What a gem.



Nas confirms album title will be epithet

By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY, AP Music Writer
Fri Oct 19, 10:38 AM ET


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.

This might be interesting ...

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Originally posted by HonestBrother:
This might be interesting ...

Well, it is definitely disgraceful!

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Originally posted by EbonyRose:

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Originally posted by HonestBrother:
This might be interesting ...

Well, it is definitely disgraceful!

We'll see ... his last album was titled Hip Hop is Dead ... ya never know with Nas.

Well you know ... that's one thing I find particular sad about it ...

He's probably going to sell a million copies of it! And since we know that we're not even the ones that going to buy most of them (the (Black) the loyal hip-hop faithful will wait for the bootleg copy!) that will be a sad commentary for the mentality of our youth and the youth community as a whole.

I don't know about "taking the sting out of it," but I otherwise don't have a problem with him using it as the title of the new album. I'm about as anti-NWord as you can get, but it doesn't sound like his use of the word in the title is to degrade or put down. He had a lyric in one song where he says nobody said you have to be gangsters, hoes." Radio stations edited out the word "hoes" even though his message was a positive one. Here, it's not like the title will inherently glorify the use of the word, or degrade black people, any more than the Last Poets did when they titled a song "Run, Nigger." It's provocative, powerful, etc. That's the point. In this context, it's not degrading. I think this is a non-story about a non-issue.

That should be interesting. I will say this, I really dig Nas. He's not a bad artist ER. His dad is a professional jazz muscician from Natchez, MS. and went to school with my mommy and several of her cousins. So I know he can't be that bad! Besides I listen to him.

quote:

Originally posted by Vox:
I don't know about "taking the sting out of it," but I otherwise don't have a problem with him using it as the title of the new album. I'm about as anti-NWord as you can get, but it doesn't sound like his use of the word in the title is to degrade or put down. He had a lyric in one song where he says nobody said you have to be gangsters, hoes." Radio stations edited out the word "hoes" even though his message was a positive one. Here, it's not like the title will inherently glorify the use of the word, or degrade black people, any more than the Last Poets did when they titled a song "Run, Nigger." It's provocative, powerful, etc. That's the point. In this context, it's not degrading. I think this is a non-story about a non-issue.

Lawd hammercy.

quote:

Originally posted by Yemaya:
That should be interesting. I will say this, I really dig Nas. He's not a bad artist ER. His dad is a professional jazz muscician from Natchez, MS. and went to school with my mommy and several of her cousins. So I know he can't be that bad! Besides I listen to him.

Are y'all just tryin' to make me cry??

I mean, wasn't Dick Gregory's autobiography entitled "Nigger"? The use of the word itself, alone, is not the problem. It's the overuse, the self-hating disregard of the force of it, and the ignorant, disrespectful impact of the overuse and disregard. I just don't see any of that in this case. Maybe it's just me.

In this case he says the songs are crazier than the title.... protractedly it doesn't sound like he's trying to send a thoughtful message....

plus his sentiment to take power from the word sounds as if he is trying to justify its use....

this doesn't sound like a situation where he is using the word as a provocative selling point to a higher message....

but a marketing tool to sell crazy songs... umm... to make paper off of a controversial word at the expense of our image as a people....

until I hear the songs this is how it appears.....

ER ain't nobody tryin'ta make you cry! Just saying as a grown person, I can appreciate the man's music and his influences. They weren't all bad, ya know.

Yeah .. y'all are trying to hurt my feelings! But, it's okay .. you know I'll luv you anyway!

Okay .. here's my take!

The word "nigger" is never NOT degrading and disrespectful. One may not be offended by it .. but the word, in and of itself, is still and always will be a negative word. It's the same as the word "Bitch". Some young women do not have a problem being referred to by it ... and in fact, happily refer to themselves as one. But the word is still a reference to a female dog. She can substitute it in her mind as meaning "Queen" instead ... but, the meaning doesn't change just because she wants it to. If she's being called a bitch, there's only thing she's being referred to as. No matter what fantasy she makes for herself to the contrary.

It doesn't matter who says it or in what way. A "nigger" is what it is and always will be. It's kind of appropriate though ... those who think of themselves as such, usually are or act that way anyway. NAS may be a good artist ... but he ain't good enough to have the power to change the meaning of that word. It is too deeply ingrained into American society and linguistics to ever be anything else than what it is and what it has always been.

If that brotha wants his name associated with being a n****r, though .. then I shall gladly give him his props for being just that. And his acceptance of being acknowledged as such, means that he will probably never be anything more.

