The Mikado of the title character as a disrespectful representation of the revered Meiji Emperor; Japanese theatre was prohibited from depicting the emperor on stage. Japanese Prince Komatsu Akihito, who saw an 1886 production in London, took no offence. When Prince Fushimi Sadanaru made a state visit in 1907, the British government banned performances of "The Mikado" from London for six weeks, fearing that the play might offend him – a manoeuvre that backfired when the prince complained that he had hoped to see "The Mikado" during his stay. A Japanese journalist covering the prince's stay attended a proscribed performance and confessed
Word to the Mutha! and Gill are credited separately on the single rather than collectively as New Edition. The song samples "A Star in the Ghetto" by Average White Band and "The Jam" by Graham Central Station. A music video was filmed in and around the Roxbury Housing Projects in Boston, where five of the six (excluding Johnny Gill) New Edition members grew up. Word to the Mutha! "Word to the Mutha!" is a song co-written and performed by American contemporary R&B group Bell Biv DeVoe. It originally appeared on their debut studio album "Poison" under the title "Ronnie, Bobby, Ricky, Mike, Ralph and