice-T does not rap in most Body Count songs and considers it to solely be a rock band. According to Ernie C, "A lot of rappers want to be in a rock band, but it has to be done sincerely. You can't just get anybody on guitar and expect it to work. [...] Ice and I, on the other hand, really loved the music we were doing, and it showed.
Drive By
Body Count Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Payback muthafucka
1 - 8 - 7 nigga
Watch me pull this fuckin' trigga
Revenge
Drive-by
The lyrics of Body Count's song Drive By might initially come off as violent and aggressive, but upon closer inspection, they express a deep sense of grief, anger and the desire for revenge. The song opens with the line "You killed my fuckin' brotha," which sets the tone for rest of the lyrics. The singer is filled with a profound sense of loss, and the rest of the lyrics reveal that it was a violent act that took his brother's life, leading to a desire for payback.
The aggressiveness of the lyrics is a product of the singer's desire to avenge his brother's death. The line "1 - 8 - 7 nigga," is a reference to the California Penal Code, which designates homicide as a crime. The singer is warning his enemy that he is about to commit homicide to avenge his brother. The last line of the verse, "Watch me pull this fuckin' trigga," is a direct threat to the listener's enemy, letting them know that they will pull the trigger without hesitation.
The song's chorus drives home the singer's message by repeating the phrase "Drive-by," a form of violent retaliation, which involves shooting from a moving car or other vehicle. The lyrics of Body Count's song Drive By are a lamentation of violence and loss, but also showcase the human desire for justice and revenge.
Line by Line Meaning
You killed my fuckin' brotha
My brother was murdered by you
Payback muthafucka
I will seek retaliation against you, motherfucker
1 - 8 - 7 nigga
Code for murder, announcing his intention to kill the person who murdered his brother
Watch me pull this fuckin' trigga
I will execute my plan of revenge by pulling the trigger of my gun
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: TRACY LAUREN MARROW, GEORGE ROBERTS LLOYD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Chris Wu
on Black Hoodie
[Intro]
All these people out here tripping off police brutality like this shit is something new
Give me a fucking break
I've been talking about this shit for over 20 years
And now you can kill a motherfucker just because of how he's dressed?
Are you fucking serious?
[Hook]
Get on a black hoodie, its hood up on my head
I didn't have a gun, so why am I dead?
You didn't have to shoot me and that's a known fact
And now I'm laying face down with bullets in my back
Get on a black hoodie, its hood up on my head
I didn't have a gun, so why am I dead?
You didn't have to shoot me and that's a known fact
And now I'm laying face down with bullets in my back
[Verse 1]
This is how it happened
Out late night just chilling with my clique
No one had a gun, everyone's legit
One of my boys is drunk, I'm talking toe'd up
He can barely talk off that Cognac
Then the cops roll up, I don't know why he ran
Maybe traffic warrants I still don't understand
That motherfucker's crazy, the homies laughed
He might've got a block and then we heard shots
The fucking cop shot him, yo, a nigga's dead!
They hit him twice in the back, once in the head and leg
We all went crazy on that pig shit
They aimed at us, they meant business
They didn't have to shoot him, he didn't have a gun
What they're gonna say is "Why the fuck he run?"
We can't be seeing this, I'm like "What the fuck?"
My man's laying dead, they still cuffing him up
[Interlude]
You motherfuckers, call the fucking paramedics man
My man's not breathing, man
What the fuck's the matter wit' you, man?
Aw shit
[Hook]
Get on a black hoodie, its hood up on my head
I didn't have a gun, so why am I dead?
You didn't have to shoot me and that's a known fact
And now I'm laying face down with bullets in my back
Get on a black hoodie, its hood up on my head
I didn't have a gun, so why am I dead?
You didn't have to shoot me and that's a known fact
And now I'm laying face down with bullets in my back
[Refrain]
Woop woop, that's the sound of the police
That's the sound on the streets
Woop woop, that's the sound of the police
That's the sound on the streets
Woop woop, that's the sound of the police
That's the sound on the streets
[Verse 2]
Now it's our day in court, we gotta have hope
Maybe some justice, someone got it on video
They say do something, he used to gang bang
They made my homie look like fucking shit on everything
Had on a black hoodie, that's all it took
The DA portrayed him as a dirty fucking street crook
They let the cops off, nobody fucking marched
Nobody had a clue, it's never made the news
[Refrain]
Woop woop, that's the sound of the police
That's the sound on the streets
Woop woop, that's the sound of the police
That's the sound on the streets
Woop woop, that's the sound of the police
That's the sound on the streets
[Outro]
Get on my black hoodie
Get on my black hoodie
Get on my black hoodie