Body Count

Body Count: Murder 4 Hire DVDMurder 4 Hire DVD (2005)
Woodhaven Entertainment

Reviewer Rating: 1

Contributed by: KirbyPuckettKirbyPuckett
(others by this writer | submit your own)
Published on September 4th 2005During the first season of the Dave Chapelle show, there is a skit known as the "Player Hater's Ball." In the sketch, a rowdy group of "haters" slam each other in every way possible and are honored for their verbal abuse at the award show. From the Buc Nasty (Charlie Murphy) character dishing out ri.

During the first season of the Dave Chapelle show, there is a skit known as the "Player Hater's Ball." In the sketch, a rowdy group of "haters" slam each other in every way possible and are honored for their verbal abuse at the award show. From the Buc Nasty (Charlie Murphy) character dishing out rips on Silky Johnson's (Chapelle) fur coat to Silky handing it to right back to him and a slew of celebrities from P. Diddy to Kelly Osbourne and more. During the burlesque, Ice-T is announced as the "Original Player Hater" and the previous "Hater of the Year."

I am here to take that crown from the legendary West Coast rapper. Although Ice-T is often credited for spurring the entire gangster rap genre, his involvement in the hard rock group Body Count is an embarrassment to his storied past. The group's self-titled debut record included a controversial song titled "Cop Killer" that caused enough uproar that Warner Bros. dropped the act from their label even after the record was reissued without the song. Body Count has released two other records on independent labels since their unveiling; however, their popularity has never been much more than a blip on the radar.

The DVD encompasses their 2004 reunion tour across America with stops at clubs and on the Warped Tour. While the live footage is the emphasis of the 90-minute video, there is also a documentary aspect where members of the band and Jello Biafra talk about the group's uprising, reason for starting the group, the Jason masks, "Cop Killer's" impact, and several other topics. While Body Counts music addresses important topics such as racism along with a mix bag of political undertones, they are delivered in such an immature fashion that it is often difficult to take them seriously.

The video footage during the live performance is dry and too dark to clearly view the band. This destroys any intimacy that one could feel with the members on stage. The editing of said video recordings is terribly strung together, with cuts that happen too quickly and too often, which indignant the eyes through the disc's duration. Sound quality is also mediocre for what one could expect on a live DVD.

The special features section is also dire, with a "Crib's" section that solely shows Ice-T talking on his phone about music and the band, along with a photo gallery and additional live footage. Although Warner Bros. pulled "Cop Killer" from store shelves, the band still has the leeway to perform the song live; however, that alone does not make up for how boring Body Count and the Murder 4 Hire DVD are.

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.

Anonymous (November 19, 2005)

the best thing about this dvd is that its a BC dvd,
whats crap about it is that its jumps from show to show during a song at some points you can see that what you hear is not what ice is saying
the song they play are still good
looking forward to the new album
RIP D-roc

Anonymous (September 11, 2005)

The Warped footage is from SF 2003 right?

Anonymous (September 9, 2005)

Body Count still sucks

GlassPipeMurder (September 9, 2005)

"Jello Biafra is a notorious ass kisser to popular black folk. Ice-T is a total homophobe and a sexist pig, but it's ok, he's black. He was a pimp, but it's ok because he hates cops too."

Or Biafra is a notorious proponent of free speech (see "Frankenchrist").

Anonymous (September 9, 2005)

How is a career criminal who exploided women, punk? How is a major homophobic, bling wearing creep ,a punk? Just because he hates cops?

Take a listen to Body Count, the lyrics are stupid, Ice-T's delivery sucks and the music is not that great.

I said the same shit back in 1992, eat that hippie.

cjmarsicano (September 9, 2005)

This review was very disrepsectful to what Body Count have done musically. Ice-T is much more punk that most of you Hot Topic credit card posers.

Anonymous (September 8, 2005)

Who gave those niggas rock guitars? Guitar Center?

Anonymous (September 8, 2005)

Body Count broke new ground on making such a great idea, into such a suckass reality that has never been done before.

Anonymous (September 8, 2005)

technically ice t should kill himself

Anonymous (September 8, 2005)

Body Count= Worst Lyrics ever!

Jello Biafra is a notorious ass kisser to popular black folk. Ice-T is a total homophobe and a sexist pig, but it's ok, he's black. He was a pimp, but it's ok because he hates cops too.

Anonymous (September 7, 2005)

Municipal Waste plays a Body Count cover live.

Score is for the fucking Waste.

-Ken

justatango (September 7, 2005)

"cop killa"

Anonymous (September 7, 2005)

this was a horrible cheap band

Anonymous (September 6, 2005)

score's for "cop killer".

Anonymous (September 6, 2005)

Their S/T was one of the best albums for a kid growing up in a small town.
i can remember falling asleep to "KKK Bitch" and "Voodoo".

"i - i - i... love my KKK bitch, love it when she fuck me yo"

GlassPipeMurder (September 6, 2005)

Body Count was a great band that combined sounds of punk, hardcore, metal, and rap into a politically and racially charged vehicle that altered the way many people think about stereotypes.

