'Bitches' to be heard at Oscars
2006-03-02 07:52
Los Angeles - There will be no F-word
but the word "bitches" will be heard during the first-ever rap
performance at the Academy Awards on Sunday.
At the request of the Academy and ABC, which is
broadcasting the Oscars show, the authors of best song nominee
It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp from the film Hustle & Flow
have substituted less offensive words for the song's
profanity-laced lyrics.
"As long as the Academy approves it, it's cool," said
rapper Jordan "Juicy J" Houston, a member of Three 6 Mafia,
which wrote the song for the film and will be performing it.
But he said he was told by actress Taraji P Henson, who
performed the song in the film, and will sing onstage with
Three 6 Mafia, that the show's producers were letting her keep
the word "bitches", in the chorus. "Taraji said the Academy
told her she can say 'bitches,'" said Houston.
A spokesperson for Gil Cates, the producer of the Oscars
telecast, confirmed that the word "bitches" was not one of the
words changed by the nominated artists.
In another flap over lyrics a few years ago, actor-comedian
Robin Williams performed a cleaned-up version of Blame Canada
the off-colour, Oscar-nominated song from the animated South
Park movie during the Oscars telecast, replacing the f-word
with a lesser f-word that means an expulsion of intestinal
gas.
After being asked to perform the pimp song at the 78th
Academy Awards, Houston, along with fellow songwriters, Paul
"DJ Paul" Beauregard and Cedric "Frayser Boy" Coleman, combed
through the tune, line by line, substituting various words to
make the lyrics meet ABC's broadcast standards.
The song portrays the life of a hustler in the inner city
of Three 6 Mafia's home town, Memphis, Tennessee,
"We know there will be children watching and we want it to
be family-friendly," Houston told Reuters.
While rapper Eminem won the best song Oscar in 2003 for
Lose Yourself from the film 8 Mile, he skipped the ceremony
and the song was not performed.
Some industry analysts have suggested the Academy is hoping
to reach a younger demographic by putting rap on the show.
Aaron Rosenberg, lawyer for Three 6 Mafia, said it was a
milestone for the Academy to recognize hip-hop's influence on
American culture and the group is extremely sensitive to
decency concerns after the baring of Janet Jackson's breast
during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show.
"They worked hard to clean it up as much as possible
without compromising their artistic integrity," he said.
Just in case, ABC is also expected to use a five-second
delay to aid network censors.