IceT Revives Controversial 'Cop Killer' Song as 'ICE Killer' to Address Modern Issues Deborah CruzJanuary 30, 2026 at 2:01 AM 0 IceT changed "Cop Killer" to "ICE Killer" during a live performance—and explained why on The Breakfast Club. The irony isn't lost on anyone: IceT, who's played Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit since 2000, recently revived one of music's most controversial protest songs—and gave it a modern update that's sparking conversation. During an appearance on The Breakfast Club on Monday, Jan.
- - Ice-T Revives Controversial 'Cop Killer' Song as 'ICE Killer' to Address Modern Issues
Deborah CruzJanuary 30, 2026 at 2:01 AM
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Ice-T changed "Cop Killer" to "ICE Killer" during a live performance—and explained why on The Breakfast Club.
The irony isn't lost on anyone: Ice-T, who's played Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit since 2000, recently revived one of music's most controversial protest songs—and gave it a modern update that's sparking conversation.
During an appearance on The Breakfast Club on Monday, Jan. 28, the 67-year-old rapper and actor revealed why he changed the lyrics to his 1992 anthem "Cop Killer" to "ICE Killer" during a Warped Tour performance in Los Angeles last July.
"When I was there, ICE was active out there," Ice-T explained. "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."
The spontaneous lyric change happened months before making headlines, but gained renewed attention following tragic events in Minneapolis involving two U.S. citizens killed during federal immigration enforcement operations in January.
Ice-T Explains Why He Changed "Cop Killer" Lyrics
The original "Cop Killer," released by Ice-T's heavy metal band Body Count in 1992, became one of the most controversial songs in music history. The anti-police brutality anthem sparked massive backlash during the presidential race between Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush, with critics claiming it incited violence against law enforcement.
The controversy eventually led Time Warner to block the release of Ice-T's next solo album, causing him to leave Sire/Warner Bros. Records entirely.
Now, more than three decades later, Ice-T is using the same song to protest different circumstances—but maintains the core message remains unchanged.
Photo by John Nacion on Getty Images (Photo by John Nacion on Getty Images)
"You know 'ICE Killer,' 'Cop Killer,' it's really protest," the rapper explained. "I'm just protesting."
He added a sobering observation: "I think we're headed to some really ugly terrain. And Black people really ain't got nothing to do with it. It's bad."
Related: Rock Legend Announces 'Solidarity & Resistance' for Families of Renée Good and Alex Pretti
Why Ice-T's Lyric Change Matters Now
For fans who only know Ice-T as the longtime SVU detective, the revelation that he created "Cop Killer" might come as a shock. But those who followed his career from the beginning remember when he was one of gangster rap's pioneers, using his music to comment on police brutality and racism in Los Angeles.
Photo by Raymond Boyd on Getty Images (Photo by Raymond Boyd on Getty Images)
His 1991 album "O.G. Original Gangster" helped define the gangster rap genre, mixing social commentary with unflinching depictions of street life. The musician, born Tracy Marrow in Newark, New Jersey, grew up in South Central Los Angeles after losing both parents as a child and nearly pursued a life of crime before music gave him, as he puts it, "a chance."
Ice-T emphasized on The Breakfast Club that protest music should come from authentic experience, not publicity stunts.
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"If that's who you are, if it's not, don't do it for publicity," he said. "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."
The man who once faced death threats for "Cop Killer" now plays a beloved TV detective—yet he's still using his voice to protest injustice, proving that some artists never stop speaking truth to power.
This story was originally published by Parade on Jan 30, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: January 30, 2026 at 06:46AM on Source: RED MAG
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