The N-Word

So, the NAACP recently buried the N-word.

I would like to give an unenthusiastic cheer for the talented tenth. You have truly saved me from the harsh realities of being a black, male, hip hop head in America. Now that the N-word is symbolically stricken, I guess the cultural myopia I continuously face will come to an end.

For all intensive purposes, the "n-word" will now substitute n***** and n****.

I recently read an opinion piece by critic (and hip hop antagonist) Stanley Crouch (article). The article is entitled Good riddance

Burying the N-word, driving stake through the heart of hip-hop's demons

Although very catchy, the whole "driving the stake" thing would be more applicable had the current hip hop generation been actively engaged in this issue. We can easily look at figures such as Chuck D and say that there are prominent artists who are contributing, however, even Chuck knows that there are generational differences in hip hop. I applaud Crouch in his desire to consistently castigate whenever possible, but in all honesty, disrespect didn't start with hip hop. We can bury all of the negative words we want, but as long as people can begin a sentence with "yo mamma..." somebody's feelings will get hurt.

The burial of the "n-word" will help a lot of people sleep well, but it will also hinder an understanding of the business of popular culture. In the aftermath of Imus vs. Rutgers, record industry execs met to discuss the use of offensive language in rap albums. During a Rapsessions Town Hall Meeting (which aired on C-SPAN), T. Sharpley-Whiting called the meeting a "moment of White supremacy culture, patriarchy, and capitalism coming together to discuss black women’s bodies". At the end of the day, that's what it came too. Finding ways to justify moral crusades against art is like pouring water out of a boot with instructions on the heel. There must come a critical look at the business behind the art. As much as we argue about hip hop and art, the business aspect has been there since Kool Herc's sister was throwin' parties back in the day.

Crouch also notes a comment made by Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick:

"we are not just burying the N-word, we're taking it out of our spirit. We gather burying all of the things that go with the N-word. We have to bury the pimps and the ho's that go with it."

One would be hard-pressed to think that one generation will get rid of centuries of pimping. Sure, it sounds good, but where would America be without the pimp mentality (google Beth Coleman's essay "Pimp Notes on Autonomy").
Finally, rappers do need to step their intellectual game up; but so do hip hop fans and critics. In the Souls of Black Folk W.E.B. DuBois writes "[w]ords and music have lost each other and new and cant phrases of a dimly understood theology have displaced the older sentiment". With the burial of the n-word, we have found yet another topic to store in Black America's closet of sacred cows (just below colorism, and 3/5 of an inch above O.J. ). This event should not be used to escape the contradictions of black life. It sould be used to address the "real" concerns of the community. We should see how education, arts, and commerce all make the "n-word" real.