Wale, a rapper from DC who was recently named one of Hip-Hop’s Freshmen by XXL, has a song called “The Kramer” from his Mixtape About Nothing. It’s a great song to analyze because in one song it features a lot of the different views that people have on the n-word. It has hypocrisy. Wale says usage of the word is bad but then uses it more than 30 times in this song alone. He talks about the idea of Black people taking the word and making it ours, taking the power from it. He talks about why is it okay for Black people to use the word but not White people. In the end I think Wale condones using the n-word and he is on the side that we have taken the word and made it into something positive. While I don’t agree with everything Wale says, it’s still an interesting listen.

Warning. There are explicit lyrics. This is a fan-made video the song by Wale. There is no official video right now.

Wale – The Kramer (Unofficial Fan Video) from McFaddenisDead on Vimeo.

“Nigga ain’t bad, see, niggas just had/ A clever idea to take something they said/ Into something we have/ Something we flipped into something with swag/… A nigga write nigga in a lyric/ Expect the white boy to omit it/ The white boy spit it like he spit it/ Recite it to his friends who, by the way ain’t niggas/ And say, ‘Nigga, nigga, nigga, my favorite rapper did it’/ … Until a black friend kinda hear it just a tidbit/ He thinks, “Aw forget it./ It’s so insignificant and little.”/ The white boy sees this as a clearance/ Now it’s “Nigga, nigga, nigga” every single day/ And that little nigga nigga thinks it’s okay/ And he’s the only nigga in his particular grade/ And it begins to phase him more each day/ The things they say went a little too far/ He couldn’t tell the difference between an a or e-r/ So they keep going saying nigga in his face/ There’s nothing he can do, he let it get away”

Like I broke down the Jay-Z “Lost+” song, I’m going to do the same here. I’ll go line by line with the lyrics and talk about the argument of using the n-word.

“Nigga ain’t bad, see, niggas just had/ A clever idea to take something they said/ Into something we have/ Something we flipped into something with swag.”

This is the main argument you have probably heard when hearing someone explain why they use the n-word. “We took it and made it ours.” Jay-Z recently argued this point when he appeared on Oprah. Wale reiterates that point here. Black people tried to take a horrible word and flip it into something positive – a term of endearment. I think this argument is slightly hypocritical because to use this argument you’re acknowledging that there is a history behind the word and there is a deep-seated hatred. Yet once you ask them about the history, they say oh it’s just the past and it doesn’t mean anything today. This tells me that they must not truly know the past because we are still living in the effects of slavery, and that time period today.

” A nigga write nigga in a lyric/ Expect the white boy to omit it/ The white boy spit it like he spit it/ Recite it to his friends who, by the way ain’t niggas/ And say, ‘Nigga, nigga, nigga, my favorite rapper did it’.”

Here’s where the problem lies. Whatever your stance on the n-word, if you think black people should say it or not, here is usually where most people agree – non-blacks should not use the word. So if Sean says the n-word all the time around his white friends. Are we supposed to believe that his white friends aren’t going to pick up on the word and use it? Some might say that common sense should tell them not to use it. But humans like trial and error. So a white person will try it once and as soon as you ignore it that one time, they will take it as approval; as if you condoned their usage of the word.

“Until a black friend kinda hear it just a tidbit/ He thinks, “Aw forget it./ It’s so insignificant and little.”/ The white boy sees this as a clearance/ Now it’s “Nigga, nigga, nigga” every single day/ And that little nigga nigga thinks it’s okay/ And he’s the only nigga in his particular grade/ And it begins to phase him more each day/ The things they say went a little too far/ He couldn’t tell the difference between an a or e-r/ So they keep going saying nigga in his face/ There’s nothing he can do, he let it get away”

