The debate of the N-Word and who should be using it has been heating up in recent weeks, with recent discussions about it on The View, as well as debates on whether non-blacks that were influenced by the African American community are wrong for constantly using the term.
Shady Records’ rapper Yelawolf, real name Michael Wayne Atha, sat down with VladTV recently to discuss his thoughts on the subject. When asked how he felt about white rappers such as Kreayshawn’s homegirl V-Nasty dropping the n-bomb, he discussed how some people lose the cultural meaning of the word when they use it, and how his choice to not say the word was highly influenced by his upbringing in the deep south:
“I’m from the south, you know. That s–t don’t fly. In Alabama – put it this way, there are grandparents alive today whose parents went through a war.[…]We’re just out of the slave trade. It’s a very real, very real situation. You don’t take that s–t lightly, especially — hip hop, American music culture is black culture. Don’t ever get f–ked up. Know your roots, know where the f–k you’re getting your music from and respect it. And don’t embarrass white people [and] white rappers by doing that dumb s–t. By dropping the n-bomb you think you’re all cool and s–t. You’re gonna find yourself slapped up and it might be by a white boy, ’cause you ain’t gon’ embarrass me around my people like that. It ain’t gon’ happen.
You gotta respect your elders. At the end of the day you’re still dealing with an issue that’s very — we’re not far away from real life problems. Obama is the president but it doesn’t mean that less than 50 years ago people were getting…you know…people were still getting mobbed, you know? This s–t ain’t no joke man.
Certain people have a birthright to use that word. I don’t know. As a white rapper it’s always been a big no-no, but as a human being it’s been an even bigger no-no. Whenever I would have said that around the house, just playing around, my mom would slap the s–t out of me. That was just it. It’s just a culture that a lot of people don’t understand but where I’m from that sh*t don’t fly and I ain’t backing it. That’s all I got to say about that.”
Watch the full Yelawolf’s interview below:
Via Necolebitchie.com
