Sorry Nas, You’re Not Calling That Album ‘Nigga’

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The hot topic in rap this year has been the use of the word ‘Nigga’. After turning a blind eye to gangsta rappers using the word since, um, forever, the industry has suddenly decided to take offense. Is that a delayed reaction or what?

Onstage this week, the rapper Nas claimed that his next album will be called Nigga. From a marketing point of view, making such a controversial claim is bound to draw attention. Shame his record company didn’t agree, isn’t it?

Yeah, Def Jam Records have refuted that Nas even has an album scheduled for release, let alone one with such a controversial title.

Dear readers, was it Dumbledore or Gandalf who said “Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself”? Never underestimate the wisdom of the wizarding fraternity. I know to a lot of people, the word Nigga has racist overtones, but growing up listening to Ice-T, the word never meant slavery or racism to me. The vibe was more about gun-toting, drug-dealing, bitch-pimping dudes.

OK, so either way, the word doesn’t have much positive spin. One way, it’s a symbol of slavery, the other represents violent gang culture.

So, back to Nas. Was his stunt the other day more about self-publicity than trying to normalize a negative word? I think we know the answer to that one…