[HOST] As of the end of summer 2020, the number
one song in the country is Cardi B and Megan
Thee Stallion’s “WAP,” but the explicit
version on streaming services is muuuch different
than what you’ll hear in the music video
and on the radio.
CARDI B: I just wanna give y’all a heads
up, with the music video is going to be the
censored version of the song because the song
is so nasty that YouTube was like, ‘Hold
on, wait a minute, song might just be too
god damn nasty!’
[HOST] So how and why does an artist create
a clean version for radio?
ELTON: I think it's really important to recreate
the song in a flawless manner to where everybody
can listen to it.
[HOST] That’s Elton Chueng, a mixing engineer who
has worked with everyone from DaBaby, to Doja
Cat to Chance the Rapper. He spoke with Genius
about what it really takes to recreate ‘clean’
versions of explicit songs.
ELTON: A good clean version can really drive
more streams, more listens and more radio
play.
[HOST] While many explicit songs are edited
by replacing curses with adlibs and other
sounds like DMX’s “Party Up”...
...recreating songs is an artform in itself.
According to Elton, St. Louis artist Smino
is particularly good at it.
ELTON: I was at the computer, I just took
out every single curse word and to me Smino
was right there next to me, just going in
word for word, just on the fly.
[HOST] Chueng believes having an edited version
to an explicit song makes it even easier to
have a wider audience. And according to New
York Hot 97 music director TT Torez, you never
know who’s listening......
TT: So the last thing you want to hear as
you're driving your kid to school is pussy,
fuck, and all of these explicit lyrics at
a certain time in the morning while your kid
is in the car.
[HOST] Torrez sat down with Genius to breakdown
why clean versions are needed for radio. In
the U.S., the radio is regulated by the FCC,
or the Federal Communications Commission,
and they monitor all media that is broadcast
across the country.
TT: So the FCC is really there to protect
the consumer, those who listen to the radio,
that's why these regulations are in place.
That's why, you know, you could be fined for
violating these regulations and you can possibly
lose your license.
[HOST] Hip-hop has gone to war with the FCC
many times in the past - notably Eminem called
this out in 2002 on “Without Me.”
In the late 80’s, Miami’s 2 Live Crew
faced backlash for their seminal album, ‘As
Nasty As They Wanna Be.’
Reporter: Sang lyrics ruled obscene by a federal
judge just for days earlier. Authorities then
kept their word and arrested two members of
the group as they pulled away in their limousine.
[HOST] And so with “WAP,” that’s just
another song facing the same pushback - although
not necessarily from the government.
TT: I don't understand why so many people
are so up in arms about WAP, because this
is not the first explicit song that has been
played on the radio. Akinyele, Put It In Your
Mouth was a big radio record.
[HOST] In fact, Torrez credits the Queen Bee,
Lil Kim for helping break the mold of women
talking slick on wax.
TT: She was dominant, she was someone that
men wanted and fantasized about.
when Kim's version comes on and her lyrics...
And recreating songs for the radio isn’t
new either. In fact, it goes back to the 50s.
The late rock legend Little Richard’s “Tutti
Frutti” originally was a little too explicit
for radio.
Charles: The original lyrics to ‘Tutti Frutti’
is, ‘Tutti Frutti, Good booty. If it’s
tight, it’s alright. And if it’s greasy,
it makes it easy.”
HOST: You cleaned up the lyrics to record
that song…
RICHARD: It was Whop bop b-luma b-lop bam
bom, but it wasn’t ‘Tuti frutti aw rooty,
it was tutti frutti something else.’
[HOST] And sometimes recreated versions can
be so good that it’s the only version that
you remember.
TT: When I was a young kid, listening to juvenile
Back That Thing Up, I never knew he was saying
"back that ass up," because I was never allowed
to listen to the dirty version.
TT: I would say I definitely like listening
to the dirty versions better, but I would
not let my child listen to those dirty records.
[HOST] I’m Jacques Morel with Genius News
bringing you the meaning and the knowledge
behind the music. Peace.
