Aaronology
Member
This is a really interesting point, I think. The problem here is that there is no standard answer, and despite the brilliance of the OP and the prevailing opinion in this thread, there are and will be plenty of black people who don't care either way. Keeping in mind anyone can say anything they like anyway, I think usage of the word is going to come down to context, having situational awareness, being familiar with the people one is around and knowing when and where it's (in)appropriate.some people certainly feel this way and avoid it. Obviously sitting in the car with someone else I avoid it. As a long time rap fan I definetly have lived through many a decent white rapper who avoided using the word completely (em, el-p, Mac miller, etc.) and I understand why they did. Reciting lyrics alone or even typing them really doesn't eat at my conscience though. Niggajuice ain't gonna crawl up into the shower if I say it three times.
Generally I Won't even say the word nigga out loud in a crowd. At Fyf this year I was with a group of younger kids (17-22) and one of the girls was saying how she was "gonna rap everything word for word" and I responded "I know one word you're not gonna say" and most people laughed because they understood the joke. I guess I just wasn't prepared for that filter didn't seem to exist for these kids. The place was so live for madd city and Kendrick was really provoking people to yell that chorus (and tens of thousands were obliging with a particularly healthy "where your grandma stay my nigga"). What it his role in all of this? I know he sees the crowd demographics. 90% of the crowd is probably white for his festival shows these days. Fully acknowledging that Kendrick doesn't speak for all black people does he have a responsibility to avoid doing call and response for those songs that rely heavily on the usage of the word or is really just up to the crowd to let Kendrick ad lib it in their version?