Ahhh, well ... Another one bites the dust.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: EbonyRose,

********************
BLACK by NATURE, PROUD by CHOICE.
Before there was ANY history, there was BLACK history.

BUY BLACK!!

Nas Drops N-Word From Album Title

AP
Posted: 2008-05-21 10:08:51
Filed Under: Star Scandals, Music News



NEW YORK (May 21) - Rapper Nas has ditched his controversial plan to call his new album "N+gger."

"It's important to me that this album gets to the fans," Nas said in a statement, referring to likely problems promoting and distributing the album.

"The people will always know what the real title of this album is and what to call it."

The untitled project will be released July 1 via Def Jam.

Last year, Nas announced the original title in response to the stir caused by former CBS radio host Don Imus' comments toward the Rutgers women's basketball team. But he recently told MTV that he was being pressured to change the title.

His last album, 2006's "Hip-Hop Is Dead," has sold 757,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Rapper has defiant words for new album

By Eliott C. McLaughlin
CNN




Editor's Warning: This report is about the rapper Nas and his controversial album. It contains language you may find offensive, including the n-word, which was originally the title of the album. Since this story is about his use of the word in his songs but not on his album, should you continue reading, we must warn you that we have included the word in the story.


(CNN) -- When Nas said he didn't name his album "Nigger" because there might be problems getting it into stores, it was no surprise. But when he said pressure from black leaders played a role, it seemed out of character.

The Queens-reared rapper has never been one to kowtow. Just last month, he referred to the Rev. Jesse Jackson as "the biggest player hater" and declared Jackson's time as a voice for black America over.

But in a recent CNN interview, Nasir Jones explained he didn't change the album's name to please the Rev. Al Sharpton and other black leaders. Rather, they were stealing his thunder.

"I don't think I liked the attention I was getting from some of the elders in my community," he said. "I saw it kind of leaning toward being about them ... only about them. I kind of wanted to just shake that off of me." Hear Nas discuss the controversy »

His remedy? To drop the title altogether -- literally. The album, out Wednesday, has no name. But don't think Nas is cowering from controversy -- the cover features the rapper shirtless with his iconic, gothic "N" digitally whipped into his back.

With a host of racial issues -- the Jena Six, Don Imus, nooses -- fresh on America's mind, naming an album "Nigger" seems ill-advised. Nas, however, said his goal wasn't to upset; it was to upend a society that focuses more on pejoratives than the racial plights that spawn them.

"There's still so much wrong in the whole world with people -- poor people, people of color -- I just felt like a nice watch couldn't take that away, make me forget about that. A nice day on a yacht with rich friends couldn't make me forget about reality, what's going on," he said. "That's why I named the album that -- not just that the word is horrible, but the history behind the word, and how it relates to me, how it's affected me, offended me."

Harvard law professor Randall Kennedy delves into the frustrating duality of the slur in his 2003 bestseller, "Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word." Since colonist John Rolfe first coined "negar," referring in 1619 to a shipment of Africans to Virginia, the epithet has lived a largely opprobrious life, with one exception, Kennedy writes.

"Currently, some people insist upon distinguishing nigger -- which they see as exclusively an insult -- from nigga, which they view as a term capable of signaling friendly salutation," Kennedy writes.

Kennedy, who is black, concludes his book expressing satisfaction that the word's use causes anxiety. Politicians should avoid uttering it at all costs, he writes, and uses by nonblacks is most often a no-no.

But never underestimate the word's complexities, says Kennedy: "For bad and for good, nigger is thus destined to remain with us for many years to come -- a reminder of the ironies and the dilemmas, the tragedies and glories, of the American experience."

Kennedy declined to comment for this story, and Sharpton's press office did not respond to an e-mail and voice message requesting an interview.

Because Nas rescinded the title doesn't mean the multiplatinum rapper isn't prepared to engage in debate on the word's merit in today's lexicon.

"It's all about the intent and what you mean and how it's coming off and the reason why you're saying it. You know, if it's ill intent, if you're angry, being ignorant, being meanspirited, saying that word -- it means the worst," he explained. "If you're just a couple of black guys on the street corner, doesn't mean it's a great thing, but it's not that they're trying to harm each other when they say it."

As for a wholesale ban on the word -- something Jackson and Sharpton have suggested -- Nas scoffed.

"For some people, you should never be able to use it," he said. "For others, it's way too late. It's too late to try to stop using it. It's something that's just part of the language now."

That "elders" had anything to do with changing the album's name might be a sign the 34-year-old is continuing the personal growth so easily charted since he released his 1994 debut, "Illmatic," an album that would help earn him the No. 5 spot on MTV's list of the top MCs of all time.

