Ice T, Taylor Swift, and How Cultural Considerations Inform Their Music
“Fuck the police” chants Ice T, in his hit “Cop Killer,” “tonight we get even.” These are the some of the lyrics to one of his most successful, and most controversial, songs. Released in 1992, this song was written partially in protest of the acquittal of two police officers who beat Rodney King in LA. Conversely, almost twenty years later, we have another pop star, Taylor Swift, singing “Drew walks by me, can he tell that I can’t breathe?” She continues, “He’s the reason for the teardrops on my guitar. The only thing that keeps me wishing ...