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Beatmaster V

American drummer (1959–1996)

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMay 1, 2026
Entity authorityQ7926274
Source-derived summary

Victor Ray Wilson (February 20, 1959 – April 30, 1996), better known as Beatmaster V, was an American musician, best known as the original drummer of metal band Body Count.

Early life

Wilson grew up in South Central, Los Angeles, and attended Crenshaw High School with Ice-T and Ernie C. As a musician he participated in music wherever he could, including church music with his local church.

In his community and church, as a youth, Beatmaster V practiced drums and other instruments. He excelled in his musical ability at an early age. By the time he was 11 years old he played with the blues musician Lou Rawls, as a drummer. He continued on and took drum classes, and built more musical skill playing with various musicians like Ernie C.

Music career

Along with guitarist Ernie C, vocalist Ice-T, bassist Mooseman and rhythm guitarist D-Roc, Wilson formed the heavy metal band Body Count during the recording of Ice-T's fourth hip hop album, O.G. Original Gangster. Musically, later, after their many days of rehearsing and performing, Beatmaster V and Ernie C. ended up in the same L.A. band, Body Count. The band was founded by Ice T. & the other bandmates. After initially presenting the Body Count band sounds in L.A. clubs and venues Body Count went on to perform in the original Lollapalooza), & many other events and places across America & around the world.

Death

Wilson died of leukemia in 1996.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Beatmaster V” is american drummer (1959–1996). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Beatmaster, American and drummer, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1959, 1996—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1959-02-20. For this dossier, Beatmaster, American and drummer is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “american drummer (1959–1996)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7926274. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1959 and 1996.

Critical limits

The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Beatmaster V”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Beatmaster V primary sources, Beatmaster V archive and Beatmaster research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Beatmaster V” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.