The Nas album title controversy has run rampant on the internet and multiple media outlets. While some have been vehemently against Nas naming his album Nigger, others like LA Reid have come out in full support of Nas’ creative expression. One person who hasn’t been heard from, Jay-Z, recently broke his silence to MTV.
“I know he’s very intelligent and there a reason behind what he’s doing,”Jay-Z told MTV News. “He’s not just doing it for the sake of being provocative. Of course we’re going to support his art. … I hope [the concept] is coming from a great place. I believe it’s coming from a great place. I just think [the controversy is] misguided. People give strength to words, power to words. If your remove ‘nigger,’ then you have ‘jiggaboo’ and ‘porch monkey,’ the words will keep continuing. How many words you gonna take out? People give the words power. I think we need to direct that [energy] towards the community.”
It seems clear that Jay completely supports Nas, but may be a bit weary of the climate surrounding the decision. Regardless, Hov reasons that there are bigger fish to fry than a single word.
“The first thing you do when you sit with a psychiatrist is they go back to your childhood. It all stems from there,” he continues. “So all these things that’s happening in these neighborhood, the worst schools, drug-infested areas … of course people are going to be hostile. So if you fix that, you fix self-esteem, you fix hope. … Then they’ll be another thing. But you can’t remove a word and think all the problems don’t exist. Like I said, it’s misguided.”
Nas’ Nigger is scheduled to drop on December 11th.