PS. The review is terrible. He talked more about Ice T than the release. That is all.

rkl (September 6, 2005)

in addition to the aforementioned "here comes the neighborhood"(which has a badass guitar riff, by the way) "kkk bitch" & "momma's gotta die tonight" are excellent songs, like if gg allin had easily discernable vocals.
body count were a pretty good hardcore band. no frills, no bullshit. just them & the music. if itd been white guys in the band, "cop killer" might've gotten some protest, but not the level in which it escalated.
sure, theyre not lifetime or kid dynamite or whatever other band you decide to worship after theyve broken up, but them self-described niggers can put feeling and heart into their songs, too.

TheOneTrueBill (September 6, 2005)

I acutally like the Body Count stuff I've heard outside of the novelty factor. I saw the "There Goes The Neighborhood" video on Headbangers Ball a few weeks ago. Who gave them black boys guitars?

And Public Enemy fucking rules. One of my favorites. Everyone on earth should listen to "Burn Hollywood Burn."

Anonymous (September 6, 2005)

Kirby doesn't care about black people!

Uh, I have to admit that I'd have given this thang a ten just for "Cop Killer"... Ground breaking? Freakish? I'd say they were both... And great at what they did.

Which was okayish crossover with good vocals.

-Will

dazed (September 6, 2005)

I like the Body Count song on OG and Cop Killer but this band isn't terribly interesting beyond that. Ice-T's rap albums rule, though.

Dante3000 (September 6, 2005)

When Ice T calls people "faggots" I HIGHLY doubt he MEANS to be homophobic
I know what you mean but it is still a very strange move. How would it appear if I was a rapper (merely because T is in a primarily white genre so by being a rapper I'd be in a primarily black genre) and at a show I went, "Put your fucking hands in the air you lazy niggers". Well, that wouldn't come off to postive. Even if in interviews (and my personal life) I had no problem with a person regardless of their race. This is where my confusion comes from with Ice-T and Body Count. But again this may all be part of T's persona and the larger message of Body Count, I can't tell.
-Dante

gladimnotemo (September 6, 2005)

I know there's underground stuff, and the original groups weren't based around those ideals...I was making a generalization because I don't want to have to say "Oh, except this or that or them or these guys" every time.

joeg (September 6, 2005)

"Yeah, it is hard to take Ice-T in an underground hardcore punk band seriously when rap / hip-hop is based on sexism, homophobia, greed, etc etc, and punk is (or should be) so against those"

you know, there are rap/hip hop groups that aren't on mtv or the radio. try listening to one before you make sweeping generalizations and make yourself look like a fool..........wait, that would be too late.

Anonymous (September 6, 2005)

When Ice T calls people "faggots" I HIGHLY doubt he MEANS to be homophobic. Ice has said in many interviews that he has no problem with gays, not to mention Jello Biafra (who's, of course, very anti-homophobia) supports Ice. And to the guy who said all rap is based on "greed" and "sexism"....you obviously have never listened to a little group known as PUBLIC ENEMY or Dead Prez. You are the ignorant one, get your facts straight.

Anonymous (September 6, 2005)

"punk is (or should be) so against those"

...who says so? bad brains could be one example.

sure bodycount are a bit of a joke now, but i saw them play in australia in 1993 and back then it was a damn good show. way more 'punk' than a lot of the hundreds of 'punk' bands i've seen in the 12 years since. and ice-t is a good frontman.

gladimnotemo (September 6, 2005)

Yeah, it is hard to take Ice-T in an underground hardcore punk band seriously when rap / hip-hop is based on sexism, homophobia, greed, etc etc, and punk is (or should be) so against those.

Score is for Law and Order!

notfeelingcreative (September 6, 2005)

"Not a wise move anywhere but esspecially not in San Francisco. Perhaps this odd paradox is all part of the bands image, or perhaps Ice-T is foolish and random."

It's not just Ice, as a whole Hip-Hop is largely anti-racist and notoriously homophobic.

Dante3000 (September 6, 2005)

I respect Ice-T and what he has done in respects to pushing freedom of speech. That being said I never really got him or Body Count. The band seemed stuck somewhere between being break through and being freakish, between being blatantly offensive for effect and being just plan iggnorant.
I love some of their work and thought "Cop Killer" was a brilliant marketing move and a clever song. And yet when they played 2002(2003?) warped in San Francisco Ice-T went on to heckle the crowd by calling them faggots. Not a wise move anywhere but esspecially not in San Francisco. Perhaps this odd paradox is all part of the bands image, or perhaps Ice-T is foolish and random.
-Dante

Anonymous (September 6, 2005)

does punknews care about black people at all?

Anonymous (September 6, 2005)

It's supposed to be sloppy and funny......I thought the song "Cop Killer" itself is pretty damn rockin'. But I will agree that the rest of the debut album is boring. Their last album was much better though, with better production and a sharper sense of humor.

notfeelingcreative (September 6, 2005)

It's all over ebay, it goes for 10-16 bucks, so not really, but depending on the condition, you could probably get back what you paid for it, if you hype it up enough!

notfeelingcreative (September 6, 2005)

For my dead homies, for you're FREEDOM! HAVE SOME MUTHAFUCKIN' COURAGE!! Sing along..

Anonymous (September 6, 2005)

cop killer is hilarious and totally gonzo. i can't belive it was ever taken seriously.

"i know your family's grieviiiiiiin...

FUCK EM"

maverick (September 6, 2005)

I have a copy of that Body Count CD with "Cop Killer" on it; is that shit worth any money?

-Scott