<p class="MsoPlainText"> *Both Nas and Def Jam are denying reports from Fox News that the label balked at his decision to title his upcoming album, "N*gger."</p> <p class="MsoPlainText"><span> </span>Last week, FoxNews.com quoted a "source close to" Def Jam chairman Antonio "L.A." Reid as saying that a Nas album is not on the release schedule, and it most certainly would not be called "N*gger." But Reid said don't believe everything you read. </p> <p class="MsoPlainText"><span> </span>"We support everything our artists do, everything!" Reid told MTV News during the New York premiere of the film American Gangster. "We stand firmly behind and beside our artists with pride and with pleasure. Anything Nas wants to do, I completely stand beside him. Nas is prolific, he's prophetic, he's a genius, an amazing artist of respect. So, while I'm not sure exactly all that [the title] entails, I know it's smart, so I stand behind him. That's real." </p> <p class="MsoPlainText"><span> </span>Common, who co-stars in "American Gangster," was also supportive of Nas and respects his artistic decisions. </p> <p class="MsoPlainText"><span> </span>"I love Nas," he told MTV with a grin. "Nas is always bringing something new, bringing something for us to think about. He's one of the best ever. If it wasn't for Nas, a lot of cats, including myself, wouldn't be rhyming the way they do. So I mean, I know [the title] is something behind what he's doing, he's making statements. That's something we need in hip-hop. Last Poets did it, Gil Scott-Heron did it, Marvin Gaye did it. We gotta keep making statements." </p> <p class="MsoPlainText"><span> </span>Nas first announced the title of his album and its scheduled Dec. 11th release date during a concert last week in New York.<span> </span>The news was met with outrage from the NAACP, Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson, who said the title "makes a mockery" of the race issue. </p> <p class="MsoPlainText"><span> </span>"I'm a street disciple," Nas explained.<span> </span>"I'm talking to the streets.<span> </span>Stay out of our business.<span> </span>You ain't got no business worrying about what the word 'nigger' is or acting like you know what my album is about without talking to me." </p> <p class="MsoPlainText"><span> </span>“If Cornell West was making an album called 'N*gger,' they would know he's got something intellectual to say,” he continued. “To think I'm gonna say something that's not intellectual is calling me a n*gger, and to be called a n*gger by Jesse Jackson and the NAACP is counterproductive, counter-revolutionary.” </p> <p class="MsoPlainText"><span> </span>Meanwhile, Rev. Al Sharpton added his voice to the chorus of discontent over Nas choice of title. </p> <p class="MsoPlainText"><span> </span>"Again, I'm opposed to anybody using the term," Sharpton said. "We're in an age where they are hanging nooses; they're locking our kids up in Jena and Florida. We do not need to be degrading ourselves. We get degraded enough. I think we need artists to lift us up, not lock us down."<span> </span> </p> <p class="MsoPlainText"><span> </span>Nas told MTV: "Whether you in the NAACP or you Jesse Jackson.<span> </span>I respect all of them ... I just want them to know: Never fall victim to Fox. Never fall victim to the sh*t they do," he stressed. "What they do is try to hurry up and get you on the phone and try to get you to talk about something you might not know about yet.” </p> <p class="MsoPlainText"><span> </span>“We're taking power from the word,” Nas added. “No disrespect to none of them who were part of the civil-rights movement, but some of my n*ggas in the streets don't know who [civil-rights activist] Medgar Evers was. I love Medgar Evers, but some of the n*ggas in the streets don't know Medgar Evers, they know who Nas is.”</p> <p class="MsoPlainText"><span> </span>“And to my older people who don't know who Nas is and who don't know what a street disciple is, stay outta this mother f*cking conversation,” he continued. “We'll talk to you when we're ready. Right now, we're on a whole new movement. We're taking power from that word.”</p> <p class="MsoPlainText"></p>
Re: Nas album title I like Nas, and everything he does. He knows his shit, he's not just another dumb, money-hungry rapper. I see nothing wrong with what he's doing, he's always making statements like this, and he's usually great at doing it and getting the message across to those who care.</p>
Re: Nas album title I don't care what they call it, it better have some decent production this time</p>
Re: Nas album title <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GMJigga)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> I don't care what they call it, it better have some decent production this time</p> </div></p> Agreed, I was pumped for his last album and wasnt that impressed.</p>
Re: Nas album title Damn i wanted to see how it would turn out!!!!!!</p> </p> </p> <div id="post_message_324261"></div> <div id="post_message_324261"><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>A New York Assemblyman has called on Universal Music Group to change the title of Nas’ upcoming album, N*gger, or lose $84 million in investments. As reported earlier, Nas announced his album’s controversial title at a concert two weeks ago, and the news was met with stern disapproval from Reverend Jesse Jackson and The NAACP (The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). Despite the uproar caused by his announcement, Nas said he would not be changing the album’s title and claimed that his label Def Jam, a subsidiary of Universal, had not offered any resistance to the title. According to The Brooklyn Paper, Fort Greene assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries has requested New York’s Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli ‘to withdraw the $84 million that the state pension fund has invested in Universal and its parent company, Vivendi’. “[They are] profiting from a racial slur that has been used to dehumanize people of color for centuries,” said Jeffries. “It is time for Nas and other hip-hop artists to clean up their act and stop flooding the airwaves with the N-word.” The Brooklyn Paper reports that a recent report showed that ‘the New York State Pension Fund has $2.8 billion invested in 16 major entertainment companies, including Time Warner and Disney. That number does not include the state’s investment in Vivendi.’ “It’s a staggering amount of money, which at least justifies a review of the appropriateness o f the content that is flooding the public,” said Jeffries, who formerly worked as an assistant general counsel at CBS and a lawyer at Viacom before he was elected last year. A spokesperson for DiNapoli, who manages the pension fund, said that the comptroller “is concerned about this issue and is intending to contact [Universal] and urge them to halt the release of the album. Earlier this year, The New York City Council voted to ban the use of the word “n*gger”. “The [Council made] an important symbolic step, but I’m more interested in the substantive approach of reviewing the multi-billion-dollar investment that the New York State pension fund makes in the entertainment industry,” said Jeffries. Universal did not repsond to a request for comment. N*gger is slated for release on December 11th.</div> </div></p> </p>
Re: Nas album title That word gets mentioned a trillion times on arapCD, whats so controversial about it, only on a cover now. sounds like he wants to hype up his material.</p>
Re: Nas album title <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Earlier this year, The New York City Council voted to ban the use of the word “n*gger”.</div></p> Hey councilmen, read the constitution much?</p>
Re: Nas album title <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GMJigga)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'> Earlier this year, The New York City Council voted to ban the use of the word “n*gger”.</div></p> Hey councilmen, read the constitution much?</p> </div></p> </p> yeah...i was trying to figure out how the fuck that's possible. How do you ban a word?</p>
Re: Nas album title <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Art_Gunner4life)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> That word gets mentioned a trillion times on arapCD, whats so controversial about it, only on a cover now. sounds like he wants to hype up his material.</p> </div></p> </p> Precisely. but as long as it's good i couldn't give a damn what its called.</p>
Re: Nas album title <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Max)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Art_Gunner4life)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> That word gets mentioned a trillion times on arapCD, whats so controversial about it, only on a cover now. sounds like he wants to hype up his material.</p> </div></p> Precisely. but as long as it's good i couldn't give a damn what its called.</p> </div></p> </p> I don't think you guys fully realize this. There's a distinct difference between the words "Nigga" and "Nigger".</p> The former is a word black people (and some people of other cultures, ex. hispanic) use alot to refer to their friends, or just any dude in general. The latter is a term used to demean black people, mostly used by racist, idiotic white people who don't know a damn thing other than that they feel they're the best race in the fucking world for some dumb reason, when they're far from perfect.</p> So basically, it's a difference in endings. Ending in "-a" is cool, although black people would rather not have white people say it, sometimes they don't really mind. Ending in "-er" is extremely fucked up and mostly meant to demean. It's more the meanings behind the words that make the most difference.</p> To put it another way, it's as if pne of your friends came up to you and said to you, "you're dumb", you wouldn't care, because you know they're just joking around. But, if someone that you really dislike were to come to you and tell you "you're a dumbass", you'd prolly get pissed and end up sluggin it out wit em.</p>
Re: Nas album title <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GMJigga)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> lol I'm pretty sure we all know the difference</p> </div></p> </p> idk ArtGunner4life said somethin about it being on rap songs all the time, when reality, it's "Nigga" that's on all the songs..."Nigger" is what's on the album. There's a big difference there.</p>
Re: Nas album title MMaybe actual nigs would actually buy his album. instead of bootlegging. I can't wait for it to come out. I'll buy it depending on peoples feedback</p>
Re: Nas album title Seriously, this is the funniest CD title ever, I would laugh so hard if I was randomly looking through the CD rack, didnt know a thing about Nas, picked it up, and read the title, "Nigger", lol.
Re: Nas album title <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (S_Guard)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> MMaybe actual nigs would actually buy his album. instead of bootlegging.</p> </div></p> </p> Your very igonorant for saying that.</p>
Re: Nas album title <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (peg182)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GMJigga)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> lol I'm pretty sure we all know the difference</p> </div></p> </p> idk ArtGunner4life said somethin about it being on rap songs all the time, when reality, it's "Nigga" that's on all the songs..."Nigger" is what's on the album. There's a big difference there.</p> </div></p> </p> I reckon the diffrence, between both words, one sounds more offensive than the other when pronuounced, but in the end its a word, take it how you like it, hes just trying to hype his Cd thats all.</p> </p>
Re: Nas album title I don't think ANYBODY should say either one of them, but thats just me. Me I never say it.</p>
