That 'Nigger' Nas

THe 2008 grammy's was the first award show that I've seen more than half an hour of in the last 10 years easily, and I think this was a good one to see. The two things that I think will definitely be remembered is Kanye West tellin the production crew to silence the music (which you gotta appreciate no matter WHAT type of music you listen to), and Nas wearing the shirt with the word 'Nigger' across his chest.
First off, I was (and still am) shocked at the amount of attention nd response to Nas' last album 'Hip Hop is Dead'. I thought the title was a bold statement, but I never thought I'd see rappers taking the Album title personaly, the explosion of Hip Hop Properganda T-Shirts, countless 'Hip Hop Ain't Dead' titled Mixtapes etc. But I think Nas' new title transends the boundaries of Hip Hop. His interview with this blond haired, blue eyed reporter, she asked him about it, and as I expected, Nas defended his stance. He uses the word Nigger (not to be confused with the equaly offensive to some, not as abrasive to most spelling or pronunciation 'Nigga') as a symbolic reference to all the oppresion that people of all races face, all over the world, and the eplanation is given to the reporter on live television with no hesitation. The word is so powerful, He even equates the word Nigger to the meaningless war in Iraq, a topic which takes a back seat in this instance. When Nas includes EVERYONE in his list of people who have faced discrimination, "Even Me and You" he tells this bubbly, hot-topic, inside-scoop, reporter, she literally freezes...and doesn't say anything for a good 3 seconds....and she doens't know WHAT to say. I wonder what she was thinking about in those couple seconds. 'Did he just call me a Nigger?' 'I'm not a Nigger, am I?' 'I thought only Black people could be Niggers...' 'Why am I included in this plight?' 'Should I ask a follow up Question?' What she did, which is dodge the topic completely, was most likely applauded by her co-workers and peers. 'Great professionalism.' 'Way to keep your composure.' But that's unknown. Nas did not only explain the title of his shirt, but he also was able to get in a few jabs at the president as well. I bet CNN wish they didn't run into Nas that night! CNN, who probably puts Nas in the same box as 50 Cent, The Ying Yang Twins, and Missy Elliot, probably expected a much less informative two minute interview from Nas, or they knew who they were fuckin with, and felt like they were forced to do the interview because he was nominated. Regardless, the reporter probably took a leave of absence after the ceremony!
The fact of the matter is that I think its great that Nas is tackling a topic that has been an epidemic in not only the Black community, but in every Urban and Suburban community across the country. I think it is also noteworthy that Nas is touching on this topic on musics biggest stage. He could have just as easily done this at the Source Awards, or the Vibe Awards, or the MTV Music Awards, but he wanted EVERYONE to see it...from Bluegrass, to Gospel, from CNN, to BET...Everyone. And truthfully, if I'd like to hear anyone talk about the word Nigger, have an album titled Nigger, or be the voice of the Hip Hop community regarding the word Nigger, it would be Nas. Not Jay-Z, not Lil' Wayne, not Kanye West, but Nas.

I'd like to hear Joan Rivers comment on THAT 'ensemble'!