June 17th, 2010 | Tags: Devin the Dude, Dirty Money, UGK



UGK f/ Devin the Dude – “Ain’t That a Bitch (Dirty Version)”

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technically from Dirty Money, otherwise unreleased (Jive, 2001)

Dirty Money has a reputation as being the weakest album in UGK’s catalog. It’s a reputation that I find to be undeserving, considering how badly the suits at Jive botched the record’s release. According to the “Pimpin’ Ain’t No Illusion”/”Belts to Match” 12″ promo single, UGK’s Ridin’ Dirty follow-up was originally supposed to drop in November of 1999. But that November came and went without a new UGK album; it wouldn’t be until November of 2001 that we would see finally see Dirty Money hit store shelves. “Long-awaited” indeed.

At first, Jive delayed Dirty Money‘s release so they could figure out the best way to capitalize off of the buzz Bun and Pimp had built up from their appearance on Jay-Z’s smash hit “Big Pimpin’.” But soon the album was being pushed back because of the constant leaks and bootlegging it was suffering as a result of the initial delay. It should come as no surprise that it did so poorly upon its release, with the five year gap between albums and what might as well have been zero support from Jive.

Despite its reputation as a weak link in a chain of great-to-classic albums, Dirty Money does have some really good tracks on it. One such track is the N.O. Joe produced “Ain’t That a Bitch (Ask Yourself)” featuring Devin the Dude. It’s got a smooth as hell beat and Pimp, Bun, and Devin are all on point lyrically. The problem is that it’s censored on every version of the album—clean and explicit alike. It really cuts the proverbial balls off the track when its title is “Ain’t That a Bitch” and every instance of the word “bitch” is edited out.

While the editing can be chalked up to sample clearance issues (Johnny “Guitar” Watson’s estate wouldn’t give the needed permission), I’ve also heard an urban legend that says a disgruntled sound engineer was responsible. Apparently, the daughter of said engineer who was working on the album had heard the track and was offended by its prevalent use of the word “bitch.” After hearing her complaints, the engineer went wild with the censor button. Take that for what it’s worth; personally, I believe it was just an issue with the Watson sample.