First he said that hip-hop was dead. Now the unconscionable Mr. Jones is back with another boulder to the head. Nigger is the followup to the aforementioned debate sparker Hip-hop is dead which, in my opinion, was about a B+.

Now there's nothing wrong with stirring the pot. There's nothing wrong with making sure that the Patriot Act hasn't completely dissolved our right to freedom of speech. There are times however, when bold statements turn into GIMMICKS. Wearing a t-shirt that says Abercrombie & Bitch isn't making a statement, it's a gimmick, it's a tactic to get people to look at you. Plastering the word nigger on the front of a CD works quite the same way.

The most poignant statements are the ones that are subtle. The ones that make you scratch your head. They are the ones that make you go "aha, that's what he was saying" at three in the morning on your way to the bathroom. Maybe gimmicks work in the music business. I'm coming from a consumer stand point, a student of economics- stand point. Around 60% of the people who "consume" hip-hop the most, are white, suburban and are between the ages of 12-25. Don't quote me on this because I could very well be making it up.

Regardless, no one is taking away Nas' right to say the word nigger. I'm just saying that beyond the obvious responsibility factor, there's a way of getting your point across without force feeding it. I will never understand this urge to say the word nigger. This is probably the most I've used it all year! I mean it's funny when Chris Rock sprinkles it over his jokes, but, maybe its a generational thing. Maybe we take it for granted because we've come of age after Civil Rights. That battle was already fought for us. I can't help but wonder though, if Emmett Till and countless other victims of lynching, were alive today, would they be down with the n-word?

After all, it's probably the last thing they heard before dying. I bet whoever said it didn't meant it "in no nice way."