Nigga. If you do not use this word, you have almost certainly heard it said a handful of times in your life, probably have heard it a couple times this month, or maybe even at least one time this week or 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 today the first thing I thought of was the actual meaning of the word. After googling the definition, if you do not already know the true definition, you will learn that nigga is just the respelling of nigger. My 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, or degrading way, but it is looked at as “normal” word that is used by people of all races. 

Growing up in a predominantly black community, I heard, and sometimes even used, the “N” word daily and I believed that it was okay to use. But one day, I accidently said the “N” word in front of my mom (who’s white) and she told me that it is not okay and she never wanted to hear it from me again. My mom knew that the way I used the word had no racist meaning to it, because where I am from the word is used toward your “bros” or friends to show love and unity, but she knew where that word originally came from and grew up in a time that when it was used it was not always a “brotherhood” kind of thing. Because of my mom, I realized that the “N” word was used too much today and changing that must start with pop culture. There is no denying the use of the “N” word, it will always be around no matter how much people preach about why it should not be used or 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 like the use of the “N” word will never be gone but can be controlled with the help of popular culture.  

.Around the mid-1950s, when one used the “N” word heads would turn because back then when someone said “nigga” nothing good came with it. 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 but can the one that ends with “a” not be used the same as the one that ends with “er?” When racism toward African-Americans was a 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 and the only way to start controlling the way the “N” word is used today 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.” The gradual increase of the use of the “N” word is the main reason why the “N” word is thought of as “okay.” Although the “N” word gradually increasing 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 is rap music, movies, and standup comedy to name a few. These different pop culture categories influence people to believe the use of the “N” word is “okay,” but it is not. My favorite thing one might say about using the “N” word is “I’m not racist,” 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 as changed or “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 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’s opinion on the use of the “N” word in Kanye’s song, All Day, shows the different 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 (9,374,704 for this one YouTube video) of followers that hear songs like “All Day.” 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.” Friends of mine have even asked me, “what’s the difference between rapping it in a song and saying it in conversation,” after questioning their use of the “N” word.   Hearing the word repeatedly can give someone that feeling that it is normal to use which leads to the gradual increase of the “N” word. 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 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 when Tupac was interviewed by Tiffany Soren and he 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 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 without the help from artists like Kanye West it might always be looked at as “normal.” 

Throughout my whole life there would always be movies about racism. These movies about racism were not to watch for pure pleasure like a comedy movie or action movie, but they were something I would 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 have the use of the “N” word in them but I feel like the use of the “N” word is 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 hate-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 and to fight 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 as hate-speech. 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 not like the racism in 42, the racism is more between 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 N.W.A. and other groups in the film. The “N” word that was used as hate-speech in 42 is used as slang, usually 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,” it shows how a word that can be used as hate-speech can also be looked at as another word like “homie” or “bro.” “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 no black and will never understand the black community” (Julius). 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 in the movie 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.” 

Rap Music and Movies give people the idea that using the “N” word is “okay” by using the “N” word in rap songs and throughout entire movies. 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 because 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. 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). Comedy acts like this are funny but they do not need to be performed because it gives people the go-ahead to use the “N” word in a demeaning way that is looked at as “okay.” 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. But the truth is, is that it is used to much and pop culture is the blame for that. I grew up in the same kind of neighborhood that used it that way, so just because others make the use of the “N” word “okay,” does this mean we should use it? Or should 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 influencing people that the meaning of the “N” word must be different, but it is not. 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, fought for African-Americans to be equal and the use of the “N” word was one of those things that separated and still do separate blacks from everyone else. To change how the “N” word is used today we have to realize it starts with popular culture. Popular culture spreads the use of the “N” word through listening to rap music, watching movies, and listening to or watching standup comedy. 
