Nigga. If you do not use this word, you have at least heard it said a handful of times in your life, probably have heard it a couple times this month, or maybe even at least once this week or even today if you live in the same society I live in. When I decided my topic for this paper would be the use of the “N” word in modern times, the first thing I knew I had to get straight was the actual meaning of the word. If you do not already know the literal definition, you will learn that nigga is just a slang respelling of nigger. My new knowledge of the true meaning of the “N” word made me ask myself “why?” why do people use this word so loosely if it is rooted from a contemptuous term for a black or dark-skinned person? Today people have forgotten how the “N” word was used in the past. It is no longer looked at as just a word that is meant to be used in a demeaning, degrading way, but it is looked at as normal, or a casual part of conversation.

Growing up in a predominantly black community, I heard, and sometimes even used, the “N” word daily and I believed that it was okay for me to do so. One day, I accidently said the “N” word in front of my mom, who is not a person of color, and she scolded me saying that it is not okay to speak that way and she never wanted to hear it from me again. My mom knew that the way I used the word had no racist intention to it, because where I am from the word is used toward your “bros” or friends to show love and unity. However, she knew where the word originates from and grew up in a time that where it was used as much more derogatory. Because of my mom, I realized that the “N” word was used way too excessively today and changing that must start with pop culture. There is no denying that the use of the “N” word will always be around, no matter how many times people preach about why it should not be used, or even just when it is appropriate to use. But how can we try and control the widespread use of the “N” word? In my opinion, I feel the use of the “N” word will never be completely gone but can be drastically controlled with the help of popular culture.  

Around the mid-1950s, when one used the “N” word, heads would turn. Nothing good ever came with the word “nigga.” When someone used the “N” word it was not used in a non-demeaning way like people use it today, but it was used as hate-speech to attack African-Americans who they felt did not belong. According to an article posted by the Washington post, “there have existed two n-words, one that ends in “er” and one that ends in “a.” For many, they have distinctly different meanings — the “er” version linked to the word’s hateful, racist origins, the other more a term of endearment.” By agreeing with this we would be accepting the idea that using “nigga” is okay. Why is the one that ends with “a” not perceived the same as the one that ends with “er?” When racism toward African-Americans was a more severe problem, hearing any “N” word would often trigger a fight-or-flight response. Back then the use of the word was life threatening, but today pop culture has changed the way people view and use the “N” word. Today one might say “what’s up nigga” to greet a friend, “that nigga this” and “that nigga that” to tell a story, or “that’s my nigga” to acknowledge that someone is your good friend. But how has it come to this? According to Donte’ Stallworth, “Pop culture has turned it into a euphemism, and now it means at the very least ‘this guy.’” Whether you are somebody that listens to rap music, watches movies, listens to standup comedy, or grew up in a predominantly black neighborhood like me, it should not be thought of as “okay” to use the “N” word. The only way to start controlling the way the “N” word is used is through Popular Culture.  

So why would someone feel that the “N” word is okay to use today? The reason the “N” word is thought of as okay today is because it has gradually been used more and more overtime to the point where it is thought of as normal. Although this is true, the use of the “N” word has not randomly increased by itself. Popular culture has influenced the gradual increase of the use of the “N” word and in some way, has influenced individual’s attitudes about the meaning of the “N” word and how it can be used. Pop culture categories that influence different attitudes toward the meaning of the “N” word include rap music, movies, and standup comedy and even more. These different pop culture categories influence people to believe the use of the “N” word is okay, but it is not. The most ridiculous thing one might say to defend themselves about using the “N” word is, “I’m not racist,” like saying this statement somehow gives that person the idea that it is okay for them to say the “N” word. Pop culture has prompted so many arguments as to why the use of the “N” word is normal, but what influence do the three major pop culture categories have on the “N” word? 

When talking about pop culture and how it influences people’s views on the “N” word the first category that comes to my mind is rap music. Rap artists have been using the “N” word in their songs for as long as rap itself has been around. The way rappers use the “N” word today shows how people view the “N” word has changed and is thought of as okay. An example of this is when Kanye West released his song All Day in 2015 that said “nigga” about forty-two different times throughout the entirety song. Some people like Oprah said, “you shouldn’t do it, even black people shouldn’t use that word,” but Paul McCartney responded by saying “Yeah, but it is Kanye! And he is talking about an urban generation that uses that word in a completely different way. It is the context. So, I was actually pleased with it” (Jackson). Paul McCartney and Oprah’s opinions on the use of the “N” word in Kanye’s song, All Day, shows the conflicting perspectives people have on the use of the “N” word in rap music. 

Kanye West is one of the biggest rappers in the music industry today, so he has millions of viewers; 9,374,704 for this one YouTube video in fact. These people all end up hearing songs like “All Day,” that use the “N” word throughout the whole song. In an article on Thought Catalog, Davi Nappi argues that, “since 70-80% of the racial demographic of hip-hop/rap fans are white, they grow up hearing a word repetitively and will start using it in their everyday vocabulary.” Hearing the word repeatedly can give someone a feeling that it is normal to use, which leads to using the word in everyday conversation. I think this shows that it is not only the rap itself that influences different attitudes about the “N” word, but the artist talking or rapping about the “N” word also plays a significant role in influencing other’s beliefs about the word. A perfect example of an artist influencing the meaning of the “N” word is Tupac when he was interviewed by Tiffany Soren and said, “Niggers was the ones on the rope, hanging off the thing; niggas is the ones with gold ropes, hanging out at clubs.” It might not have meant much to him when talking about what he thinks the difference is between the two similar words but millions of people follow Tupac, and him saying his opinion about “niggers” and “niggas” has a greater influence than someone not as famous who writes an article about why the use of any form of the “N” word is wrong. Rap music is a significant reason why the “N” word has been normalized today and with the help from artists like Kanye West and Tupac it might always be looked at as normal.

