I was a senior in high school when “My Name Is” hit the radio and MTV. Because the song was played on those various outlets, the clean version was always the one you heard unless you bought the album. It was really the first time I recall hearing alternate lyrics used as a clean version, as opposed to just having all the curse words or otherwise bleeped out or scrambled in some way. I’ll never forget hearing that first line, “Hi, kids. Do you like Primus?” I remember thinking, “Did I just hear a rap song refer to Primus?” That was definitely a first. The subsequent singles and albums continued to dominate the airwaves in the years that followed and the rest is history.
Song: “Without Me”
Artist: Eminem
Songwriter(s): Marshall Mathers, Jeffery Bass, Kevin Bell, Anne Dudley, Malcolm McLaren, Trevor Horn
Album(s): Without Me (Single) / The Eminem Show (Full-length)
Release Year(s): 2002
Song: “I Just Want To Celebrate”
Artist: Rare Earth
Songwriter(s): Dino Fekaris, Nick Zesses
Album(s): One World
Release Year(s): 1971
I Wish You Would Hear Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6jFrq03xPtVVOexYHZF1OW?si=bc9df95d2d854d