RSSTROUBL in Spain
“Wooooooow”–Flavor Flav
We got lost driving around Marbella, Spain many times today. Feeling bummed, I decided to fiddle with the radio. I worked the controls until out of nowhere I hear Beanie Sigel on the radio. As I listened something shocked me. All of a sudden, I looked at my girl and was like “what— they said… Nigga.”
“Hold up, they said what?” I asked the people in the car. Immediately, this took my mind back to TROUBL, and the many conversations we’ve had about the use of the word nigga.
As we drove around this beautiful town, I continued to listen the music raw, uncut and with no bleeps.
Why is this? Could it be that Spain doesn’t understand the history of the word? Could it be that Spain is so far past worrying about saying it that they want the true art form raw and uncut?
Could “us” the creators of the culture really be the ones on some nigga shit, holding on to its past?My people back home in America WAKE THE FUCK UP. We talk about political issues all the time on TROUBL, but if we be ” American” and forget to include the global perspective. We are losing out. I mean fuck; I wanna hear nigga on the radio. I say it all the damn time.
18 Comments, Comment or Ping
Boosy
I feel like Robert Jordan in For whom the bell tolls. Smacking fascists like fake titties on fake blonds with old rich dudes in Lamborginis out here..
It should have gotten the Pulitzer back in ‘41 for fiction. it’s okay Ernie, I’m out here doing it big. R.I.P
Just to let ya’ll know i have changed my name from “Sir Bougie Black” Aka Duke Boosy to
Global Czar AkA Duke Boosy “
Redefining bourgeoisie “bougie” black while staying true to my inner epic steaze”…
“Niggars” Chapelle show Season 2 “The niggar family”
[Reply]
Q.
or it could just be that they don’t really understand the word and see us saying it so much that it “can’t be that bad”..
[Reply]
"a mom"
Maybe we are to focused on the word. And maybe we need to wake up. We have better fish to fry.It will take me sometime but I’m starting to get it.
Hope you are having a wonderful time in Spain.
Mom
[Reply]
TROUBLMan
America wants to hold on to its history of racism because it makes us uniquely American.
Black people hold on to it for a few reasons. The word nigga reflects our struggle in this country and we don’t want to forget it. Some people are too old to know it as anything else. Others hold on to it because it gives them a reason to be a victim.
Racist white people hold on to it because they know how it makes black people react. There have been times when a white person has called me nigger just so I could slap him and he could call the police on me.
have been hurt by it. White people hold on to it because they know it
[Reply]
Q.
see, that’s where i’m not agreeing.. i don’t think we’re holding onto it so that we don’t forget or that we try to be a victim.. i honestly don’t need the word at all.. but, i’m not about giving it to others to use against/for me either.. same way that i don’t want anyone calling me white, i don’t want a white person calling me nigga/nigger.. that has nothing to do with me embracing it or wanting it for myself.. i’d rather see it gone than to see it turn into a word that used to be used on me as a negative by white people, to now being used as a term of (insert reason here) by white people on me.. because, truth be told, there will still be a gang of white people using it as a negative..
i just think there is a LARGE population that is nowhere near some of the TROUBL Makers in the history of the word or its use.. i think it is a VERY small subset that uses it as some of the TROUBL Makers do.. honestly, i will NEVER (and i rarely say that word) use it as it has been suggested on this site.. but that’s just me.. but i will still reserve the right to slap the bullshit out of a white person that says it to me.. police or not.. it’s still a slur to me.. from them..
