I still don't get it. They are making it seem like its some sort of fashion statement. There's no way anyone can make this word into a positive. I can just imagine members of the KKK laughing as they see these photos. I was surprised to Kelis being apart of it, I guess she's standing by her man, but if I was her, I would of opted to not be apart of it.

I am so vehemently against this album of his and yet I want to know how he will "take it back" on the album. He's NAS, so somehow I have to believe that he will shock us all and possibly do something profound. But, I have to say coming to the Grammy's–an event largely run by white men–in clothing bedecked with the N-bomb makes me feel like they should have just come with shackles around their necks, hands, and feet. Massa likes to see us enslaved.

I think Kelis is so fly…

Too bad she wore that dumb shit. They all look like fucking idiots. I know other celebs walked past them and thought 'what the fuck?'.

I am actually feelin it…I think it opens a public discourse. Nas isn't barack Obama; he's not a politican, he is a musician and musicians make statements in a loud, albeit often obnoxious, way. The statement is that he obviously ISN'T a "nigger" in the stereotypical, conventional sense of the word (from the "massa" POV, at least…he's a successful Black man with a great deal of influence and money. I think it screams something that still needs to be said.

all i have to say is, Alex Haley is turning over in his grave…and crying!!!

JB said it best. I'm disappointed in her.

I don't see this as a way to open any sort of constructive public discourse. His heart MIGHT be in the right place but as they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Gorgeous Black Women

Nasir may lack the eloquence to get his point across a little less bluntly, but i'm not mad at this.

1)The album concept, though roughly stated, isn't that bad. I have to give Nas props for being one of the few current mainstream rappers to take a serious stance on Black social issues. Unless you'd prefer to hear yet another track by 50, givin' a played out metaphor for having sex (Magic Stick, Amusement Park, Candy Shop etc etc).

2)The word is real and the Black community is divided by it. Some say it becuase they don't care or understand. If you are like me, you use the word nigga, because you know that even if we s top usin' it, white folks won't. Even worse, is the fact that everybody only says "stop sayin' nigga" instead of "stop using hate speech." Which goes to show that white folks who complain about Black in group privilege (if you can call it that) with the word, are only concerned about the fact that we use it and tell them not to, rather than any actual offensive nature for the word.

It's a power struggle. And I think it is sad when our people get so caught up in the pain of the historical view (which is indeed valid), that they totally miss the point of the current affairs. It's a very subtle war for power, but it is a very real war for power.

3)Trying to make a fashion statement, would be that time when Katt was rockin' a noose for a tie, in some sort of abstract way of supporting the Jena Six. Nas is just whorin' out his album of the same name. Plain and simple. Is the name likely to get the wrong reaction? Probably. Are there white folk who will laugh and think "look that Nigger labeled himself." Of course. But are there people also intelligent enough to get what Nas is aiming for? Yes there are.

It's like any controversial sentiment. Just look at the South Park episode that said nigger. Some folks probably laughed just because of the use of the word in a cartoon (which bothers me deeply). Others laughed becuase they understood how Matt Stone and Trey Park (the creators of the show) were attempting to satarize and to a degree, condemn American society for its idiocy. All things come in perspectives. And at this moment, I am open to see things through Nas' eyes, for just a minute, and see where he takes this.

ugh. it's tacky, not to mention disrespectful to all of the elders who fought, on a daily basis, to overcome racism and who laid the foundation for the freedom that some of us, clearly, take for granted today.

There is absolutely nothing noble about this. Anyone who thinks he is 'takaing it back' by promoting his album at the Grammy's, has skipped several courses of understanding gross materialism in pursuit of self-interest 101.

Nas is disgusting. Let's not confuse it with artistry.

There is absolutely NO WAY he is using this to promote a message or strength. In regards to "MSM" statement it is not obvious at all that he is "not" a nigger. How do you figure that it is? The only way that could be was if our culture didn't use the word in everday speech, then it would have that power to motivate dialogue, but since so many of OUR folks today have no since of the power of the word it makes no statement and just comes off as another black man doing something STUPID!!!

