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The song criticizes police brutality and systemic racism.[3][4] It begins with KRS-One whooping twice to evoke a police siren (the "sound of the police"); this recurs several times throughout the song. The heavy bass sample loop, and part of a guitar solo were taken from Grand Funk Railroad's cover of "Inside-Looking Out", the final track of their LP Grand Funk.[5] Part of the drum track is taken from "Sing a Simple Song" by Sly and the Family Stone.[5]
The music video was directed by Michael Lucero.
In popular culture
The song was featured in the American films Cop Out, Tag, Black and Blue, and the British film Attack the Block. It was featured as an in-game radio selection in the 2015 video game Battlefield Hardline (by Electronic Arts), and was used for the end credits of the 2016 movie Ride Along 2[9] and in the 2016 published The Angry Birds Movie soundtrack. It has appeared in the TV show Brooklyn Nine-Nine.[10] The 'Whoop whoop, sound of da police' hook has been referenced by ska punk band Sonic Boom Six on their track "Piggy in the Middle",[11] by Body Count on their song "Black Hoodie" and in metal band Skindred on the title track of their 2002 debut album Babylon. The song plays over the final scenes and closing credits of season 3, episode 2 of Sex Education.[12]
It is the theme music for the long-running stand-up show on BBC Radio 4, Alfie Moore - It's a Fair Cop.
The song is well known in France, where the chorus is commonly misinterpreted as "assassins de la police" (literrally "police killer").[13] A remix of the song by DJ Cut Killer was featured in the soundtrack of the film La Haine.[14] The hip hop duo Suprême NTM later sampled the chorus on their album Live.[13]
On February 3, 2012, hacker group Anonymous defaced the Boston Police Department's web page, replacing it with an embedded version of KRS-One's "Sound of da Police" music video and a message criticizing the department's treatment of the Occupy Boston movement.[15]
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