To the APD officers in the golf cart bobbing their heads during Ice-T on the Blue stage: probably a good thing you missed his metal tendencies hours earlier. Body Count doesn’t have a stellar relationship with Lone Star law enforcement.
As the rapper announced with a growl, it was Texas police that forced Warner Bros. to pull “Cop Killer” from the group’s eponymous 1992 debut. With grinning assistance from utility pinch hitter Bushwick Bill, Ice-T proclaimed “tonight we get even” before declaring the infamous hit “Austin’s national anthem.”
Considering not a day goes by without yet another law enforcement outrage, the pre-Amadou Diallo, pre-Fruitvale Station call to arms still gets hackles up.
A soupy sound mix didn’t slow the torrent of stage divers, who occasional got a helping hand from the frontman. “KKK Bitch” remains as subtle as a sock full of quarters, while Slayer collaboration “Disorder” may have lacked only Tom Araya’s scream. With T stalking the stage readying for the kill, it muscled up just fine.
Ultimately, this wasn’t cash-in retro reminiscence, however. New rounds in the chamber, “Manslaughter” and “Talk Shit, Get Shot” hinted at Body Count spinning Urban Discipline-era Biohazard prior to a Suicidal Tendencies cover hopscotching through the pit. Making references to his new career on E! TV as a married man, Ice-T kept it most real.
For more Fun Fun Fun Fest coverage, see www.austinchronicle.com/fun-fun-fun-fest. For photo galleries from the fest, see austinchronicle.com/photos.
This article appears in November 8 • 2013.
