Thug Life Army

Why NYOIL is right for challenging Nas for wanting to "Be A Nigger Too" by Jasiri X

"Our artists are the key not only to the liberation of Black people but to the liberation of Humanity itself"-The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan

Artist today Beef over everything. 50 cent the "King of Beefs" got mad at Fat Joe for doing a song with his "enemy" Ja Rule, got mad at the Game for not wanted to "ride" on these same "enemies", got mad at Kanye for wanting to release his album on the same day, got mad at Lil Wayne for being perceived by the people as "hotter" then him, got mad at Alicia Keys for criticizing "Gangsta Rap" and now he's mad a Young Buck for speaking about his lack of royalties. And Hip Hop fans and media eat this "Beef" right up even giving 50 Cent credit for his "marketing genius". But when NYOIL steps up and calls out Nas, the Holy Grail of conscious MCs for his use/misuse of the word "Nigger" all of the sudden he's crossed some imaginary line or violated some unwritten Hip Hop Law.

Mind you this isn''t 50 cent calling Nas a "sucker for love". This is a debate over a word that has been connected to the murder, lynching, rape and torture of black people all over the world. This is about our ancestors, us and our babies many of whom don''t know the blood stained history of the "N-Word". I like many Hip Hop fans was willing to give Nas the benefit of the doubt before making a judgment about his album Nigger. And I like many Hip Hop fans noticed a distinct similarity in the hook of "Be a Nigger Too" to the NYOIL song "What up my Wigger Wigga". But that is where the similarities ended. While NYOIL's song sought to discourage people from using derogatory language to describe themselves, the Nas song was a free pass for every one of every race to not only use the word Nigger but to "Be a Nigger".

In the infamous interview Nas did on the red carpet with a white female reporter from CNN he said, "no longer are just black people niggers today it's also me and you. He justified this thinking by saying, "We all at some point felt discriminated on". Unfortunately our history of being treated like "Niggers" goes far beyond mere discrimination; it is some of if not the worst treatment of any group of human beings on the planet. So while it's easy to say were all treated like "Niggers", it's black people who have a high school dropout rate of over 50%, it's black people who are filling the prisons and the cemeteries at an alarming rate, it's black people who always seem to be at the receiving end of injustice whether it's the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina or the case of the Jena 6.

Here in Pennsylvania, where we lead the nation in Black on Black homicides, a 12 year old boy named Michael Ellerbe was shot in the back and murdered by two police officers. And even though a jury awarded the family 28 million dollars, and found that the two state troopers intentionality shot the boy, neither officer has been tried for Michael Ellerbe's murder. At the same time Mumia-Abu Jamal an innocent man on death row was denied a new trial even though the inconsistencies and outright lies in this case are too many to name. How many black men and women are unjustly imprisoned? How many black men and women have been victims of police brutality? Who in there right mind would want to "Be a Nigger Too"?

I applaud NYOIL for standing up and challenging Nas on a REAL issue that has REAL meaning to our people and our future. Will we continue to allow irresponsible artists, misguided management and uncaring corporations to make billions off of our own degradation? Or will we stand up fearlessly, like the Men and Women of God that we are and let our actions follow suit?

My name is Jasiri X and I approve NYOIL's message!

*Visit hip hop rap artist and social activist Jasiri X at - http://www.myspace.com/jasirix