Notables in Hip-Hop continue to debate the use of the word ‘n***a’ — can White people say it? — ever sense A-list actress Gwyneth Paltrow used it in the Twittersphere. Now Nas jumps in to defend his “homie,” reports V103.cbslocal.com.
The ‘Tweet heard ’round the World read as follow:
June 1, 2012Ni**as in paris for real @mrteriusnash (the dream) tyty, beehigh
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As far as Nas is concerned, Ms. Paltrow is allowed to say that because she’s a ‘real n***a’:
“I would slap the s*** out of somebody for Gwyneth Paltrow,” Nas told CBS Local exclusively. “She’s the homie, she’s cool. Gwyneth gets a pass. Real people get a pass. We know what this s*** is. We don’t interrupt Italians when they say ‘Wop’ to each other. They gonna punch you in the mouth if you interrupt that. Don’t interrupt us. We pick and choose.
“Some might not feel the same way,” he said. “Some of us will get angrier about it than others; but some people get a pass. The people that I know who are cool and real n****s, Gwyneth Paltrow is a real n****, that’s my homie. That’s how I’m on it. Some people get a pass.”
Nas is no stranger to controversy surrounding the word ‘n***er, or it’s bastardized slave-child, n***a. In 2007, he initially named his album “Nigger” and the outcry was intense. But the Queensbridge MC didn’t back down when talking to MTV:
“I’m a street disciple,” Nas responded, quoting one of his earlier album titles. “I’m talking to the streets. Stay out of our business. You ain’t got no business worrying about what the word ‘nigger’ is or acting like you know what my album is about without talking to me. Whether you in the NAACP or you Jesse Jackson. I respect all of them … I just want them to know: Never fall victim to Fox. Never fall victim to the sh– they do. What they do is try to hurry up and get you on the phone and try to get you to talk about something you might not know about yet.
“If Cornel West was making an album called Nigger, they would know he’s got something intellectual to say,” Nas continued. “To think I’m gonna say something that’s not intellectual is calling me a nigger, and to be called a nigger by Jesse Jackson and the NAACP is counterproductive, counter-revolutionary.”
Apparently, now you don’t have to be ‘revolutionary,’ you just have to write a song called ‘N***as Paris’ and have your White friends ape your antics and it’s all good.
Paltrow isn’t the only popular White celeb to overdraft her “Black Card.” When the song first exploded, ’30 Rock’ actor, Alec Baldwin, tweeted the following:
“I love that song NIGGAS IN PARIS!!! I love Kanye!! I love @IrelandBBaldwin most of all!!!”
And the crowd went wild.
Rapper Q-Tip disagrees strongly with Nas, and others in the Hip-Hop community, including Russell Simmons and Hip-Hop journalist Toure, who is coincidentally co-writing Nas’ biography:
“Listen Rush Simmons, Toure, and all Black folk who are sympathist to this gwen paltrow n***a thing,” he tweeted. “She may not have meant harm, sure it was in the heat of the moment but that fact that she showed not 1 IOTA of an apologetic tone, given the historical weight of that word is not responsible of G Paltrow’s part.”
Interestingly enough, the two ‘N***as in Paris, Jay-Z and Kanye West, who wrote the song have not uttered a word to defend their “friend.” I guess they’re too busy “ballin’ so hard, mutha****ers wanna fine them.”
Welcome to the hood, GP; it’s every ‘n***a’ for herself.
RELATED:
Russell Simmons Defends Gwyneth Paltrow’s Use of the Word N*gga
Gwyneth Paltrow, “Niggas,” and the Black Folks Who Cried Wolf
