Original sentence: "  For his part, the real-life James explains the situation by saying: "Cocaine is a hell of a drug.The Rick James Sketch is one of the most popular sketches to come out of Chappelle's Show.The sketch ends with both of them avowing that they are still friends (the sketch aired shortly before James' untimely death)
Edited sentence: "  For his part, the real-life James rationalizes his actions by repeating several times: "Cocaine is a hell of a drug.The Rick James Sketch is one of the most popular, and undoubtedly the most famous sketch to come out of Chappelle's Show.The sketch ends with both of them avowing that they are still friends (the sketch aired shortly before James' death)