Back then, Nas was a 20-year-old, street-hustling rhymesmith from the rough-and-tumble Queensbridge projects, on the brink of earning the admiration of some of hip-hop's biggest names.

He's been called "the king" (Producer Dallas Austin), "a genius" (Island Def Jam Chairman L.A. Reid) and "the greatest rapper of all time" (rapper Kanye West).

After "Illmatic," fans watched Nas -- and his ego -- grow through the years as he proclaimed himself "Nastradamus," "God's Son" and the "Street's Disciple."

His legions watched him become jaded with age when, in 2006, he declared, "Hip Hop is Dead," and lashed out at the rappers and DJs he felt had rendered the genre hackneyed.

Though Nas dabbled in advocacy before Wednesday, his lyrics dwelled more on his rhyming skills, hot sneakers, women and blunts. Violence was regularly invoked, especially in regard to any would-be dissers.

On the untitled album, there's still an air of militancy, with the threats of violence directed toward those who aim to oppress African-Americans.

He boasts likenesses to Black Panther founder Huey P. Newton and threatens to throw Molotov cocktails in the name of civil rights murder victim Emmett Till.

On "Testify," Nas warns that he's loading a magazine to "send these redneck bigots some death in a bag/choke him out with his Confederate flag/I know these devils are mad."

"I really like 'Testify' because it's like a man who's just frustrated and doesn't know how to fight. It's when you feel like there's no one to call. Who do you call when you're of the ethnic group that the police have been wiping out for years and the government doesn't do anything?" Nas asked.

Nas explains his growth on "Project Roach," crediting a Guyanese anthropologist and literary critic with helping him mature: "I used to worship a certain Queens police murderer/Till I read the words of Ivan Van Sertima/He inserted something in me than made me feel worthier/Now I spit revolution, I'm his hood interpreter."

Other messages on the album seem designed to inspire the black community, or to decry a separate-but-equal culture that purports to incubate fairness but rarely produces results.

On "America," he opines, "Too many rappers, athletes and actors/But not enough niggas in NASA/Who gives you the latest dances, trends and fashion?/But when it comes to residuals they look past us."

Nas acknowledged he's a different person today than when he dropped "Illmatic," and his music has grown along with him. Fans should recognize and enjoy the evolution rather than make comparisons, he said.

He tentatively agreed that his untitled album addresses the plight of black America with a more positive voice, but he almost bristled when asked if he was a "conscious rapper," guys like Common, Mos Def and Talib Kweli who largely refrain from talk of violence and misogyny.

Nas, he said, will remain an individual, an artist, a lyricist, whose style and message can't be placed in a tidy case like one of his albums.

"I just look at myself as a man who's trying to figure shit out in the world, and God is amazing because He's never going to let us figure it all out," Nas said. "So I don't really have a category. I'm just a man that's in search, that's always in search, that's always going to question things, you know?"


Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/07/16/music.nas/i...tml?iref=mpstoryview

Now...I'm confused Isn't Nas the rapper who became born again? And left hip hop/rap to make more conscious respectful music? Wasn't he the one with deathrow records....and decided to turn his life around? If this is "Him", some "turn around." I get these brothas confused cuz they all sound alike, talk alike, no real message(alike) and most times ALWAYS go for the money! Regardless of what the politics may be off stage....it's all about the benjamins. And what so scary.....he REALLY don't know the true meaning of N+ggger. Cuz if he did, he would refrain from using it EVER by whatever means necessary.....but! Can't get paid that way. That word, to me, continues to enslave us.....by our own people. So sad....and tragic at the same time.

quote:

As for a wholesale ban on the word -- something Jackson and Sharpton have suggested -- Nas scoffed.

He should be willing to put out the olive branch and peace pipe since Jessie didn't mean what he said about banning the n word.

quote:

Originally posted by Kocolicious:
Now...I'm confused Isn't Nas the rapper who became born again? And left hip hop/rap to make more conscious respectful music? Wasn't he the one with deathrow records....and decided to turn his life around?

I think you might be thinking of Mase. He was with Bad Boy records.

Just heard the new nas album today.

RAW!

I didn't have to fast forward any songs, which is rare even with rappers that I overall dig.

Originally posted by Honestbrother:

quote:

I think you might be thinking of Mase. He was with Bad Boy records.

Mase. Yep! That's him.

CNN Interview with Nas about controversial album

Listen to what Kelis says to catch the interviewer off guard at the very end of the interview. She is so certified.

Lyrics to Woman Is The Nigger of The World by John Lennon

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