For once, I am actually upset that an awards show became all about Kanye West. At the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday, Kanye took the stage at the very end of the night, set to close down the show. I, like many fans, was very excited, especially when the music started and I realized he was performing his latest single, "All Day." But that excitement quickly turned to disappointment a few minutes in, as Kanye was being bleeped out so often, you barely got to hear the song. Of course, the FCC dictates that profane language cannot be broadcast on television, so it makes sense that ABC was preventing viewers from hearing the more explicit parts of Kanye's performance. However, looking back at the performance, that doesn't seem to be the case with every "bleep." Update: When asked to comment on the performance's censorship, ABC said: "Kanye West is an incredible performer and one of today's most influential artists, however he did not make his performance available for review prior to air resulting in an edited appearance in tonight's live broadcast."
Kanye began the performance with "All Day," and when uncensored, the song does use the "N" word very, very frequently. I'm not complaining about those portions of the song being silenced, but if you listen to the performance carefully and are a fan of "All Day," you might notice that more than curse words are missing. Early in the performance, Kanye appears to be saying "playa" instead of the N word, and while we obviously can't hear if he changed his mind since it would've been silenced, that does suggest that the rapper was at least trying to censor himself. And throughout "All Day," you often hear Kanye repeating the titular phrase in place of an expletive. When Kanye switched to "Black Skinhead" midway through his set, how much of the song we were missing just became more obvious.
But don't worry, Kanye fans, I have you covered. Below you'll find the full video of Kanye's Billboard Music Awards performance followed by a compilation of all the non-profane lyrics it's missing (lyrics as listed by genius.com and Google Play) to help you fill in the gaps. Because no matter how you feel about Kanye, you have to admit, the man is clear in his message, and that's something fans always want to hear.
"All Day"
- "You already know"
- "And you ain't gettin' money 'less you got eight figures/For that Jesus piece, man, I've been saved, n****/Just talked to Farrakhan, that's sensei, n*****"
- "If you run into me, better have Allstate with yah/You a Rico Suave n****/Ride 'round listen to Sade, n****/If you ain't with us, you in our way, n****/You an actor, you should be on Broadway, n****/Cause you do s*** the broad way, n****"
- "Tell your P.O. how-how long you been high?"
- "Pour some Hen out for my n***** that died"
- "They need that Ye in the streets, boy"
- "Like a light skinned slave, boy, we in the m*********n house"
"Black Skinhead"
- "My leather black jeans"
- "Middle America"
- "Number one question they asking/F*** every question you asking/If I don't get run out by Catholics"
- "So follow me up 'cause this s***'s about to go"
- "Stop all that c*** s***/Early morning cartoon s***/This is that goon s***/F*** up your whole afternoon s***"
- "Black out the room, b****/Stop all that c*** s***/These n*** ain't doin' s***/Them n*** ain't doing s***"
- "You n**** ain't breathing you gasping/These n***** ain't ready for action/Ready-ready for action"
So there you have it. Unless "black leather jeans" has a profane meeting I'm not aware of, it seems we missed out on a bunch of lyrics on Sunday night. But don't worry, I'm sure Kanye will more than make up for it at his next performance.
