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......NAS???? WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO???

Nas names new CD after racial epithet
10/19/2007 8:30 PM, AP
Nekesa Mumbi Moody

To some, it's a hurtful racial epithet. For Nas, it's an album title. The rapper told MTV News that he would indeed be naming his new album after the N-word. And he denied earlier reports that the album's title would be spelled "N---a," considered in some circles a less inflammatory epithet. He said the disc is due out Dec. 11.

"(People) shouldn't trip off the (album's) title; the songs are crazier than the title," he said in an interview posted on MTV's Web site.

But some have been outraged by the rapper's choice.

"The title using the 'N' word is morally offensive and socially distasteful. Nas has the right to degrade and denigrate in the name of free speech, but there is no honor in it," the Rev. Jesse Jackson said in a news release. "Radio and television stations have no obligation to play it and self-respecting people have no obligation to buy it. I wish he would use his talents to lift up and inspire, not degrade."

There were reports that his label, Def Jam, had scuttled the title idea. But Nas told MTV that he has had no opposition from the label, and said his intent in naming the album the N-word was to take the sting out of it.

"We're taking power from the word," he added. "No disrespect to none of them who were part of the civil rights movement, but some ... in the streets don't know who (civil rights activist) Medgar Evers was ... they know who Nas is," the rapper said, referring to the civil rights leader slain in the 1960s.

"And to my older people who don't know who Nas is and who don't know what a street disciple is, stay outta this (expletive) conversation. We'll talk to you when we're ready. Right now, we're on a whole new movement. We're taking power from that word."

A representative for Def Jam did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment from The Associated Press sent after business hours.

The use of the N-word is common in rap, though rapper Chamillionaire recently declared he would no longer use that word or curse in his rhymes.
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i dont call my girlfriends bitches cuz i dont want people to address ME as a bitch. get my drift? man this guy is so full of himself...
"we're taking power from this word" - what power? isn't the word degrading and so it only has negative connotation to it? oh wait sorry it's not negative since i see so many black people call each other that... oh wait it is since when i say it's a moral catastrophe... hm i guess thats just how some people see equality

i see where he's going with that .... there's a movement in reclaiming certain words that have been used to degrade certain populations...just like feminists were reclaiming the word "cunt" ...i had a whole book about that...his idea comes from the thought that language is powerful and used to either empower or oppress people....so the logic is to take back the words designated as insults towards certain things. ok, i get this. it's nothing new.

i think i have a problem tho with him trying to name an album this way....what is he trying to accomplish? it's almost like a slap in the face....

nas is a great artist and i like him....however, i don't think i'll buy this one. he's goin for shock value. but i'm sure there will be people offering valid arguments on both sides of the issue.

so then is nas trying to make the word nigger/nigga publicly acceptable and positive? is that a new way to describe a person with dark skin of african descent? we all, according to nas, should start using it..?

If you don't read a thread LIVE and then go back and read it afterwards...you can truly see the personalities pop up.....that's what imma do from now on...go back and analyze all the threads.

chepolina Wrote:so then is nas trying to make the word nigger/nigga publicly acceptable and positive? is that a new way to describe a person with dark skin of african descent? we all, according to nas, should start using it..?

that's what i'm sayin.....i dunno what message he's tryin to convey....and whether this is an effective way to do so.... nigga is already mostly accepted....although it sounds funny comin out of a white person's mouth ....the other word? i dunno..... it's not the same and i dunno if it should be used....i always thought that "nigga" was the reclaiming of the nasty word "nigger"

nigga and nigger sound too much alike anyway, esp with all the people with their various dialects and accents...trouble will ensue

Carlos Mencia makes fun of racial drama in his shows, you should watch some.

chepolina Wrote:nigga and nigger sound too much alike anyway, esp with all the people with their various dialects and accents...trouble will ensue

i know....but they are very different words

What makes them very different?

You are stupid Slava, can't you tell the difference.
One ends in A and the other in ER.

Minicat Wrote:

chepolina Wrote:nigga and nigger sound too much alike anyway, esp with all the people with their various dialects and accents...trouble will ensue

i know....but they are very different words

hehe duh

still, when u invent a word that has positive associations with it while it still sounds like a word that means something very offensive - not wise
bound to cause trouble, dont u agree?

it's bound to cause trouble...yes, i agree....but that's part of reclaiming the word....if you used a word that was totally different, how is that reclaiming? ...nowadays, there's a clear diffinition between the two...i think pple get it....although it's a thin line that can be easily crossed...agreed. i just had an incident at school today with one of the desorderly 8th graders....sheesh!

slava, i can't believe that you don't knowthe difference! i thought you were well versed in racial subtelties.....

It's called eubonics, trick.

bettah watch yo mouth....