Nas

Despite my disappointment of Nas not going with his much publicized original title of 'Nigger' on this production....I can understand why he didn't.

The power and the glory of the word as I believe he intended on using it{Listen to,'You Can't Stop Us Now',and tell me that I am wrong} would have simply gotten lost via the media:

"Hi,I'm 'the Drew'.You're listening to'W.U.N.D.',F.M.102.We're broadcasting from white,small town,U.S.A.Now,off his instant urban classic,'The 'N' word',here is the Wal-mart homogenized and thoroughly bleached clean Nas."

Or even worse:

"Hi,I'm Alison Becker,and this is the VH-1 special,'Nas and the making of 'Nigger'.'Nigger' is the controversially tittled cd by rap bad 'boy',Nas.VH-1 has decided to use the actual title of,'Nigger',the cd,not because of it's intended take on the social reverberations and implications of modern day American society and the artist's take on the perceptions of racial freedoms and free speech,but because we white people at VH-1 want to use this album's title as an excuse to finally be able to say the word:'Nigger.Nigger,nigger,nigger,nigger,nigger,man,that feels good to be able to use that word in public again.'

I know,I know...that is a tad over the top.But,I believe not far off the mark.

And that brings out the problem of the 'X'-ed out title.I,as a middle aged white man,grew up in the struggle of civil rights.I grew up a follower of Martin Luther King,and for the ideals he stood.All men are created equal.That means 'all people'.Photos of sicking dogs on elderly ladies(they could have been 'my' grandmother') and southern firemen using fire hoses on young adults(they could had been my cousins),had a profound effect on me.

The 'N' word stood for all that was wrong.Using it was giving into all my fears and hatreds,to all of my prejudices.I did not want to use it because it would offend other people so much as I did not want to offend myself.It's use was a wrong step backwards.

Yesterday,when John McCain accused Barack Obama of using the race card,I was not so much offended by him accusing Mr.Obama of such as his white Massa' tsk tsk tone,and going,"I'm so disappointed in him," speech afterwords in front of a black crowd.


I felt like standing up and sticking my finger in the air at him and yelling,"Fuck you,fuck you,mother fucker!".


This is where Nas and this great cd comes in.The title maybe gone,but the truth behind it is still there.Unlike so many other rap cd's,this is more then just fun and games.It's partying with a purpose.It reminds me of not only James Brown &NWA,but also of Woody Guthrie,Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.Heck,it even puts me in mind of 'Huck Finn'.

There has been allot of talk that rap is dead(some of it my own),but with records like this Nas cd,I am beginning to think this is rap's golden age.

A+