MOG

Up until this month, most of the folks who disapproved of Nas naming his new album Nigger were not "active participants in the culture". That changed when fellow east-coast emcee NYOIL spoke out against Nas for stirring up controversy with the title.

Rappers and their fans have been forced to talk amongst themselves about whether this album is a good idea or not. There are good arguments on each side, but NYOIL is firmly against the decision.

NYOIL responded to Nas' new song "Be A Nigger Too" in a blog post on his Myspace profile saying:

"…Does this brother realize that his attempts at diffusing the word “Nigger” by making it some all inclusive colloquialism to represent all races is as weak as the beat he spit it too? Does he realize that when Robert Schwartz decides to stop being a nigger all he has to do is change his look. maybe trade in the bapes and backpack put on a suit and he’s right and exact. When Robert Yung decides he’s no longer a nigga he can be whatever an person of Asian decent can be in the country stereo types not withstanding. When Robert Rodriguez decides to stop being a nigger he can become a proud man of Latin descent. However for Robert Jenkins who’s grandparents where NIGGERS, blown over by fire hoses and beat within an inch of their lives, when the term meant what it will always mean despite his attempts to make it a term of endearment. Whom despite his affluence or allegiance has to be as scared as a runaway slave when pulled over for driving black or shopping black, or standing in a group of more than 3 in his own neighborhood while black or any of the number of things blacks can do innocently while being black and end up dead because the cop who shot him 50 times like Shawn Bell or 42 like Amadou Diallo didn’t consider himself a nigger…We’re the only race that embraces our disgrace, and now you would have everyone else sing along with us in our shame."

NYOIL has also released a youtube video called "The difference between niggers and black people"... It's causing heated discussions between fans, but at the end of the day talks like this may be more constructive than the usual "50 Cent vs. Game" arguments.