The Rage Against Nasir
A little over a year ago, I read somewhere that Nas had joked about releasing an album titled N*gga. Little did I know then that this would make headlines in ‘07, as Nas readies another album. I’ll reserve my comments on the issue until the title has been officially verified or debunked by Nas himself. But here’s what Nas said about the N-word earlier this year:
Racism is ugly. Our people are faced with a serious dilemma, what do we do? You got conservative, rich black folks that are above the word “n—a.” Rightfully so. Then you got the word n—a, which has the genius of the black mind and has been changed into a billion-dollar word through Richard Pryor, who should own it. Paul Mooney should own the word. N.W.A, Dr. Dre, should own a piece of the word. “N—a” has changed into a billion-dollar franchise. It’s just a smack in the face to all the races that we’ve changed that into a positive. You’re gonna have brothers and sisters who are educated who don’t need it. You also have a world who lives in it, who deals with it every day on levels that are unbearable. [MTV]
Today’s Cuban Linx is a special edition, a wrap-up of all the Nas/N-word outrage:
>>Nas reveals controversial album title at Roseland Ballroom concert. [MTV]
>>Fox News on Nas’ controversial album title. [Nah Right]
>>Jesse Jackon blasts Nas for the N-word title. Imus applauds it. [Contactmusic]
>>Def Jam says Nas’ N*gga album does not exist. [About]
>>Nas representatives insist N*gga exists. [Allhiphop]
