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Well I use the term "conscious" for lack of a better term. When these artists are constantly referring to themselves as revolutionary or talking about revolution (see "Eternalists", "Sixth Sense"), they are labelling themselves. And let me ask you what's so damn revolutionary about referring to each other in the terms of the slavemaster?
Now if Mos didn't find the word negative, why would he make a song like Mr. Nigga, and if Kweli didn't why would he allude to the historical connotation in "Four Women"...(She went from nigga to black...right back to nigga)?
And for the record I do take everyday people to task for using that word, especially when my fellow black folk refer to me as their "nigga", I dead that with the quickness. Now why it's different for me to ask that of artists is because when my man at work says it to me, me, him, and maybe two others hear it. When these cats say it millions of people not only in this country, but anywhere in the world they are heard or perform hear it. That's a big difference people.
Sure, this is an old issue, about 300 + years old, and the problem is that it's not going away. With all this talk about being progressive, revolutionary, what have you, we seem to be embracing ignorance more than ever.
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