Ice-T Breaks Down Origins of New Body Count Song “Psychopath”: Exclusive
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The post Ice-T Breaks Down Origins of New Body Count Song “Psychopath”: Exclusive appeared first on Consequence.
Welcome back to Origins, our recurring series that gives artists a space to break down everything that went into their latest release. Today, Ice-T digs into the twisted inspirations behind the latest Body Count release, “Psychopath.”
Body Count have returned with their new single, “Psychopath,” offering Ice-T the opportunity to step back into a different side of himself kept hidden while playing Sergeant Fin Tutuola on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
As Ice-T tells Consequence over Zoom, he relishes in extremes when making music — particularly when it comes to the macabre. “I think humans have a blood lust,” he explains. “We’re fascinated by it… we run to the car crash.”
For the multi-hyphenate, working with his hardcore/metal project, Body Count, offers a different kind of catharsis and escapism than playing a character on TV, or playing a character in his solo music. Their new release, “Psychopath” (featuring guest vocals from Fit for an Autopsy’s Joe Badolato), is exactly the kind of song the title might suggest — it’s frantic, high-energy, and wildly dynamic. From the moment he heard the instrumental, Ice-T knew this was a track where he needed to lay down a verse.
“It started with the music,” he emphasizes. “It sounds like what it’s like to be in a psychopath’s head. The track was psychotic, and it needed me to sing about something crazy.”
Stream “Psychopath” and read Ice-T’s full Origins breakdown below. The song is set to appear on Body Count’s new album, Merciless, set for release later this year.
True Crime:
Photo by RDNE Stock Project via Pexels
Psychopaths have been embedded in our culture — we all know about Jeffrey Dahmer, we all know about [John Wayne] Gacy. I’m on SVU, where every week we have a different serial killer.
There’s so much true crime that I think every human being can profile a psychopath right now, because we’ve been indoctrinated with it. So my job was now to be him and think from his perspective: “I was born to hunt humans.” That’s where that line came from.
Getting Into Character:
Photo by Paul Green via Unsplash
When you’re doing television, you’re just following their instructions. You’re acting the character they want from you. And as an actor, you’re going to act until the director or the writer sees what they imagined. It’s their space.
In this space, I created the character. I had to get into it, and think evil thoughts and stuff. “I hear voices in my head/ Most of them are schizophrenic.”
Horror Movies:
Photo by Elti Meshau via Unsplash
Body Count, we’re grindhouse. We’re a Tarantino movie, where it’s so violent that you have to laugh. At some points in Body Count music, I’m dead serious, and other times, it’s just fun. Stepping into the shoes for “Psychopath” was fun.
When it comes to horror movies, I like the grotesque — my wife Coco does, too. I finally saw Martyrs, which everyone told me to see. “Psychopath” is just entertainment for those of us that like horror shit. If you’re not into that genre, you won’t get the record. You’ll just be like, “Oh, that’s just violence.” But there’s enough of us that enjoy it.
I want you to put on this song and close your eyes and when it’s over, ask, “But what the fuck did I just listen to?”
Ice-T Breaks Down Origins of New Body Count Song “Psychopath”: Exclusive
Mary Siroky
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