Nas Gets Open, Discusses Controversial Album Title and History
New York, NY (October 19, 2007) – Amidst reports that Def Jam balked at releasing his new album “Nigger” because of it’s title, Nas sat down with MTV News in a Manhattan studio this week and openly discussed the controversy for the first time. The album, due to hit stores December 11, will come on the heels of a November 6 release of his Greatest Hits record.
"This ‘Nigger’ album is bigger than an album,” he said. “This is for my daughter, when she looks back and sees all the chump n—as in the game, she’ll say, ‘My pops was a man.’ When I have more kids, they’ll say, ‘He was a man.’ That will inspire them to be real in their life. Some people say I’m conscious, some say I’m a gangsta rapper – it’s just me doing me. I’m stomping in my own lane. I’m doing what I do."
What makes this release even more intriguing, however, is the timing. In the article, Nas goes on to suggest he wants to make records that reflect the times, and he’ll certainly have that opportunity. From the Jena 6 case, to the noose-hanging incident at Columbia University, to a Nobel-winning biologist asserting blacks are “genetically inferior, America has seen it’s fair share of racial incidents this year. An album using a historically racist epithet for a title seems almost fitting, then.
But as both a hip hop head and unbiased observer, the album needs to live up to the title. Race is always a touchy subject, and to make an impact on anything, often times you have to push and break taboos. The dicey part is that too many times, artists will develop a good idea or concept or title and simply can’t execute it. If Nas is going to call his album that, he had better make sure the music is relevant to the title. Meaning: it better reflect the times, the heart and soul of the man speaking and aware of all the baggage associated with the word. As a fan of his music, of course I want some shit that’s visceral, with some official boom-bap on the beats. But in the firestorm surrounding this album and its title, he’s going to have to be even more on point than he’s probably ever been.
In the interview, MTV cited a Fox News report that quoted Jesse Jackson admonishing “Nas for using the N-word as his LP’s name.” The rapper’s reply to Jackson’s sentiment was very much to the point (thankfully) and perhaps the opinion of a new generation of activist.
"I’m a street disciple," Nas responded, quoting one of his earlier album titles. "I’m talking to the streets. Stay out of our business. 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. Whether you (are) in the NAACP or you (are) Jesse Jackson, I respect all of them … I just want them to know: Never fall victim to Fox. Never fall victim to the sh– they do. 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.
"If Cornell West was making an album called Nigger, they would know he’s got something intellectual to say," Nas continued. "To think I’m gonna say something that’s not intellectual is calling me a nigger, and to be called a nigger by Jesse Jackson and the NAACP is counterproductive, counter-revolutionary."
Read the rest of the story, written by Shaheem Reid, at this link –
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1572287/20071018/nas.jhtml?rsspartner=rssMozilla