The leader of the rap group Public Enemy speaks out against the contemporary use of the term especially in 'Ni**as in Paris' off 'Watch the Throne.'
- Apr 30, 2013
AceShowbiz - Public Enemy's Chuck D is not pleased about how the "n-word" is being used today in contemporary hip-hop and he made it known to all as he wrote openly about it in his Twitter account. The hip-hop pioneer zeroed-in on rap moguls and "Watch the Throne" collaborators Jay-Z and Kanye West, slamming the two superstars' "Ni**as in Paris" as the reason why he was called out as such by a fan when he was in the French capital.
"Standing ovation in Lyon France telling these folks we are African NOT Ngrs In Paris why I gotta travel PlanetEarth cleaning sht from USA?" Chuck D tweeted. He did not take offense to the white fan, but rather blamed the pervasive use of the word in African-American lingo, adding, "He didnt know. Its a language cultural thing where thyv seen black men call themselves that like happy a** slaves for 20yrs."
Chuck D didn't let up in his series of tweets, saying, "Especially when you have mainstream RAP songs basking in it out of context. Sometimes you gotta call time out and demand some respect..," putting some of the blame on record executives for allowing the slavery-connected term to be openly heard. "This aint ever about me, but how about giving the thousands of artists a chance to get heard & bringTheNoise without degrading gimmicks?" he said.
Turns out this was not the first time the Public Enemy star expressed his disdain for "Ni**as in Paris". Last year, he had already spoken about how "hip hop celebrates those who wanna make a killing instead of a living" and how he liked Jay-Z and West but that he was skeptical about their true musical intentions.
