Let’s start this post by making this point abundantly clear; no one man, woman or child, be they a rapper or a former music executive with a shady past, speaks for all Black people. With that in mind, Def Jam rapper YG and Suge Knight have recently touted their support of the use of the N-word, to a certain extent.
Yesterday (Dec. 16), TMZ reported that Suge Knight prefers that you call him the N-word instead of “African-American.” Actually, Knight’s answer to the question he was posed (“Do you ever give anybody a pass to say the N-word”) was much more sophisticated than what the headline alluded to. The Death Row Records founder spoke about the context of the use of the word and also mentioned how Eminem once used the word, but many were scared to take him to task for it. “Don’t start saying something now, if you going to be one way be one way be one way with everybody or be one way with nobody,” said Knight.
Today, TMZ revealed that YG is in agreement with Mr. Knight and emphasized the tried and true “term of endearment” defense for the use of the word. But, he too made sure to point out that it can be used in a disrespectful way that he would not take kindly too.
The moral of the story here is that the N-word debate is very nuanced, so don’t get caught up in the headline and pay attention to what is actually said. Check out these Suge Knight and YG explain their rationale in video on the following pages.
Also, it led to TMZ making an asinine poll. So there is that.
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Photo: TMZ
