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Rapper Jadakiss Blames Bush for Sept. 11
Over the years, the rapper Jadakiss has depicted a world of drug dealing, murder and other assorted mayhem without raising many eyebrows. But seven words in his new song "Why" — "Why did Bush knock down the towers?" — has gotten Jadakiss the most mainstream attention, and criticism, of his career. "It caught the ear of white America," he said proudly during a phone interview with The Associated Press. "It's a good thing. No matter what you do, somebody's not going to like it, but for the most part, most people love the song."

Not everyone loves it. Bill O'Reilly called Jadakiss a "smear merchant" this week, and some radio stations have edited out the line in the song, in which Jadakiss talks about perceived injustices, conspiracies and problems affecting the world. MTV says it is playing an edited version of the video, as it was sent by his label, Interscope. Jadakiss says fans have demanded to hear the original version. "In the beginning, they would edit, but after that, everybody called back for the version that was calling Bush (out)," he says. Jadakiss doesn't really believe Bush ordered the towers destroyed — he says the line is a metaphor, and that Bush should take the blame for the terrorist attack because his administration didn't do enough to stop it. "They didn't follow up on a lot of things properly," says Jadakiss. "It's the president of the United States. The buck stops with him."

The controversy doesn't appear to be hurting Jadakiss — his new album, "Kiss of Death," released last month, is nearing 500,000 copies sold. However, his song "Why?" has stalled at No. 16 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.
Posted by: Mark Espinola 2004-07-16
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=38287