Kanye West Is a Genius of Self-Censorship
Kanye West dropped by Late Night With Jimmy Fallon for a surprise performance yesterday, but though the appearance was apparently last minute, West didn’t miss a beat. In fact, his performance was so flawless that, for all the write-ups about his appearance, no one seemed to notice the way he seamlessly switched up two of the least TV-friendly the lyrics of his song, “Bound 2.”
Like the way subtly censored this line:
One good girl is worth a thousand chickens.
Or effortlessly switched up this rhyme:
She asked me what I wished for on my wish list.
Have you ever asked your chick for other chickens?
If you want to see it for yourself, he starts rapping about chickens around 2:30:
In fact, the changes were so seamless that I actually watched it once myself without noticing. Thankfully, one of West’s producers on Yeezus, Hudson Mohawke, caught the change:
IMHO 1 good girl is only worth about 350-400 chickens
-- hudson mohawke (@HudMo) September 10, 2013
The lines seem destined to go down with other great moments in impeccable self-censorship, from “Yippe-kai-yay, Mr. Falcon!” to “I have had it with these monkey-fighting snakes on this Monday to Friday plane!” On the other hand, West’s words will only provide more ammo for critics who say all rappers ever rap about is bullets, bling, and chickens.