Throughout my entire life there have always been movies being made about racism. These movies about racism were not to watch for pure pleasure, like say a comedy movie or action movie. They were something I could watch to really learn about the story behind the movie. Two recent movies that involve the “N” word and add influence through pop culture are the movies 42 and Straight Outta Compton. These two movies both display the use of the “N” word in them many times, but I feel like the use of the “N” word was completely different. In 42, the movie is about the great Jackie Robinson and the racism he had to deal with being the first black major league baseball player. I feel this film positively affects the belief that the “N” word should not be used the way it is today because it shows how the “N” word was used as hateful speech, and the affects it had on Jackie Robinson life and career. It showed what African-Americans like Jackie Robinson had to demonstrate true courage in order to fight to be equal. Fighting against that word that made African-Americans different from everybody else. Movies like 42 influence people that the “N” word is not okay by showing them how it was used to bring down those that have darker skin. On the Website Salon, D. Watkins tells the reader how his cousin, Kevin, got into an altercation with another player when a white catcher said, “that ‘N-word’ is always cheating!” This gives us a personal experience that shows that no matter how the “N” word is looked at it can still be used as hate speech. 

Straight Outta Compton is a movie that shows a brutally honest depiction of life in Southern Los Angeles. In this movie, there is racism but it is much different than the racism in 42. The racism is more focused on blacks vs. cops. In this movie, I’m not looking at the use of the “N” word toward a specific group of people, but I am looking at how it is used amongst the group “Niggas With Attitudes,” and other groups throughout the film. The “N” word that was used as hate-speech in 42 is now used as slang, usually just between African-Americans throughout the whole movie. Unlike 42, Straight Outta Compton shows the side of the “N” word that is looked at as okay, and it shows how a word that can be used as hate-speech can have multiple meanings and be looked at like another word like “homie” or “bro.” Straight Outta Compton is a great movie, but when talking about the “N” word it influences people who watch the movie to think that it is okay to say because it is often said with no demeaning purpose. Straight Outta Compton shows us an example of how the use of the “N” word amongst certain cultures can spread and give people the belief that it is okay. The effects of this movie and others are stated by Julius in The N-Word Might Be Part of Pop-Culture by saying, “In the end, nigga is not just another word. It can’t be, and perhaps people are taking notice because of how its in-culture usage has to spread to those who are not black and will never understand the black community.”

Rap music and movies give people the idea that using the “N” word is “okay” by using this word in their songs and films. Doing this normalizes the “N” word by making people immune to its use. Standup comedy on the other hand uses the “N” word to make fun of the stereotypes that blacks are usually thought to have. One of the most famous comedians to do this is Chris Rock when he performed his standup act “Black People vs. Niggas” During this show, Chris Rock makes fun of “niggas” by saying things like “If niggas break in your house and you want to save money, put it in the books because niggas do not read,” and “books are like kryptonite to a nigga,” he even jokes about how “niggas sing welfare carols.” I am not going to sit here and say that the jokes Chris Rock makes are not funny to most people because sometimes they are, but what makes them funny is that people know exactly what he is talking about. People know all the stereotypes that black people have and this show makes it funny by exploiting how ridiculous they are. Comedy acts like this one make it okay to look at a black person as “this nigga who is destroying the fabric of society” (Judy, 213). Comedies are funny but they do not need to be performed in this way as it gives people the go-ahead to use the “N” word in a demeaning way. Chris Rock himself said, “I’ve never done that joke again, ever, and I probably never will. ‘Cos some people that were racist thought they had a license to say the “N” word. So, I’m done with that routine” (Watkins). 

When talking about the use of the “N” word I understand why it is used today. I get why people say “Let evolution happen. Let pop culture take that word away to the ocean and let anyone use it” (The Washington post). I get that the “N” word is not always used as it once was in the past, and I get that people use it today as a term for endearment. I grew up in the same kind of neighborhood that used it in this way, but just because others make the use of the “N” word okay, does this mean we should use it? Should only certain groups of people be able to use the “N” word? Or, should we listen to Dave Nappi when he says, “don’t be a hypocrite and say, ‘do as I say, not as I do’?” Nappi’s point makes it clear to me that we must control the use of the N-word because pop culture has made it okay by gradually increasing the use over time and convincing people that the meaning of the “N” word is different. The “N” word might be thought of as a whole new word today, but we cannot erase the past. We should not forget about how African-Americans, like Jackie Robinson and Martin Luther King, fought for African-Americans to be equal. The use of the “N” word separated and still do separate blacks from everyone else. Do we really want to erase all the progress we have had desegregating our society? To change how the “N” word is used today we must realize it all starts with popular culture.
