I didn't make it to the "We Are One" concert yesterday at the Lincoln Memorial, but I did catch a little bit of HBO's re-broadcast of the program last night at 11:30. At one point Sheryl Crow and will.i.am performed a little mash-up of Bob Marley's "One Love" and the Black Eyed Peas' "Where Is the Love?"--a song which includes lyrics calling the CIA a terrorist organization:
Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism,
But we still got terrorists here livin'
In the USA, the big CIA,
The Bloods and The Crips and the KKK.
But during yesterday's rendition, will.i.am changed the lyrics and sang:
Overseas, yeah, we trying to stop terrorism,
But we still got terrorists here living,
In the USA . . . no education, and we got that racial hate.
It's not clear whether will.i.am censored himself or was censored by the inaugural committee. (Ben Smith points out that Bruce Springsteen included some political lines in one of his songs). Perhaps will.i.am simply thinks that in the Age of Obama the CIA is now a force for good.