This is my favorite part of the song. Like I said earlier a black person will hear someone say it and not like it but won’t blow up and make a big deal out of it for whatever reason. Maybe they think it’s okay for them to say it or maybe they just think it was a slip and they won’t say it again. But then the white (or any non-black) person sees that as “a clearance” or an okay to use the word. Then they start using it all the time and that passes it on to their non-black friends and now everyone is using it. The issue comes in when Wale says, “The things they say went a little too far/ He couldn’t tell the difference between an a or -er.” Those who think it’s okay for a white person to say nigga instead of nigger have a problem with this. Personally I’m not okay with a white person using any form of the word so I don’t have to deal with this. However, I have seen this happen. One day they don’t like the tone a non-black person used the n-word in. They couldn’t tell the difference between if they said nigga or nigger and it offends them. This discrepancy in their ideology and their emotions confuses them and “there’s nothing he can do, he let it get away”.

This post wasn’t to convert anybody. If you use the n-word, you use it. If you don’t, you don’t. I have an opinion on whether or not I think the n-word should be used but this wasn’t the venue to express that. I just liked Wale’s song and thought it was an interesting angle to look at the debate over the n-word.

Who can use the n-word? What’s your stance on this subject?

-Michelle Huxtable

Hello loyal readers! It’s iPod giveaway time. This contest is for a 4GB, Black iPod shuffle. Click that to see all the cool and snazzy features. Anyway, whether you want an ipod of your own or you just want to win a free one to give to someone for Christmas or a birthday is your business. Remember to have fun while doing it!

Look how happy this guy is. He loves contests!

Contest requirements:

To be entered, you need to retweet this article and follow me on twitter (Twitter.com/MichelleHux).

This contest works on a point system. For every thing you do on this list, you get a point. You don’t have to do everything on the list. The objective is just to get the most points.

1. Twitter Hunt

For each new follower you bring to Twitter.com/MichelleHux you will win one point. Just have that new follower send me a tweet that says “@(TwitterName) sent me and I’m now following!”

Remember that if your new follower has a blocked twitter, I cannot see their tweets or replies so they won’t count towards you.

2. Trivia

For each question that you answer correctly you will win a point.

Question 1. When was Michelle-Huxtable.com founded?

Question 2. Which category do I post under the most?

Question 3: Which actress played the original Claire Huxtable?

Post your answers in the comment section.

Happy Friday! So it’s the weekend. What are you gonna do? If you don’t have plans yet I got you covered. Here’s a few of my favorite things that maybe you can enjoy over this weekend. This is a list of things to make sure you have a surefire unproductive fun weekend. If you’re staying in, it includes some books to read. If you’re staying in with a friend, I offer you some movies to watch. If you’re headed out to that party I supply you with some tunes to jam to on your way over. If you’re staying in or headed out I got some games to entertain yourself with. I tell you. Michelle Huxtable is all kinds of helpful. Michelle Obama + Claire Huxtable indeed. Just remember that no matter how much fun you have this weekend, Monday will come. What happens over the weekend, doesn’t stay over the weekend. Be safe!

Have you ever been forced to represent your entire race by being asked a question like “Why do black people like…”? Congratulations! You’ve been rented. The book is funny but it’s true. You’ll love it. Buy this book because I promise you’ll read it 50 times and you’ll end up giving it to friends. If I wasn’t so adamant about people returning my stuff I’d be on my fifth copy. If you’re going to be in for the weekend anyway, or even for future readings, click that link to the left and buy this book! Support your black authors! (Just kidding. Sort of.) But really if you’re going to buy it anyway, don’t go to the local store. Buy it through amazon and click that link! Hillman[1] is expensive.

