Intro

Nigger. Nigga. Nigger. Who comes to mind when you hear this word? What defines a nigger? What kind of things does a nigga do? How do niggers talk? What do niggas eat? Do you see a richCaucasian woman with blue eyes, sitting in her office, making business calls when someone talks about the words? Do you possibly picture a Hispanic or Asian child lying in their mother’s arms with eyesfilled with hope and amazement when you see the words? Or do you see a poor African-American man with baggy jeans, a gold chain around his neck, tattoos, and a gun strapped to his waist, standing on acorner selling crack when you hear the words? Nigger is a word that many people are afraid to define except in utter seriousness or in its characterization in popular culture for fear of beingbranded a racist. Many believe nigger and nigga are racist terms as long as the person speaking them is not black; they are forbidden on most of all television and other forms of public entertainment.Nigger is a word that has attached to it so many emotions, thoughts, opinions, and memories that it is at times referenced to as the “n-word” because saying “nigger” might stir up too much conflict.Nasir Jones, a rapper and Hip-Hop artist who goes by “Nas,” however, is not afraid to discuss the word and all of the baggage it carries, for he named his seventh album, released in July of 2008,“Nigger.” (Due to controversy, the album is officially untitled, but everyone knows the true name of Nas’ CD.) The single for this CD, “Be a Nigger Too,” which never made it onto the CD itself due toleakage and copyright issues, has become a very popular and controversial song within America’s rap audience and critics. The song generally addresses issues that African-Americans in the UnitedStates face, such as dealing with stereotypes, racism, self-confliction, and much more. While he does speak to blacks in his lyrics, he also relates to other minorities. One might think for whatever...