[Reply]
Q.
another thing that i thought about after having a discussion with others outside of TROUBL.. i’ve been overseas as well, and this is more a censorship issue than anything else.. they are not choosing to leave “nigga” in there, shit, they leave EVERYTHING in there.. the music videos have sex in them.. that’s just a societal thing..
but just as food for thought, think about the fact that Spain and many places in Europe were as racist as the US.. please believe that they understand “nigger” as well, and will (and have) used it against us in the past, present and probably the future.. don’t get me wrong, there are places like Amsterdam, where i’ve experienced the true meaning of being color-blind.. i almost pulled a Denzel in Glory moment with 1 tear dropping when i was able to talk to and play with children that had no clue that i was Black, and they were white.. i was just another older guy to them.. that experience happens to be one of the best experiences in my life.. i pray for a day like that here in the US.. i’m just not holding my breath..
[Reply]
Boosy
It’s a WORD. a fucking word, how can we cliam to be educated and want to bury a word. That shows NO GROWTH because we have to move on. I’m sorry but i don’t want my bi-racial babies worrying about a damn word. I want themt o worry about getting to space. Niggas/people who don’t say niggas/people who want to bury niggas can stay here and fight over the word. after uranus-earth is nothing more than a speck. That’s where i’m at, idk where society is but i ain’t waiting.
i will love my neighbor/brother as i would want him to love me and if he calls me a nigger in a spiteful way, i will balance that with dude/brother.
That’s where i’m at. That’s the point.. at least for me.
However, I agree with TROUBLMAN and Q.
But, Q I’ve seen niggas here in a smaller village called San Pedro, and they ain’t black. What do i do then, they don’t know black niggas. They say nigga, and it’s not racial. It’s not derogatory. It’s not how it’s used in america. And I feel it. I can’t explain it but its there, it’s real.
i’ll say this, my whole argument for the word is that at the end of the day , it’s a word. We can’t claim to be educated and not be able to see past the word.
People/niggas/niggers/crackers/spics/kikes whatever derogatory word that can be thought of at the end of the day is a word.
i talked to an italian who said that they can’t even fathom someone calling them guinea.
As she said “ people still say that?”
The word nigga in America has become a crutch and an excuse for us not to rise. because at the end of the day our entertainers(spreaders of our culture) use it.
[Reply]
TROUBLMan
Q,
We’re not asking anyone to use the word. What we’re saying is that there is a small subset of people who have adopted it as positve. many of these people are our most positive and progressive artists, comedians and entertainers. Who are we to deny this group’s perspective? Shouldn’t there voice be heard. aren’t there actions legitimate in creating a new definition?
If you don’t use it, cool. I use it and I’m not ignorant. I am conscious of the many forms of racism that have infiltrated our society. My argument is that a word is not racism. Racism is the actions that make the word have impact. How can a word be negative? It’s the actions that come with words that are negative.
I feel like anyone who calls me a nigger and really feels like I’m less because I’m black is showing me how ignorant they are. And I’m cool with that. While they call me what they want, I’ll be what I am. I feel like for me to react is a validation of ignorance.
Its a censorship thing. Think about it. America censors all types of shit but we still have more sex, drugs and crime than these other countries that don’t censor. So how can a word be negative. It’s the actions that come with words that are negative.
Until we decided we are going to transcend the symbols that define our blackness we’ll forever be caught up in a consciousness that fuels racism.
[Reply]
TROUBLMan
BOOSY,
Funny because I’ve heard the same from an Italian person. They told me, “If someone called me a guinea today, I’d look at them like they we’re desperate.”
This came from a young Italian woman who understands her history and how the word was used against her people…
P.S. Racist white folks love that there are people who hate the word. It gives them a certain type of kryptonite to use against people who are affected by it.
[Reply]
Boosy
another reason to back me up that - My generation - the generation doesnt give a fuck about nigga but the issues itself is THE BOONDOCKS. It’s on TV NOT HBO, they talk how we talk, nigga and all.
They actually discuss issues that are important including the spectrum of niggas.
[Reply]
"a mom"
When I first heard the word TROUBL. I thought it would turn people away because the fear we have that somehow the word was bad and would turn people away I don’t think that anymore. I have so much respect for the Troubl people of this blog and those who will become a part of our history. Now to me it’s about changing the tide. If someone can turn the N word to do to me what Troubl has done. Then so be it. I personally fear the word but anything is possible in the effort to change the world.
