The N Word

Where do I start?

Over the years as a Black Man, a member of the Hiphop generation, and certainly as an artist I struggle with the usage of the N-Word in all it's spellings and variations. I have heard the word's origins traced back to Britain, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and recently Germany in either criticism or defense of it's usage. I myself have come to the following conclusion. Nigger is a derogatory word. No matter how you use it (much like Bitch and Fag) the adopting of these words in a positive sense is a way of temporarily combating an ongoing problem or simply putting a band aid on a very serious wound, but at the end of the day WE HAVE TO GROW OUT OF IT! AND WE SHOULD'VE BY NOW!

No! white people should not use the word Nigger(Nigga). It is impossible to use it in a positive sense so stop pretending that it can be done. I don't use racial or ethnic slurs out of respect for other communities, I don't care what my Filipino homie calls his homies or what my Jewish homie calls his homies, I owe people my respect and shouldn't not address them in a way they find disrespectful. So stop making excuses. "Well rappers do it" And if rappers got shot down in cold blood before the age of 26 would you do it? How old are you? 6! You will be accountable for what you say, not for what Snoop Dogg says(so I don't want to hear white people saying Nicka, Nizzle, Ninja none of that)

1st. I don't think the word is going to go away, nor do I think it should, but it's an ugly word. It is a huge misconception of our culture in this country that no words should ugly, rude, or impolite but the reality is there are still ugly things in the world. Not mentioning the ugly things or making them sound pretty doesn't make them go away. So you can say "N Word" and you can say "African American" but at the end of the day you mean nigger, you think nigger, people treat each other like niggers. So when I am describing the situation in the America I am not going to say N-Word (unless it's out of respect for present company) I'm going to say Nigger because the situation is that ugly and calls for attention. Political Correctness lets us all off the hook, rather than us dealing with the oppression that we all perpetuate. We just find a polite way to talk about it. Everybody's polite, everybody's comfortable, people think change happens by and by, nothing gets done but a bunch of fancy polite talk.

This is the main reason why revolutionaries (particularly that of the Hiphop generation) have adopted these words. The situation is dire and we want to show how dire it is. The Civil Rights movement wanted to make sure you saw Emmit Teal's face, because that's how dire the situation is. Tupac wanted to make sure you knew you were hearing from one of the people that we label "niggers", Eminem wanted you to know you were hearing from one of the people we label "white trash", Missy wants you to know you are hearing from one of the women that you call a "bitch", so that we would all think twice about those who we write off with such labels.

When I was a kid the worst thing you could be was a "nigga in the street". The older folks would say "I'll beat you like a nigga in the street", "cuss you out like a nigga in the street" etc. "Gangsta Rap" wanted you to know it was the voice of the "niggas in the street" . It was the point of view of the disenfranchised, so quite frankly if you don't like to hear me say I'm a Nigga With an Attitude, then stop calling me a nigga and stop treating me like a nigga. Just as if you don't like hearing Strange Fruit by Bille Holiday maybe you should become active in stopping lynching's from occurring.

Which brings me to my next point.

2. "We say nigger to take away it's power, make it less painful" That is the worst thing we could ever do. If you look around now you will see the most comfortable and complacent generation of Black folks in the last 50 years, atleast. Who are we to be comfortable with the word Nigger. It's an UGLY word, people have been killed because of it, WHY DO WE WANT TO FORGET! WHY ARE WE OK WITH LETTING THE WORLD FORGET! I say keep the word ugly, every time you hear it know that evil is still around, know that the situation is urgent. It is not something to play with or to cope with, it should boil your blood, turn your stomach, and incite you to action without hesitation. People are being killed, abused, and oppressed everyday and treated like Niggers, Bitches, and Faggots the least we could do is be uncomfortable about it, WE OWE THEM THAT MUCH! It shouldn't be a casual piece of conversation and certainly not a term of endearment.

Which brings me to my next point.

3. We think that Black means less. Subconsciously we all think it. We think that the streets mean less, that the Blacker it is the more ignorant it is, the less proper it is, and less respect it deserves. We(Blacks) insult each other in our culture. We degrade ourselves as a ritual for acceptance, and ultimately we are most concerned with having it too good, with being too proper, with too sophisticated. I mean if you stay in the black neighborhood and sell drugs, commit crimes, knock up women and don't love them – respect them- or marry them, make the community unsafe, and poison your mind – body- and spirit with bad food, bad entertainment, and bad living(basically if you ruin the neighborhood) you are keeping it "hood". If you get a degree, move out of poverty, and reach toward something greater than what you knew, you're "booche" or a "sell out". We call people "my nigga" when we see them as one of us, ultimately you call them niggas when you see them as someone as low as you think you are. When someone cusses, fights, doesn't take care of their kids, or is tacky we go "He just like a Nigga" "Or he a real nigga" is Jesus your Nigga, is Muhammad your Nigga Honestly. You are God's child, do you think the most high God thinks you're a Nigga in any spelling?

What's funny is unless a white person is "down" or considered one of the group, black people will catch themselves before calling them a nigga.On Kanye's first album he talks about his journey to success. When he mentions the only "nigga" that helped him to get a deal (Three H a white A&R at Capitol Records) he stops himself and says "Well he actually wasn't even a nigga". If we love ourselves we have to come out of this trap where we think it's cool to degrade each other. Is Jesus a Bitch, Is Muhammad a Fag? Galatians 3:28 says "All are one in Christ" Jesus said what we do to the least of one another we also do to him, So guess what! Whether you agree or disagree with someone's sexuality or not they are still God's child(just like Christ) so if you think they are Faggots what do you think of Christ and what do you think of yourself. Women are God's children if you think they are bitches what do you think of God. We are made in God's image so is God the image of a Nigger, a Fag, or a Bitch, he is if your fellow human is, so watch what you say about God's people.

Basically I know this was long and I hope you read it all, if so thank you. I know I use all three of these words way too much. They are apart of my vocabulary everyday in the most disturbing ways, and hope you all can forgive me for that and help me improve. I don't want us to waste time judging and nitpicking each other to death about this but this is very serious. The power of life and death is in our words, we have to stop condemning ourselves with our language.

I wish you

Love – God above all things, yourself cause God made you and your neighbor as yourself.

Health- Show your love for God by taking care of yourself, cause he made you. Treat yourself properly.

Awareness- Know thyself and know what's going on around you.

Wealth- may your skills take care of you and your family and bare you blessings.

Mjh