Back in October, Body Count released the music video for their version of the Pink Floyd classic, "Comfortably Numb". The video features legendary Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour, whose unmistakable solos provide a haunting backdrop to Ice-T’s raw, electrifying new lyrics that radically update the song.
Ice-T and Body Count were guests last night (Wednesday, December 4) on NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Ahead of their performance of "Comfortably Numb", Ice-T sat down with Jimmy to talk about a number of topics, including his take on the Pink Floyd song.
Fallon, who earlier pointed out that Ice-T received rare approval from the band to sample "Comfortably Numb", and then got a collaboration with Gilmour, said, "Pink Floyd said yes to you. They don't say yes to anyone."
Ice-T replied, "Not only David Gilmour, but David Gilmour and Roger Waters, who haven't agreed on anything in 20 years."
Asked how it came about, Ice-T adds, "Well, rappers always listen to music for tracks they could rap over: breakbeats, things like that. And I always liked the bass line to 'Comfortably Numb.' I wanted to rap on it. Then I said, 'well, let's just do it with Body Count.'"
After revealing that he sent it to publishers, who said, "No, Pink Floyd doesn't allow samples or covers," he thought it was "dead in the water", until his manager got involved, and got to David Gilmour's manager.
"David heard the record and was blown away, just by the lyrics, the lyrics," says Ice. "'Cause it's his music, but it was the lyrics. He said, 'I totally approve it.' So then they go, 'Okay, we gotta get to Roger Waters.' Now I don't know what's going on with them, I don't know. So Roger Waters listens to it, and he said, 'Well, who sang it?' They said Ice-T. He approved it. So now you've got two people on opposite sides who approved the song, which made me feel really good. Because that means that the song is honest and real. Then Gilmour says, 'I want to play on it.'"
Watch the interview, as well as the performance, below:
Body Count's Merciless album is out now via Century Media Records. Order here.
Tracklisting:
"Interrogation Interlude"
"Merciless"
"The Purge" (feat. Corpsegrinder)
"Psychopath" (feat. Joe Bad)
"Fuck What You Heard"
"Live Forever" (feat. Howard Jones)
"Do Or Die"
"Comfortably Numb"
"Lying Motherfucka"
"Drug Lords" (feat. Max Cavalera)
"World War"
"Mic Contract"
"Merciless" video:
"Comfortably Numb" video:
"Fuck What You Heard" video:
"Psychopath” video:
