On the "N" Word and Rap Music

I recently got into an argument with a "black" friend of mine. He was listening to a song by the conscious artist Common called "The People." I doubt most of "the people" have actually heard this wonderfully powerful song, as the today's radio waves seem to be dominated by complete and utter mainstream crap, while the truly innovative and independent artists like Common are shut out completely from reaching listeners. Fortunately, there exists a hidden "underground hip-hop" scene that I've recently become a part of and it has really opened my ears to the genre. But more on that later.

At any rate, my black friend was listening to this beautiful song in the adjacent room, and I decided in order to demonstrate my "cred" to him I would "bust in" to his room and recite the upcoming verse, verbatim, so as to demonstrate my familiarity with the underground music scene. The verse goes like this:

"From Englewood to single hood in Botswana
I see the I in We, my nigga, yours is my drama
Standin' in front of the judge with no honor
Barack stick, knight, the people like Obama

This is, in my opinion, one of the most poignant parts of the entire song. It makes references to the plight of the third world, the corruption of America's court systems, and the hope that is guaranteed to all the people by Barack Obama.

But my black friend didn't even let me finish. As soon as I said a certain word, I think we all know what that word is, he started to yell at me, "Woah, woah! What did you just say?" as if I had just insulted his mother! He got up to turn the music down on his stereo and just stared at me for the longest time. I was speechless by his sudden, unprovoked rage. It was as if he had become an animal after my flesh.

After an awkward staring contest, he told me, "you can't say that word, Oceanus."

"What word are you talking about?" I asked him.

"The 'n' word, man, you can't say that word."

"Oh really, and why can't I say it?" I asked, without the slightest bit of sarcasm. I was genuinely interested as to why a simple word had made him so angry.

"Because, it has a historical context that's not very pleasant," he told me, as if I should have known all along.

"What are you talking about? Do you mean slavery?" I asked, suspecting that he was leading me on by now.

"It's more than just slavery, Oceanus. It's a hateful word and people who are in your position shouldn't say it."

"Well what makes me different from him [Common]? Why should he be able to say it while I can't?" It was a rhetorical question. I knew that I had trapped him in his own logic. Still, I wanted to hear what he had to say.

"When he says it, he's reappropriating the word for the black community. You're white, so when you say it it just comes off as racist."

I was absolutely speechless. First off, let's get one thing straight: I'm not racist. Hell I don't even know what race is. It's become such an obsolete way to label someone that I just try not to see it anymore. The last time racism was a huge problem was during the Civil War for crying out loud. Black people were slaves then, but now they're free and equal just like everybody else. Isn't that enough for them? Apparently not.

What really got me worked up is that he had the audacity to call me the racist when he was the one who was giving unfair treatment to a black person. Suddenly it's not cool for certain people to say things but cool for other people to say the same things? That's racism if I've seen it, which I have now.

If the "N" word is really such a big deal, why do black people continue to use it in their communities? I don't buy the "reappropriation" crap either. A word is a word; it doesn't change with the person who writes or speaks it. You know, we invented dictionaries to precisely combat this problem. If there's ever any question as to what a word means when someone says it, all one has to do is look it up. There's no hidden code or "cultural context" as far as I'm concerned. And even if there was, it's a damn word! It's not like I was publicly berating him with tar and feathers. If people don't stop getting worked up over stupid little things like words, we'll never be able to create a perfectly equal society. Evidently this is not something my black friend desires.

I didn't feel like arguing anymore because I could tell that his rage was making him invulnerable to intelligent discourse, so I excused myself and he turned his music back up. Now here's the real kicker: the song ended and guess what the next song to come on was?

"I'll Still Kill" from self-proclaimed gang banger and wealthy idiot king Curtis "Fiddy Cent" Jackson.

To think that my black friend could listen to this crap, and at the same time enjoy someone as wonderful as Common!

Let's get another thing straight: I don't listen to "rap." I think it's pure garbage, and as they say, you can't spell "crap" without "RAP." Or "EAR RAPE." This kind of "music" is all about "gang bangers" "trickin' hoes" "slangin' rock" and "getting thizzy." I can't believe these people get paid what they do to spread so much hate and ignorance to the world.

I do, however, listen to "hip-hop," which includes many conscious artists like Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and Atmosphere (just to name a few). These artists talk about the real issues, not the petty life of thugs. It's truly a shame that they are horribly underrepresented in the mainstream media, because they are some of the most original, insightful, and inspiring people living today.

That my black friend could combine the two into his musical repertoire was truly astounding. I can't imagine what it must be like, listening to some of the most beautiful lyrics one moment and then the most ugly in another. Could he be mentally ill? It would certainly explain why he was calling me a racist.

I talked over this incident with several like-minded acquaintances and they all seemed to agree that my black friend was way out of line, and that his musical tastes were "questionable" at best. I haven't spoken with the guy since, and to be honest I don't really have any desire to talk to someone who has the nerve to insult me and then listen to garbage like 50 Cent as I walk out with some pride left in me.

Racism is only as bad as we let it be. If we all just forget about race and stop listening to garbage, we may yet see a world where everyone is indeed equal - and I'm talking class here people, because that's something that actually matters nowadays.

For shizzle, my nizzle.