Ice-T, legendary rapper and frontman of the heavy metal band Body Count, has written a song blasting the U.S. political landscape. The band’s latest song, provocatively titled “F##k What You Heard,” dives into the deep divisions in American politics, comparing the two-party system to gang warfare.
In the song, Ice-T refers to Democrats and Republicans as “Democrips” and “Bloodpublicans,” drawing parallels between the parties’ identities and the colors of notorious street gangs. Blue is for the Crips and red is for the Bloods.
“Right now, you have the DemoCrips and you got the Bloodpublicans. The DemoCrips wear the blue, the Blood Republicans wear the red, and they gang bang,” Ice-T told AllHipHop.
The Grammy Award-winning artist opined like gangs and blind loyalty to a single group, stifling independent thought and keeping Americans divided. Democrats and Republicans prioritize party loyalty over addressing systemic problems in his view.
“The problem with gang banging part of politics is if you are a Democrat, you have to rock with everything the Democrats say,” he explained. “If I’m a Republican, I got to ride with the Republicans. I can’t sway across the lines. If I’m a Crip, I rock with the Crips. So, that’s the gang banging (part of it). Both wings are on the same bird.”
In the final verse of “F##k What You Heard,” Ice-T pulls no punches, driving home the idea that political division is a tool of manipulation. “I don’t care what sets you claim, left wing or right/It’s all the same,” he raps. “You’re racist or you’re not/And you ain’t f###### honest/Just because you claim cop, divide and conquer/That’s the key to the game/Keep us fighting each other while they rob the train.”
He argued that both parties contribute to the same governmental machine that maintains power.
“When you pay taxes, you don’t pay taxes to the Republicans, you pay to the government,” Ice-T emphasized. “At the end of the day, it’s all government. They would love to keep us fighting each other. Try being independent and thinking for yourself. That’s what I’m saying in this song.”
As far as who he’s voting for, Ice said, “Anybody but Donald Trump.”