Yeah, how exactly is it obvious Nas is not a nigger? Wearing bedazzled nigger shirts to an awards ceremony is doing nothing to promote dialogue or debate. What it is promoting is Nas' new album, and Nas.

They look like fools in that picture. I'm really embarrassed for them. You know how PeTA throws red paint on people wearing fur, well, I wish we had an equivalent for them.

The bottom line is this - Nas' time has come and gone. His last couple of albums have not done well and he, by any means necessary obviously, is trying to stay relevant. Instead of using his craft and talent to open dialogue, he is marketing himself and now his wife as buffoons. Look at them - they aren't even aware of it. Therein lies the tragedy.

Where's the red paint????!!!!??

I like Musicians Make Statements point the best here. Nas is an artist, as convoluted or distasteful as you may find him. And the contrast is framed well by Spendi, his "Art" is in contrast to the "business" of 50 Cent. 50 blatantly panders to whatever will sell, Nas is thinking and trying to communicate *something* through his work. Does that matter? For people who consider themselves part of the thinking ni**eratti, I should hope so.

It's a word. Maybe it means more to you, but it's a tool to make a statement for Nas. The consumerism issue is totally independent, or hopelessly intertwined, because in America art, certainly relevant art, is that which has a minimum level of commercial cachet.

This is no different than Marilyn Manson or other controversial white artists, except their statements etc are not embroiled in "white identity" issues/tropes.

I'm more interested in figuring out if Kelis looks good here or not. Any help on that? Fellas? Ladies?

To answer your quesion TAN, Kelis doesn't look very good here at all. I don't like mushroom cuts, bright red lipstick and if you're gonna wear skin tight pants it's best to have a booty.

TAN, except for the hair, she looks good. I would generally hate pants like that but it works on her.

Gorgeous Black Women

I just want this album to come out, flop! and be done with so we all don't have to see, hear, or speak about this caca no more.

LOL@caca

I am a Kelis stan too, I have all of her albums. It will be livewire from hear on out.

@ the assimilated Negro- We don't believe you, you need more people.

solitaire says:
Yeah, how exactly is it obvious Nas is not a nigger? Wearing bedazzled nigger shirts to an awards ceremony is doing nothing to promote dialogue or debate. What it is promoting is Nas’ new album, and Nas.

cosign

I think it's fine to title his album to have an open discussion about the use of the word. However, I am concerned that Nas is just using this to gain publicity for his album. I'll reserve judgment until I get a chance to hear the album, but I think that hearing him speak about his stance on the use of nigger would be better than just doing publicity stunts like this.

While I am curios to see how Nas justifies titling his album 'Nigger' and whether or not the content is profound enough to warrant the title, I do think that showing up to an award show with the word 'Nigger' on your outfit in large, flashy letters is straight up coonery. It embarasses the rest of us upstanding black folks. Not a good look Nas.

I am sitting here as a Black women in a room white people looking at this, and they are laughing at how stupid they look. Why don't they just put the words hang this in front of the N word. I would not dare be caught in a shirt like that unless the KKK put a guns to my head and forced me to put the shirt on as part of their torchure.

are we still talking about nas? sad.

True Story;

I had a good friend from London, a White lad who came to live in the USA. My friend was very naive to the level of hate in this country. It was here, in this country where he learned what the N word is and stands for. One night my friend was invited to go hang out with a few guys he met, and have a few drinks. He was not even gone 2 hours. My friend came back in tears, crying to me, crying with passion. When I asked him what had happen, he replied, the guys that I was with tonight were all talking about going out to kill a Nigger. They were laughing and talking about hanging Niggers. Then my friend held me as he cried and said to me that he can not stay in this country any longer and that I should leave with him.

This was about 5 years ago in California. What would happen if a tribe of racist White people like this was driving around late at night and see a Black person sporting a shirt like that? You become the target! You would be the perfect person chosen to hang, to ridicule, and to hurt. You would be saying “here I am.” You are saying it loud and proud while the word is dazzling on your shirt. You are already labeled.

