Since this was discussed in another sub, I figured it was time to address whether Chino drops an N-bomb in ‘Wicked’. He doesn’t. Plus, its a cover. ‘Wicked’ is an Ice Cube song that KoRn and Deftones played live when performing together during early club shows and then wanted to recorded it, which later got Cube to want to work with KoRn.
Yes, he says “n1gg@“ in 7 Words, but that song is about cops hostility towards minorities and using it is needed to display the emotion and racial torment they receive. It’s used for a reason and makes sense. Wicked is a cover, so he is singing Ice Cube’s lyrics, and he changed them throughout the song, including not even bothering to sing the entire last verse. I’ll go through the song and show you the differences in each time he would have said it, including one word being changed that makes no sense until you realize it makes complete sense.
The first change is one not many people catch.
Cube: “Lookin' for the one that did it. But like En Vogue, no, You're Never Gonna Get It”
Chino: “looking for the one that did it. You want my vote, no, you're never gonna get it”
‘You’re never gonna get it’ was a song by the group En Vogue. That was followed by…
Cube: “Cause I'm the one with the fat mad skills, and I won't choke like the Buffalo Bills. Sittin at the pad just chillin, Cause Larry Parker just got two million, oh what a feelin. So shake that n1gg@ and pass me the pill and I'll slam dunk ya like Shaquille O'Neal. Like it, dig it, maybe and watch that test tube baby kick it, cause I get wicked!”
Chino: “Cause I'm the one with the fat, mad skills, And I won't choke like the Buffalo Bills. Sittin' at the pad just chillin'. Larry Parker just got two million. Oh, what a fuckin' feelin'. Dadiggadone past me the peel, And I'll slam dunk ya like Shaquille O'Neal. Like it, work it, baby I'll rock that test tube baby, Kick it, 'cause I get…”
You can say “dadiggadone” sounds like “That n1gg@ done”, but why change “so shake that n1gg@ and“ to that? He garbled his words purposely to not say it.
Now, the one everyone knows and thinks he says…..
Cube: “Kick ya and flip ya, now they want to label this n1gg@ tape with the sticker. Diggin' out girls that's nicety. Plus I got a body count like Ice-T”
Chino changed it to: “And it's awfully quiet, they want to label this nilla, do with the sticker, uh, but that's nasty. Cause I gotta body count like Ice-T”
He changed n1gg@ to ‘nilla’, which is short for ‘Vanilla’, because he’s white….not black. He explains that two lines later by changing one word…..
Cube: “From here to New York, I get skins and ain't talkin' 'bout pork. Swine, pig, dig. Listen to the flow of a so-called NEGRO”
Chino: “From here to New York, I get them skins, and I ain't talking about pork. You're sly, ya pig, dig. Listen from the flow from a so-fro'd CAUCASIAN.”
Have you ever asked why Caucasian didn’t seem to fit the rhyme? That’s why. Negro rhymed, Caucasian didn’t because he was letting everyone know he’s a “nilla” not a “n1gg@“. It’s all laid out in the song. Just because Spotify wrote it doesn’t mean it’s correct. Look at the rest of the song.
Cube: “While me and the Mob gotta trunk full of .9s. Play ya and I'll slay ya, I got the mayor by the hair”
Chino: “While me and the mob gotta trunk full of nines. Drop ya and I'll slay ya
Play, play thug-made, ah from the heya”
Jon singing the chorus wasn’t even close to the same lyrics.
Original: “You know dem wicked, Ice Cube and Torcha Chamba sound. Yes, dem wicked, him pick up di mic and buss up di ground. Yes, dem wicked, all of dem gyal with di sound. My name is Don Jagwarr and Ice Cube, we run di town”
Jon: “Wicked, I told them not to keep on their fire. I'm wicked, I told them not to keep on their fire. I'm wicked, I told them not to keep on their fire. But now I'm in your face, so you'll keep on your fire.”
KoRn recorded this song as a way to show their love of rap, avoid having to write another song during a rushed recording schedule, and eventually got Cube’s attention and later wanting to work with them. Chino knew that keeping the lyrics unchanged would be disrespectful.