Complex Original
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The clean edit in hip-hop. Over the years, it has allowed us to hear our favorite songs on the radio. It has allowed you to blast your music loud in your bedroom as a teenager without your parents getting pissed. The best clean edits don't take your love of the song away but rather allow its play in different venues. The worst edits butcher the track and edit so heavily that not only does the song become un-enjoyable but almost comical in its reworking (see Eminem's "My Fault"). Here are the Best Clean Edits of Hip-Hop Songs.
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Radio Versions? That's That Sh*t I Don't Like.
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Artist: Chief Keef
Song:“I Don't Like”
On the clean edit of Chief Keef's “I Don't Like,” the listener never does actually get to hear what Chief “Don't Like” due to the fact that 70 percent of the song is edited out. Take for example 0:49 seconds in where Keef says literallynothing due to the edit—sayin' nothin', that's that _ _ _ _I don't like. The clean edit of this track makes for a good drinking game: Every time you hear an edit, take a shot. If you “hate bein' sober,” it's the game for you!
We Can't Hear the Roll Call
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Artist: Lil' Jon and the Eastside Boyz
Song: “Real nigg* Roll Call”
When the dirty version hook of a song goes “Y'all nigg*s can't f*ck wit my nigg*s ho!/Motherf*ck that nigg*!/Motherf*ck that bitch!” one doesn't need to be a genius to realize the clean version of the song might leave a little something to be desired. This is the case with the clean version of Lil' Jon and the Eastside Boyz's “Real nigg*Roll Call.” The song retains its late-'aughts rowdiness, but some of that “crunk juice” is missing.
Houston, We Got A F****in' Problem
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Artist: A$AP Rocky
Song: “f*ckin' Problems”
Here's the f*ckin' problem: You really can't edit a song called “f*ckin' Problems.” And it's not even the “f*ckin' problem” that's the f*ckin' problem on this clean edit. It's the part of the hook where the original says “I love bad bitches…” The clean edit, comically, edits to “I love bad bad…” Bad bad? Bad what? “I love bad, bad that's my, that's my problem.” We fail to see the f*ckin' problem here.
Where Did Bizarre Go?
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Artist: Eminem
Song: “One Shot 2 Shot”
There's an APB out for D12 member Bizarre on the clean edit of Eminem's “One Shot 2 Shot.” To be fair, Bizarre's verse, revolving around the killing of mass amounts of people, isn't exactly clean edit friendly but that doesn't change the fact that at 0:19 seconds in, Bizarre just disappears for about 5 seconds…just silence. Em's verse isn't much better.
This Song Was Better When It Was Retarded
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Artist: Black Eyed Peas
Song: “Let's Get Retarded”
“Let's Get It Started” might be one of the most successful clean edits of all time. It's also one of the most blatant attempts ever to take a song from a hip-hop audience to a pop audience. Originally “Let's Get Retarded” on the Black Eyed Peas' commercial breakthrough album,Elephunk, the song's use of the word “retarded” brought initial backlash, which the group quickly addressed with its vanilla, massively successful rework to “Let's Get It Started.”
An Xxplosive Edit
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Artist: Dr. Dre
Song: “Xxplosive”
As it turns out, leaving Kurupt off the clean edit of Dr. Dre's2001 track “Xxplosive” may have been an easier option. Tha Dogg Pound member's “bitch”-laden classic verse is so heavily edited from 0:36 seconds that it's not so much an edit as it is Kurupt's mic cutting out every 1 to 2 seconds. There are no lyrics from 1:14 to 1:19 of the clean edit, which represents Kurupt's classic bars “Bitch nigg*, you more of a bitch than a bitch/You ain't into hitting puss* or hitting the switch/You into hitting bitches all for the grip/You punk bitch.”
It's a Crazy Brotha Named Ice Cube?
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Artist: N.W.A
Song: “StraightOuttaCompton”
Quick: Think of a historic hip-hop song that would lose all of its power and intrigue once modified to a clean edit. Did you guess “Straight Outta Compton”? If you did, you would be correct. The classic hip-hop song that introduced N.W.A to the masses is one of the most unfortunate clean edits. Let's be honest: “Straight outta Compton, crazy young brotha named Ice Cube” doesn't have the same punch to it. And Eazy E's “I see a motherf*cking cop, I don't dodge him” is reworked to “when I see a police, I don't dodge 'em.” Some things are better left explicit.
Not as “Hot”
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Artist: Bobby Shmurda
Song: “Hot nigg*”
In the summer of 2014, the “Shmoney Dance” ruled the music world, catapulted by the video for Bobby's hit song “Hot nigg*.” The “super clean” version of “Hot nigg*” might have you hitting the “shmoney dance” like this guy.All that being said, clean versions are the least of Bobby's worries these days.
Wait, This Song Isn't About Pizza
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Artist: Eminem
Song: “My Fault”
Eminem's “My Fault” off theSlim Shady LP was centered around a bad trip after eating magic mushrooms. The clean version of “My Fault” centers around a dispute over pizza toppings (seriously, that's what it's about). It would be clever if it wasn't ridiculous (Susan ate mushrooms on pizza and broke out in hives and needs to go to the hospital). The funniest part of the edit is how some of the lyrics, many of which don't fit, still appear from the dirty version (how did Susan go from eating mushroom pizza to talking about her dad beating her with hangers?).
