Paris in the Springtime? In the Fall? Ask Rick Rubin

A controversial rap album that’s been in limbo since the Ice-T “Cop Killer” controversy broke may finally get released.

The album, by militant Bay Area rapper Paris, was originally planned for a September release by New York-based Tommy Boy Records. But in July, Tommy Boy canceled the plans at the urging of its parent company Time Warner--which took most of the heat for “Cop Killer.”

Time Warner officials were concerned about the content of the album--there’s at least one anti-police song, “Coffee, Doughnuts & Death”--and cover art depicting a sniper on President Bush’s trail.

Paris, who considers himself a modern-day Black Panther, has never been shy about his feelings toward police. After the April Los Angeles riots, he told The Times, “The only language the oppressors in this nation seem to understand is violence. So it’s time for us to start speaking that language. . . . The last thing I would want to be right now is a police officer. Because starting tonight, they’re going to start getting poached.”

Speculation about the revival of the album has centered on Def American Recordings owner Rick Rubin, who has often been linked to acts too hot for others to handle, including Houston rappers the Geto Boys and comedian Andrew Dice Clay. Though Def American is also part of Time Warner, sources say that Rubin is working out an arrangement to release the album outside of the conglomerate’s Warner Elektra Atlantic distribution network.

Rubin has already set up two labels, Ill and Whte (pronounced white ), which will be offered through independent “street-level” distributors used by Tommy Boy for many of that label’s recordings. Ill will concentrate on hip-hop while Whte will concentrate on techno and industrial acts.

The machinations being discussed for the Paris album are unclear, though Def American spokeswoman Heidi Robinson says that Paris is definitely not signed to Ill and that she has not heard of any official relationship between the artist and the company.