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Rapper Ice-T defended a lyric change from his 1992 song “Cop Killer” to “ICE Killer” during a Los Angeles concert last year, saying Wednesday it was meant as a protest against federal immigration enforcement.
The rapper said the lyric change happened during a July show amid heightened federal immigration enforcement in LA.
The song “Cop Killer” was released in the early 1990s by Ice-T’s metal band “Body Count,” and at the time sparked backlash from law enforcement groups and even then-President George H. W. Bush over its anti-police messaging.
Ice-T called the switch to “ICE Killer” a form of protest but warned that any violence against federal agents could escalate tensions across the country.
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“I think that we’re headed [to] some very ugly terrain,” Ice-T said on “The Breakfast Club” radio show.
“I think the moment somebody shoots an ICE agent, it’s going to get bad,” he added.
“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 LA audience, and it just came out. I didn’t know I was [going to] do it,” Ice-T said of his Warped Tour performance last July.
“’ICE Killer,’ ‘Cop Killer,’ it’s really protest. I’m just protesting,” the rapper later added.
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
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Immigration enforcement has sparked heightened tensions nationwide, particularly in Minneapolis. Two Americans were killed there in separate shootings involving federal agents. Both cases remain under investigation, with the Trump administration claiming justification for both shootings, while critics have said they were wrongfully killed.
Tensions with ICE flared earlier this month following the death of Renee Nicole Good during a federal enforcement action in Minneapolis. The shooting sparked weeks of intense protests in the city.
That incident, along with a separate fatal shooting by Border Patrol of Alex Pretti this week, remain under investigation by federal authorities.
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While Ice-T said the lyric change was a personal protest, he criticized celebrities who speak on the issue for publicity.
“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,” he said.
Ice-T has been outspoken about his opposition to ICE. TMZ reported that while in New York City on Tuesday, he told fans, “Stand strong and stay out the way. These cats will kill you.”
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