MTV says it received a video for the song with the Bush reference taken out. Some radio stations continue to play the edited version, but others are responding to listener demands to play the original.
Asked about his label's decision to omit the Bush reference from some radio and video versions of the song, Jadakiss sounds a bit beleaguered. "Well, you know how the politics are today," he says. "The censorship is crazy." No matter what version of the song has been played, however, hip-hop stations and the music cable channels have received few if any complaints, and the song has barely raised an eyebrow among its intended audience.
"Everybody ain't gonna like it," Jadakiss says, "but as long as they hear it, my job is done."
(Christian Lantry -- Interscope Via AP)
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The BET channel is playing the video in heavy rotation -- the version that includes the Bush reference. "There was never any question that we would leave that line in," says Stephen Hill, BET's senior vice president of music, talent and entertainment programming. "Our viewers are people who believe in the First Amendment, and they recognize that this is the artist's point of view. We've had no negative feedback about the song."
At the Baltimore rap and hip-hop station WERQ-FM (92.3), the song is a top-five most requested staple. Music director and midday personality Neke says the station plays the edited version of the song because that's what the label sent. But she emphasizes that the station's listeners "are well aware of what the cut-out lyrics are." Neke adds that listeners aren't surprised by the lyric because many think there's some truth to it.
"It's like going over to your aunt's house and everyone is thinking that her potato salad is the worst," she says. "Finally someone says it's awful and everyone gets mad at him for saying it, but you know he's right. People think things all the time, they just don't come out and say it."
The Bush administration, for now, is steering clear of the melee. "The White House doesn't do music reviews," White House spokesman Trent Duffy said yesterday when asked about the song. "We are confident that the heart and soul of America knows that the terrorists are responsible for the horrors of 9/11."
For his part, Jadakiss is treating the controversy as an ongoing civics lesson. He says that when he votes this fall, it will be his first time.
Any chance Bush will get his vote? "Let's just say I'm a Democrat," the rapper responds tersely.
