Nas, or if you prefer his new name, Nasterisk, and Island/Def Jam are pulling off the cheesy publicity stunt of pretending to take the high ground by not calling Nasterisk’s new record “Nigger” as originally intended. The media is chasing the story like a blind puppy in a meat market and throwing the “N Word” around left and right, using asterisks, like it’s somehow better than just saying it.
Billboard has this headline:
Nas Reveals ‘N*gger’ Video, Album Cover
And, that story is the source for this..
Rapper Nas has revealed the video for “Be a N*gger Too,” the lead single from his upcoming untitled album, due July 1 via Def Jam. The clip was unveiled for media last night (May 29) at the Tribeca Grand Hotel in New York.
The treatment for the black-and-white video, directed by Rik Cordero, features Nas looking at his reflection through a mirror and rapping about racism, politics and religion, among other things, while images of people of different races sporadically appear throughout. “We all black within, okay / we all African, okay,” the Queensbridge rapper rhymes over a piano-heavy beat.
Towards the middle of the video, a scene of what appears to be a white slave owner pointing a gun at a black male slave emerges, right before the song shifts into its chorus: “They like to strangle n*ggers / blaming n*ggers / hanging n*ggers / still you wanna be a n*gger too?”
At the end, Nas, still facing the mirror, says, “F*ck you. You had it all and you threw it all away.” When asked about the significance of that portion of the video, Nas said the concept was Cordero’s idea and he “just went with it.”
Although the album won’t be titled “N*gger” as originally planned, its cover — an image of Nas’ bare back with welts similar to the ones slaves endured from lashings — “speaks for itself. It says ‘n*gger’ real loud,” he said.
Nudge, Nudge, Wink-Wink.
Way to really take a stand there, Nasterisk.
The fact is, that if they released the album as “Nigger”, nobody would really care. It would be a story for a couple of minutes and blow over but, the statement might have had some integrity that way. The media all look like buffoons for tossing asterisks around and commentator’s saying “N Word” but, so does Nasterisk and Island/Def Jam.
You’re in the same boat with the buffoons, Nasterisk because you didn’t force the label to call the record what it is. And, your label didn’t stand behind you or your statement.
Will the stunt work? Will the public fall for it? I don’t know. But, if it does, the best you’ve done is sold your art down the river. If it doesn’t, you look a chump. Either way, your bold statement, “about racism, politics and religion”, is null.
Or, even better, your your bold statement, “about racism, politics and religion”, is N*LL.
O.K., I have been hearing about this controversial Nas album title issue a lot and, I haven’t said anything. Here we go!
From Billboard.
Nas’ controversially named new album, “N*gger,” has been changed to an untitled project and will be released July 1 via Def Jam.
What is the point of the damn asterisk Billboard? Looking around at the various outlets covering this story, I keep seeing “N*gger”, “N*****”, and even “N—–”. They all want to run the story but not be held responsible, I guess. I don’t think Nas intended to call the album “N#$%*&^”, the whole story is that he intended to call the record “Nigger”.
Anyway, from Billboard.
“It’s important to me that this album gets to the fans,” the rapper says. “It’s been a long time coming. I want my fans to know that creatively and lyrically, they can expect the same content and the same messages. It’s that important. The streets have been waiting for this for a long time. The people will always know what the real title of this album is and what to call it.”
Nudge, nudge-wink, wink; you all know what the real title of this album is and what to call it. We just can’t call it that ourselves. “We” meaning, a bad ass rapper, Def Jam/island records. And, we surely don’t mind the fact that the press has picked up on this “story” and calling the record “N*gger”, “N*****”, “N—–” and “N#$%*&^”, you know the code, you know the real deal folks; nudge, nudge-wink, wink. Just keeping it real.
New name for Nas: “Nasterisk” or, even just N*
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