Lyrically, this is two smoking barrels of imagery pointed straight at the corrupt LA police department. Maligned by a racist establishment (the gun-toting Charleton Heston came out of his dotage to campaign against it), "Cop Killer" stands as one of the most significant US protest songs since the early era of Dylan -- think of it as "The Times They Are A-Changin'" for an urban American audience disillusioned by the broken promise of the Civil Rights era. Better raps have been written -- Grand Master Flash's "The Message" soars above it in complexity and ambition -- but few have been as scorching.
Lyrically, this is two smoking barrels of imagery pointed straight at the corrupt LA police department. Maligned by a racist establishment (the gun-toting Charleton Heston came out of his dotage to campaign against it), "Cop Killer" stands as one of the most significant US protest songs since the early era of Dylan -- think of it as "The Times They Are A-Changin'" for an urban American audience disillusioned by the broken promise of the Civil Rights era. Better raps have been written -- Grand Master Flash's "The Message" soars above it in complexity and ambition -- but few have been as scorching.