so by now, i would think most rap fans have heard that Nas will name his upcoming album the n word, with er not a. i have mixed feelings about this. i dont think nas is the type of artist that would do something like this just for shock value, even though he basically did that with his last album name (Hip-Hop Is Dead). he claims to be naming his album this to take power from the word. he's used examples such as white kids dont care or feel offended when they're called crackers, and he wants to make the n word just that. im not really sure if i buy this or whether he just wants to be controversial. of course al sharpton has gotten envolved and has claimed to boycott and stage protests toward def-jam and universial. nas has gotten support from jay-z (ceo) and russell simmons (chairman) of def-jam and several artists who respect nas and what he stands for. opinions on this?
I think most people of our generation have seen so much of this "morally shocking" stuff that we are desensitized to it. Frankly modern mainstream music/movies on a whole are getting very boring , either regurgitating the same formula , or trying to shock us which rarely has any effect anymore. This is going to make me sound 1000 years older then I am , but it makes you wonder where some of the entertainment ideas people form the 1970s went , they seemed to use more imagination back then and less bull####.
If this guy used the title "I hate crackers" instead , that would be hilarious. How many people would get offended? 3? 0?
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qft, and I will add that most artists who go this route are often doing so to mask the fact that the quality of their material has degraded considerably. I'm expecting lots of debate about the title and little discussion about how good is album is.
qft, and I will add that most artists who go this route are often doing so to mask the fact that the quality of their material has degraded considerably. I'm expecting lots of debate about the title and little discussion about how good is album is.
And in that vein...
The "N" word is probably the most annoying word in Americanized English to me. I can't think of a single other word that has had the same type of demeaning attributes associated with it yet, but has basically been kept alive by the very people that it demeans. I'm all for turning a negative into a positive, but even the those who try and use it positively want to keep the negative connotation as it pleases them. The English language isn't really set-up to work that way.
There isn't a real big Spanish or Middle-Eastern population here in Kansas (at least when compared to the Southwest and the Northeast) but I don't hear many from those backgrounds walking around calling themselves racist names. They all seem that they would be fairly content if the words simply went away.
But for as long as I can remember, certainly before the rap scene came along, segments of black culture seemed determine to keep the "N" word in the forefront. Pryor was putting out albums like That "N"'s Crazy, Bicentennial "N", and Super"N" since the mid-70s. And Pryor was an artist, just like the rap culture, that was embraced by people of all ethnicities. Maybe NAS is having the same sort of breakthrough that Pryor had when he returned from Africa. Maybe other rap artists and other pop culture icons who sling the word around will do the same and start to realize that it is a word that should have died a long time ago. The longer you keep it alive the more it will seep into all aspects of culture and it is impossible to keep a racist meaning attached to the word.
qft, and I will add that most artists who go this route are often doing so to mask the fact that the quality of their material has degraded considerably. I'm expecting lots of debate about the title and little discussion about how good is album is.
And in that vein...
The "N" word is probably the most annoying word in Americanized English to me. I can't think of a single other word that has had the same type of demeaning attributes associated with it yet, but has basically been kept alive by the very people that it demeans. I'm all for turning a negative into a positive, but even the those who try and use it positively want to keep the negative connotation as it pleases them. The English language isn't really set-up to work that way.
There isn't a real big Spanish or Middle-Eastern population here in Kansas (at least when compared to the Southwest and the Northeast) but I don't hear many from those backgrounds walking around calling themselves racist names. They all seem that they would be fairly content if the words simply went away.
But for as long as I can remember, certainly before the rap scene came along, segments of black culture seemed determine to keep the "N" word in the forefront. Pryor was putting out albums like That "N"'s Crazy, Bicentennial "N", and Super"N" since the mid-70s. And Pryor was an artist, just like the rap culture, that was embraced by people of all ethnicities. Maybe NAS is having the same sort of breakthrough that Pryor had when he returned from Africa. Maybe other rap artists and other pop culture icons who sling the word around will do the same and start to realize that it is a word that should have died a long time ago. The longer you keep it alive the more it will seep into all aspects of culture and it is impossible to keep a racist meaning attached to the word.
Well, that would depend on what you got. For one, the editorializing is off the charts..."such hateful songs as," "glorifying the Virginia Tech murders," etc. I realize that shows like that are designed to take control away from the guests and keep it with the hosts, but I can't imagine just letting those remarks slide. I mean, really, glorifying the Virginia Tech murders? That's obsurd, and patently false. Also, if he's going to say that his "hateful songs" are a problem, he should probably at least listen to the ones he uses as an example before claiming them to be hateful.
I also don't like how they seem to make the AllHipHop.com guy out to be some kind of spokesperson for hip-hop (and to be fair, how he allows it, as if he's been appointed ambassador for rap music). If he's going to be on there pretending to speak for the hip-hop community, he could at least shoot some holes in the horrendous arguments that the hosts are making. Some of the lyrics (which were hand-picked, obviously, to make Nas seem worse than he is) aren't even Nas lyrics. "Shoot 'em up, just shoot 'em up, awe yah" is from Cypress Hill. Would these guys disparage Eric Clapton for singing "I shot the sheriff"? Somehow, I doubt it. I don't necessarily think Nas' every move is definsible, but can the supposed 'defenders of rap' not make the leap to propose that maybe there's some irony involved in Nas shouting "murder, murder, murder, kill, kill, kill" on stage? Perhaps point out the fact that those particular lyrics were actually coined by Masta Ace on 'Slaughtahouse', a concep album devoted entirely to decrying black-on-black crime? Instead he just sits there on some 'well I don't like it either, but let's wait and see if he explains it' tip.
Then they go and claim that any positive message in his music somehow doesn't count, because of the negative stuff he talks about, which I guess, in their minds, gives them an excuse for claiming to be a news program but completely ignoring all of Nas' work that has a positive message and not including it in their story. Including one of his most liked songs, which contains a very strong anti-gun message, 'I Gave You Power.'
They also question what message his music is to kids, they may as well question what message pornography is to kids, because kids aren't the intended audience of either. Nas isn't responsible for what music kids listen to, their parents are. I don't want any artists (authors, musicians, film makers, etc) toning down their work in case kids hear/see it.
Then they end up the segment by quickly blaming the recent shootings in Philly on Nas. That's one of the most idiotic statements I've heard a "journalist" say since, well...in a long time.
Last edited by Art Vandelay on Mon Nov 05, 2007 7:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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