The Prodigy alter lyrics to a classic track in recent live performances

The Prodigy has been one of the most revered and respected groups in the drum and bass community for over three decades, delivering bone-rattling productions and high-energy live performances. One of the group’s most iconic singles has drawn controversy from its first release back in 1997 and the group appears to have made some adjustments live to accommodate the changing culture and climate.

When The Prodigy released their iconic album, The Fat Of The Land in 1997, it sent a jolt throughout the world, earning massive radio time alongside the Nu-Metal and Hip-Hop groups dominating the charts at the time. While singles such as Breath and Firestarter were easy to place alongside popular rotation, the other single from the album led to near-immediate controversy. The aptly titled lead single off the album, Smack My Bitch Up was always going to turn heads, but it originally made headlines for its iconic music video, one of the first that MTV had to provide a disclaimer for while only airing it well after dark. While the fanfare certainly proved that no press is bad press, the imagery of the lyrics has continued to cause a stir in a world aiming for more inclusion and tolerance.

In past interviews, group members have defended the lyrics as a tribute to B-Boy culture and declared that “the girls who come to our shows are hardcore girls, and they don’t look at it as that.” While the group hasn’t commented on it in years, it appears that changes will be made during live performances going forward. During a recent live performance on November 24th, fans noted that the group’s vocalist, Maxim, changed the lyrics, repeating the refrain, “Switch up, change my pitch up,” in place of the original.

While the music world awaits word from the group regarding the change, they will continue to perform into the second week of December across Europe. Below is some fan-shot footage of Maxim singing the lyrical change, and stay tuned for any updates from the group regarding this decision.