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Ta-Nehisi Coates Asked about the "N Word"
- Thread starter LionPride
- Start date
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Yep. Was at Future and Migos this year and K.Dot....whole lotta white people sayin nigga
Yet what would I gain from that? I just wanted to enjoy my damn music.
I probably didn't use the right phrasing when I said no one will care but you're right. I should have said they will let it go because in that context it's not worth starting a thing over.
Yeah I don't think I've heard a white rapper say the N-word....ever
Almost the entirety of Army of the Pharaohs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x29OOt8-rc
I was like 3 albums into them before I found out they're mostly white.
The word he uses "desire" in describing him not wanting to say "Bitch" or "faggot" is key. I have no idea why people want to use it so badly, and why debates like these even need to be had. Just don't use it. Out of respect/courtesy at the very least. Is that so hard? The only conclusions I can come to for white people that persist these kinds of discussions is that either A) they really, really want to say it badly or B) it bothers them that black people have this thing all their own, that doesn't include them. Like, black people are disproportionally incarcerated at a higher rate, historically have a much more difficult time finding jobs or going to college or making a living, have had their family structures destroyed by decades of systemic racism, but god forbid if they have this ONE fucking thing that you can't say and it drives you crazy.
Exactly. Da fuck.
Off topic, but glad to see you on ERA, LionPride . Always enjoyed your contributions.
It feels like some were looking for him to provide a black and white proverb from on high like he is the god of black issues. He provided enough context and scenarios for a person that actually cares about the crux of the issue to come to an informed and empathetic conclusion on what is appropriate, rather than giving them a commandment. He led them to the water but he can't make them drink.
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I think what the other posters are saying is, would Coates really balk or be repulsed at singing along with a song that includes the word "bitch"? If he's singing along to NWA would he self-bleep at lines about bitches and ho's?
Not trying to be too off topic, but are we really allowed to use the n-word on this website? Seems weird seeing it thrown around (mostly because you can't verify a person's race here but I guess that's to be expected of course).
Nice video though. I've used similar examples myself but I've been countered with "it's still just a word." Idiots will remain being idiots.
Nice video though. I've used similar examples myself but I've been countered with "it's still just a word." Idiots will remain being idiots.
This has been my position for a long time as well. It always baffles my mind the lengths some white people go to (try to) justify the use of such word and the huge desire to use ANY version of it. How about just don't? It has racist roots, there's absolutely no need to so desberately to cling on to the usage of such word.
In this particular case, the desire is to be able to sing/rap along to a song with the n-word in it. I think that's one of the things that makes me listen to Eminem more than other rappers. I don't have to worry about that issue. Not that I have to rap along to listen to a song and process the lyrics, so, it's not really a desire I share. But I understand it.
Nah, you should check them. I have had plenty of encounters with non-black people who think they have some sort of pass and in my experience, "nigga" becomes "nigger" real quick with them.
They are completely divorced from the negativity of the word so they can still use it as cudgel against black people as they see fit.
This is bizarre to me. You listen to Eminem more than other rappers because you don't have to worry about hearing the N-Word, but how do you handle casual uses of faggot/homophobic lyrics and songs about rape and stuff?
alot of white people don't believe any of that exist and that everything is fair now
white people have never had to accommodate for anyone other than themselves, but with nigga/nigger
they aren't being accommodated ie not allowed to say either and it pisses them off
I corrected myself a few posts down, just didn't want to edit it out because that's not my styyyyyle.
Finding new ways to explain the obvious to those that just can't get right. The draw is powerful. And anyone hell bent on doing it is going to just do it.
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Action Bronson, Eminem -- a few other white rappers that escape me because I haven't been listening to hip-hop for a while.
Also -- Sean Price tried this "N-word participation" before:
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Yeesh, I was unaware of those GNR lyrics. Went and read about the song and Axel Rose's comments on it. That old "they can say it why can't we" pearl... not that I was ever a big fan (or I likely would have known about this already) but that's the kinda thing that taints everything else they've ever made. Blech.
I really find the entire conversation about "singing aloud to rap lyrics with the N word in it" to be hard to fully understand. I thought that maybe I just have never had to think about it because I'm black, but then I realized that is bullshit because I self censor myself all of the time. I don't curse in general unless I'm in a select group of people so I'm always self-censoring myself, turning "fuck" into "eff" or if I'm singing along to a song, just changing a word or not speaking for a beat. It's intuitive and it's not difficult. And I never say, or even feel the urge to say faggot when I'm listening to some of my favorite rap songs from the 80s/90s which used that word a lot more freely.
Honestly, from my perspective, it really just seems like white people reaaaaaally want a pass, in any circumstance to freely say it, and the "singing along to rap" is the one context they have. But if that becomes "the pass", I don't see why it won't move on to quoting black movie lines, or funny lines by black comedians. I remember having a conversation about that when a white girl I know said "Stop being weird nigga!" to a friend of mine, quoting that jail scene from the tv show Atlanta.
"I was just quoting the tv show!"
Honestly, from my perspective, it really just seems like white people reaaaaaally want a pass, in any circumstance to freely say it, and the "singing along to rap" is the one context they have. But if that becomes "the pass", I don't see why it won't move on to quoting black movie lines, or funny lines by black comedians. I remember having a conversation about that when a white girl I know said "Stop being weird nigga!" to a friend of mine, quoting that jail scene from the tv show Atlanta.
"I was just quoting the tv show!"
I don't care what color you are, I'm offended at anyone singing along to that
But thats just me
Eminem I don't remember (again, years since I've listened to hip-hop) -- but, like Action Bronson, Em has apologized for using the word. Just the environment they grew up in, like Fat Joe.
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No. It's not about hearing the word, it's wanting to avoid saying the word if I'm rapping along. That's what what the thread is about. Like, I'll sing "Lose Yourself" or "Till I Collapse" in the shower, but not a song with the N-word in it, at least not those particular lyrics. Probably not Eminem lyrics with the stuff you mentioned either, now that you mentioned it.
But, like Coates says in the video, I don't get to do everything. I accept that.
Does it throw you off or something to hum or sing a long to a song and just leave a word out? Or is it just uncomfortable?
Good response, but I agree, I don't think it really addressed her question.
It's an annoying quandary. Music is supposed to be something that brings people together. Yet the pervasive use of the word in rap music makes it so difficult to do so.
At a Kanye concert he literally was like "I want all the white people to sing along. You're ok to say it" it was hilarious but at the same time at least he was cognizant of the awkwardness.
It's an annoying quandary. Music is supposed to be something that brings people together. Yet the pervasive use of the word in rap music makes it so difficult to do so.
At a Kanye concert he literally was like "I want all the white people to sing along. You're ok to say it" it was hilarious but at the same time at least he was cognizant of the awkwardness.
I don't think black people have any desire to sing those lyrics, the same cannot be said about non-black people wanting to sing nigga.
And to me, nigga and nigger are exactly the same thing if you're not black. So if they are so comfortable singing nigga, they should be comfortable singing nigger.
People want a pass to say it with no consequences. Not gonna happen. Just say it and take what might be coming if it's that important to you
I suppose, in the same way that the radio versions of songs can be sort of awkward in the way they disrupt the flow.
But, like I said in my original post, I don't have to rap along. I can just listen.
God damn it hahaha
fair enough, appreciate the education.
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He addressed the question. He just didn't say yes Coates is giving you a pass or no, Coates is not giving you a pass. What he provided was far more useful than that.
Exactly. I mean the question is basically "when is it okay for me a white person to say it?"
