The golden age of Hip Hop and the second wave of brutal metal bands kind of coincided in the late 80s-mid 90s, and we got some badass bands from it, and many now legendary Hip Hop artists (real artists, not this trash we have today. People with talent, not a computer). One of the bands that perfectly twisted these two influences was the OG Ice T fronted Body Count. They have a street pedigree that reads like a reap sheet, and they wear their influences on their sleeves like prison tats. The new release, Manslaughter, is absolutely no exception.

The album opens with the warning “Talk Shit Get Shot“, and its no ham fisted rock attempt (Looking at you Lil Wayne). Since a few of the original members are no longer with us, BC has recruited from the metal community, and it shows. The opener plays like a seasoned metal band, with a real frontman who doesn’t just front. The content gets right to the point, and doesn’t leave anything to the imagination. The album is a a return to excellent form for Body Count, and they issue the decree that they are just tired of all the fake BS, and it ends now. Further cuts show some new favorites, like th ere-imagining of Institutionalized from Suicidal Tendencies, christened “Institutionalized 2014,” which just comes off as awesome and a sweet tribute. Also, an Iced version of 99 Problems (“99 Problems BC“) is just badass, as he can lay down some of the meanest lines in the game.

Deeper cuts than these highlights just get more metal, and sometimes more poignant, as with “Get a Job” and “Pop Bubble”, the latter having Jamie Jasta lending gravel filled vocals to T’s flow. Both songs are calling out the youth and musical/fame industry, respectively, and taking them to task. Which is just the overarching theme here, that we are just becoming a soft people, and Body Count is here to bring the spine back to music!

The album dropped June 9th, so its available at iTunes, Amazon, and wherever else REAL music is sold!