Matthew Sheffield did a very odd thing in a July 23 NewsBusters post: he touted something said by former hardcore rapper Ice-T. No, really — but first, Sheffield has to obscure his identity somewhat:
He’s not exactly a poster child but apparently rapper and heavy metal singer Tracy Marrow (stage name Ice-T) is a supporter of gun rights.
In an interview with a British television channel, Marrow stood up for the Second Amendment saying that the right to bear arms is “the last form of defense against tyranny” and not merely for hunting.
Sheffield is mum on Ice-T’s career, which is probably a good thing because it might arouse the attention of the guy who runs NewsBusters, Brent Bozell.
That “heavy metal” career Sheffield alludes to is a band Ice-T fronted called Body Count, which performed a little ditty called “Cop Killer.” In a 1997 column, Bozell called the song “nauseatingly violent.”
Ice-T, meanwhile, doesn’t appear to be too happy about his newfound fame as a right-wing poster boy. After Rush Limbaugh noted his remarks and condescendingly said he was impressed that Ice-T knew what “tyranny” meant, Ice-T responded by calling Limbaugh a “racist piece of shit.”
Funny, Sheffield hasn’t seen fit to mention any of that at NewsBusters. Then again, covering up for Limbaugh, no matter how offensive he gets, is what the Media Research Center does.