Kendrick Lamar: I'm not ready to stop using the N-word in my music
The rapper sought to reclaim the word on his latest album, explaining its linguistic roots to mean 'royalty, black emperor'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Kendrick Lamar is among many rappers who have tried to reclaim the N-word by using it in a positive way – and the artist doesn’t see why he should stop using it.
In his track “i” on his latest album To Pimp A Butterfly, Kendrick explores the word’s supposed African etymological roots.
“Well, this is my explanation straight from Ethiopia / N-E-G-U-S definition: royalty; King royalty – wait listen / N-E-G-US description: Black emperor, King ruler, now let me finish / The history books overlook the word and hide it,” he raps.
But despite some opposition to the word among the black community, Kendrick said it would be hard to stop using “n*****” in his music at this point in his career.
“I don’t know if I can stop,” he told NME. “The closest I can do to stopping is putting the root word, 'negus', on my album. But I don’t know if I’m there mentally to stop saying the N-word yet. I dunno, maybe one day.
“That’s 27 years of reversing that word, I probably been saying that since I was one year old.”
Whether rappers should use the N-word continues to be a topic of debate among hip hop artists.
Russell Simmons, the founder of legendary hip hop label Def Jam that signed Public Enemy and Run DMC, has said rappers should stop using the word.
“The word ‘n*****’ is a racially derogatory term that disrespects the pain, suffering, history of racial oppression and multiple forms of racism against African Americans and other people of colour,” he said.
In 2007, rapper Nas was forced to change the title of his album “N*****” due to pressure from leading black figures, releasing an untitled album instead.
He said he wanted to use the N-word in the album title because “it’s not just that the word is horrible, but the history behind the word, and how it relates to me, it’s how it’s affected me, offended me.”
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2009, Jay Z said the word can be reclaimed to mean something more positive.
“I believe that a speaker’s intention is what gives a word its power. And if we eliminate the N word, other words would just take its place,” he said.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments