Ice Cube on Performing ‘F*** Tha Police:’ ‘I Ain’t Doing Nothing Wrong’

By Sameer Rao Jul 20, 2016

N.W.A.‘s "Fuck Tha Police," with its fierce criticism of police brutality and lyrics depicting violence committed by and against the LAPD, made the rap group an enemy of the FBI and law enforcement agencies across the country. Lyrics like "I’m a sniper with a hell of a scope/Taking out a cop or two, they can’t cope with me" appear especially controversial following the killings of five officers in Dallas and three in Baton Rouge. But just as N.W.A. stood up for free speech and against state violence towards people of color in the late 1980s, group member Ice Cube said Monday (July 18) that he would not stop performing the song live.

"I ain’t going to change nothing I do, because I ain’t doing nothing wrong," the rapper and actor told TMZ while picking up luggage at an airport. The outlet’s reporter did not cite any specific lyrics or explicitly mention the Dallas or Baton Rouge shootings when asking Ice Cube if he felt any pressure to stop performing the song, but TMZ cited the aforementioned lyrics in its report.