There’s no way you can watch this movie and not be happy. It’s classic Eddie Murphy. I don’t even know what to say about it that you don’t already know. You know it’s a classic. You probably already have it on VHS. You know you need to upgrade that to DVD. Let’s be honest. Don’t get ahead of yourselves and move to Blu Ray just yet. My dad started transitioning to Blu Ray and bought a PS3 to play them on. You know what gets played on that PS3? NBA Live. That’s what. But back on target, this movie has quotes for days. “When you think of garbage, think of Akeem.” “Bark like a dog. A big dog. Hop on one leg. Make a noise like an orangutan.” And of course… “Just let your soullll gloooooooow”

Training Day
featuring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke

“You wanna go to jail or you wanna go home?” When you think of classic movies that are essential to the African-American experience you might think of classics such as Roots, The Color Purple, and Malcolm X. But according to my brother, this is the only necessary film. “To protect the sheep, we have to kill the wolf.” “I will have you playing basketball in Pelican Bay!” These are things he says to me in every day conversation. I interpret them to mean he loves me but he’s a little crazy. Beyonce has Sasha Fierce, my brother has Detective Alonzo Harris (Denzel’s character). Maybe it’s a family tradition and that’s why it’s near and dear to my heart but this movie is just too good.

Music

[wpaudio url="http://edakrong.com/dev/michellehux/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Paul-Revere.mp3" text="Paul Revere By Beastie Boys"]
“Paul Revere” By the Beastie Boys. This song immediately gets you crunk. Are we still saying crunk? No? It gets you hype. I like it.

[wpaudio url="http://edakrong.com/dev/michellehux/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Backpack-feat.-Dude-Royal.mp3" text="Backpack by Christian TV x Dude Royal"]

Shout out to Modi over at DCtoBC for this track. It leaks awesomeness. Watch out for Christian TV.

Video Games

I know you heard of the cops playing Wii for 9 hours during a drug raid by now. If you haven’t here’s the video. So basically the Wii can keep you entertained. for nine freaking hours. Get Rockband or Guitar Hero and party with some friends. Trust me you’ll have a great time.

You can’t go wrong with this game.

All in all, you’re set for a pretty awesome weekend. Jammin to some Beastie Boys, watching Denzel in his Academy Award winning performance, reading How to Rent a Negro, and playing Rock Band? Check you out! Don’t party too hard. Come back Monday for some Huxtable goodness.

[1] Okay, I don’t really go to Hillman but it went with the whole Huxtable theme!

Lately people have been asking me and others for new music. It’s no secret that it’s hard to find good music nowadays. I might not have the newest music but I have some stuff that I figure I’d share with you lovely people. It may not be “new” but maybe it will be new to you. So without further ado, here are 10 songs that I like right now. And don’t sleep on the songs that aren’t rap. Try something new!

Hope you enjoyed that. I’ll do another post like this sometime if you enjoyed that. Let me know how you feel about the tracks.

My dad’s birthday was a few days ago so we took a mini-road trip to his favorite restaurant and some museums. I made a little road trip mix because I couldn’t just plug in my ipod and go. What I listen to and what I would feel comfortable listening to with my father is just not the same thing. Ever. I put in a few songs on the mix that were iffy – I didn’t know if he would like it or not. Turns out, those were his favorite ones.

One of the first songs was “Let Me Clear My Throat” by DJ Kool, Doug E. Fresh, and Biz Markie
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqfCluBH3qY]

We were talking about the music playing and he made the comment, “See, that’s how it’s supposed to be. Music used to be fun.” One of the next songs was “Check the Rhime” by A Tribe Called Quest.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRrM6tfOHds]

He played this song like 34 times in a row. While it’s possible he enjoyed the songs purely because it reminded him of the time period (early 90s) I truly believe it was because the songs were pure. I don’t mean pure like they weren’t saying anything wrong because there’s definitely some references to sex, drugs, and what have you but at least it was subliminal.

The mix was a hit and made for a feel good road trip. Some of the other songs were:

“Poison” – Bell Biv Devoe
“Google Me Baby” – Teyana Taylor (Yeah, he liked this one)
“I Want to Go Back” – Trin-i-tee 5:7 (Sampled “Back In The Day” by Ahmad)
“Good Ol’ Days” – Tamyra Gray
“Children’s Story” – Slick Rick
“Think (Freedom)” – Aretha Franklin
“Love and Happiness” – Al Green

What songs will always be a “feel good” song for you? What songs can you bond over with your parents or others?