Banned from T.V.

"Banned from T.V." is a song by American rapper Noreaga, released as the third single from his debut studio album N.O.R.E. (1998). The song, produced by then up-and-coming record producer Swizz Beatz, is a posse cut featuring guest appearances from fellow New York–based rappers Nature, Big Pun, Cam'ron, Jadakiss and Styles P. The song contains a sample of "Also sprach Zarathustra", as performed by Richard Strauss.^[1]

In a 2014 interview, N.O.R.E. revealed Big Pun's appearance on the song was not originally intended: "Actually, Pun bullied his way on there. I had Nature on there, and Pun was in the studio. I went to take a shit, and Pun snuck himself on there. I wanted to erase [Pun's verse] 'cause he violated. But I never did erase it. That was always my brother."^[2]

The music video for the song was directed by Director X.^[3] In 2013, nearly fifteen years later, in promotion for his sixth studio album Student of the Game, N.O.R.E. liberated behind-the-scenes footage of the music video for "Banned from T.V.".^[4]