Urban Music And The "N" Word

Urban Music and the "N" Word

Culture. "Culture is the totality of socially transmitted behavior, patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought."(www.dictionary.com)

Black culture...

For this essay, I decided to research on a part of the Black culture that I know well. The Black culture is very broad, but I managed to narrow it down to the most controversial issue I know of: Music and the "N" Word. The "N" word has been one of the most controversial topics in the Black community since I can remember. In this essay, I will elaborate on where it originated, what it meant then and what it means now, how it was used, and why it is such a common word that is used fluently throughout Black society and especially in today's music. Though this word didn't have cruel intentions it evolved into downgrading the Black community centuries ago. To this day it is still used by ignorant people, but the Black community have grasped this concept and formed it into a word that means "Brother." I still believe that this term is a poor excuse for a word and should stay in the past.

The history of the word "nigger" ties back to the Latin word, "niger," meaning "Black." This word originally had no meaning for disrespect, but evolved in the Southern states in the early 1800's and carried much hatred and disgust toward Africans and African American communities. This word developed over time and eventually was created to taunt and insult all Blacks.

Over time the word "nigger" was used fluently in everyday life. Postcards, advertisements, television/radio, books, poetry, are just a few of the things that the "N" word was distributed on. This word also had images to support its meaning. In the late 1800's and early 1900's advertisements that obtained the word "nigger" often had a photo representation. Usually a child, maybe an adult, that had dark skin, bulging wide eyes, oversized lips, and were either naked/badly clothed, with nappy hair. In one child's book was a story and the title read, "Ten Little Nigger Boys." It went like this:

Ten Little Nigger Boys went out to dine; one choked his little self, and then there were nine. Nine Little Nigger Boys sat up very late; one overslept, and then there were eight. Eight Little Nigger Boys traveling in Devon; one said he'd stay there, and then there were seven. Seven Little Nigger Boys chopping up sticks; one chopped himself in halves, and then there were six. Six Little Nigger Boys playing with a hive; a Bumblebee stung one, and then there were five. Five Little Nigger Boys going in for Law; one got in Chancery, and then there were four. Four Little Nigger Boys going out to Sea; A Red Herring swallowed one, and then there were three. Three Little Nigger Boys walking in the Zoo; the big Bear hugged one, and then there were two; Two Little Nigger Boys sitting in the Sun; one got frizzled up, and then there was one. One Little Nigger Boy living all alone; He got married, and then there none.

A similar title was used for a postcard which showed a picture of ten small black dogs with the title, "10 Little Nigger Boys Went Out to Dine." This is what people seen "Black America" as. These were negative perspectives of the Black community that were seen by society. "Nigger" was and still is a word of disrespect, but still ignorant people use it today. The Black community claims to have evolved it from something negative into something positive. There is nothing positive that can come from this word.

In Rap/Hip Hop music today, musicians took the word "nigger" and embraced a new meaning that expresses this term positively. They gave this word a new term meaning "Brotha" or "My Brother." During an interview on BET (Black Entertainment Television), rapper/actor, Ludacris, was targeted on a song that he used the "N" word frequently. A part of the song read:

- Who, that nigga 'Cris?

Aw dat nigga is aight

Dat nigga can't f*** wit me though!

Let me get on the mic

Nigga, who the f*** are you nigga?

When asked why he would use such derogatory language that downgraded his African American brothers and sisters he responded by saying, "...Nigga is a word of endearment. We as a Black community turned it from what was negative into something positive. We cannot sit and weep on what was once depressing in the past, but what we can do is turn it around and make it out of something good" What good can come from this word...nothing. Part of the Black community tries to justify this word, there is no justification for this word and why it should be allowed to be said.

The past couple