BODY COUNT's ICE-T On Coronavirus Pandemic: 'It's Something That Was Gonna Happen Eventually'

In a new interview with The MetalSucks Podcast, BODY COUNT frontman Ice-T spoke about the spread of the coronavirus now holding much of the world hostage. He said (hear audio below): "It's something that was gonna happen eventually. And as much as we like to play like we're prepared for these types of things, we aren't. We spend so much money on war and all that stuff. I've been aware that the biggest threat to humans would be some form of a disease, some form of a virus or something a long time ago. Maybe if they make it through this one — which I'm pretty sure they will, 'cause the thing is not as deadly as it could be — I think that it's gonna put everybody on check for this type of situation, these outbreaks. 'Cause this won't be the last one."

Ice-T, who resides in New Jersey, also talked about the global economic and financial slowdown triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.

"This has only been four days [since Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy on announced that New Jersey would be put under a stay-at-home order]. Now, what if it goes six months? So you're basically looking at a recalibration of the world as we know it — the way the world operates.

"When everyone starts to hurt at once, you can't go to the left or to the right and say, 'Hey, man, help me,' 'cause that guy is fucked up," he continued. "It's [hurting] everybody simultaneously. So it's gonna be very, very interesting how this plays out. I hope it doesn't go real bad. It could pop off. You're gonna hear about it popping off in different cities, because somebody's gonna shoot somebody. [Laughs] I mean, as fucked up as it is, it's gonna pop off."

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he hopes to have the country's economy back up and running by Easter — Sunday, April 12. He also once again compared the coronavirus to the flu in an apparent attempt to play down the risk posed by the new disease. But public health experts have warned that the coronavirus is significantly more contagious.

More than 400,000 coronavirus cases have been reported worldwide and more than 18,000 deaths so far, putting public health systems and emergency services under immense pressure.

BODY COUNT's seventh studio album, "Carnivore", was released on March 6 via Century Media.