What if you are wearing that shirt in the streets and a car load of racist people begin to scream out loud and call you a Nigger, will you get angry at them? How could you when you are setting yourself up for being the target of racial vilolence.

They called my grandfather a Nigger in Alabama before the KKK killed him. He was a preacher. Dr. Martin Luther King was called a Nigger before he was killed. Malcome X was called a Nigger before he was killed. These men were dealing with more than just Black issues. All the Black people that fought for our freedom were called niggers, spat on, beaten, attacked by their dogs, hung from trees, sprayed with water by firemen, beat down by racist police everywhere, and when Blacks were brought to this country 400 years ago in chains, piled up like sardines on ships and sold as salves they were called Niggers.

How ignorant can you be! Nas need to wake up from this mind control that he is suffering from. No clothing line is worth your soul. What a shame.

wtf is this shit? rappers already make us look like primitive, ignorant, uneducated, illiterate niggers, they dont need to walk around with fucking signs telling everyone we're niggers. fucking rappers, man. black people need to realize that hiphop is bad for us. for every (underground) political rapper (i dont know any; do they still exist?) theres 10 50 cent-like morons out there becoming famous and perpetuating the nigger image.

Regardless of how we feel about the name of Nas' album, he & his crew were wearing their outfits to promote that album. Macy Grey did the same thing when her 2nd album came out. She wore the most tacky dress to the Grammys saying when her album dropped and as we can all see it didn't go over very well.

Also many moons ago Dick Gregory wrote a book titled N-word too. For me I may not always understand what the person is trying to say at first, but I do try to stay open to what the possible message is. I hope Nas is making some kind of meaningful statement with his latest album.

Word FranSky

What about the Asian in this photo? Is she actually agreeing that they are all Niggers or is she standing there like a fool saying, I'm a Nigger, too. All clowns. PBS has a program on the history of lynching in America. They should all be forced to watch it.

As a seasoned entertainer and mother of two grown sons, both successful businessmen, I am ashamed to see younger entertainers disrespect themselves, their mothers, teachers and fellow entertainers with such ignorance. Is Nas this desperate for publicity? Can not his talent stand on its own merit? I cannot believe that our youths have little or no knowledge of our race's continued struggle to be respected for our worth and contributions to this country. This behavior gives credence to those who label all of us as NIGGERS! Nas should educate himself and his friends with our history and then and only then will he have more self-respect to label himself and his friends as NIGGERS!

This is so funny!!! Nas has exactly what he was aiming for, and that is all of you fools talking and carrying on about him and his album!! Yes! Nigger because of its history is not a positive word, but people just move ON!!!! The white man really gets a kick of watching these angry reactions of why is Nas doing this and blah blah blah!!!!

Blacks today are so out of touch with reality that it pains me to know that when white folks take of their mask of civillity your hearts will truely be broken. If you were offended by what Nas did you are totaly the full defintion of nigger but mainly you still a tool of the slavemaster by way of your thinking. Nas showed up at one of the well respected events in this country and called a white lady who works for cnn a nigger that was so smooth and smart the dude that was in the cnn studios knew what he did look at his face when they flash back on it

Artist like NAS keep real music alive, he doesn't come out with polished up terds to sell records. If his goal was to make loot he'd come out with a song with a stupid dance to go with it. This goes to show you how brain washed our culture has become we'd rather dance and snap then actually talk about real issues. Much respect to Artist like NAS who risk their careers to actually say something they believe in.

I don't care how "old fashioned" I sound but THAT word will NEVER be in style with me. Terrible!

if black men would stop being punks, assholes, and quit trying to have sex with white women, latino women, asian women, basically any women but there own and quit treating their own women (black women) like garbage and other races of women like queens, then they wouldn't be nigger assholes. but that is NEVER going to happen, so they are niggers. fuck niggers and fuck obama. just look at these niggers. it makes me sick. the shirt fits!