[Reply]
Q.
ok.. i’ll back into this..
Boosy..
nah, i actually know Aaron.. that’s actually not what he’s doing with the word in his series (Boondocks).. i won’t speak for him and say he’s on the same side as me, but what he does in that cartoon is show how ridiculous this all has become.. so, he’s actually making fun of those that use it, not saying that he accepts it.. his quest was more about using it so much that people would just stop using (Black people, that is).. i think i fall outside of your generation, because i know i don’t use it with the same thought process as you all do.. but i know people in your generation who are on the opposite side of the spectrum, so i don’t think it’s a generation thing either.. but again, i use the word A LOT, just not with the same thought process..
TROUBLMan..
i’m not saying that people can’t use the word.. i know a lot of us (myself included) use the word and will continue to use the word (shoot, i feel we earned the right to do what we want with it).. my thing is others using it to/against us.. that’s my issue.. another issue i have is making that word mean the same as others (such as nigga = people).. that is what bugs me.. it kinda goes back to my AG post where people can just change rules and stuff on the fly.. this doesn’t stand up to that test (for me).. it’s similar to the art form formerly known as hip-hop now being way different.. i mean, it’s hip-hop with a twist.. hip-hop for the mainstream.. hip-hop is not 16 bars in a verse.. we didn’t care about bars before labels got a hold of it, and made financial cents/sense out of it.. it’s “coffee shop chicks and white dudes, over her i got into it with my nigga Ice Cube”.. i’m not calling anyone ignorant for using the word, but i don’t think people are ignorant for wanting to fight the global use of the word, either.. i’m also trying to figure out how we haven’t transcended beyond those days and times because we have a stigma attached to it.. i’m way beyond placing blame on “the white man”, and can truly care less if he calls me a nigger.. the reason being, is that i’m a grown ass man that can punch dude in the throat.. so i won’t go crazy because he called me it, i’m just going to make that dude have a few issues breathing..
Boosy (again, but i’m moonwalking)..
words don’t define my intelligence or education.. anyone who sees a word as more than a word is pretty much just going by what everyone does.. if words meant nothing or had no feeling behind them, then there wouldn’t be such a word as “connotation”.. so, yea, “nigga” is a word, but so is hip-hop.. so is Apple.. so is Google.. but those, wouldn’t you argue, are much more than words as well, right?? and that dude(s) in Spain? yea, in my eyes, he can get it too.. but only after i educate him on not using it around me.. and yup, i’m prepared to have my own WWF old-school battle royal, too!! cuz i might have to, hearing the way some of the people you guys are meeting are throwing it out..
and i agree with something you and TROUBLMan spoke about.. the guinea joint.. i would have the same feeling if someone called me “nigger”.. like Chris Rock said with the whole beta max thing, “they still make you?”.. BUT, again, my next emotion is going to be that tingling sensation in my hand.. prepare to hand me the baby powder, cuz a smackdown is coming!!
[Reply]
Q.
i promise that’s my last comment on the “n word”.. i have officially retired..
[Reply]
TROUBLMan
Q,
I’m the type to punch a dude in his throat also. But I truly feel like anyone who call me a nigger and thinks that they’re hurting me is punching their own self in the throat. I agree with my homegirl who told me that it makes the person who uses it for hate look desperate.
Regardless of Aaron’s intentions, he uses it a lot. It’s sued more in an episode of the Boondocks than in some rap albums. what makes his use of the word different than a rappers. Intent? If that’s the case, shouldn’t intent be judged when we hear white people, and people in Spain use it.
[Reply]
TROUBLMan
Q,
Don’t retire. Invite more people to join in on the conversation. It’s an important topic and you have great insight. You may feel like we’re not getting anywhere, but realize there are people who are watching how this conversation unfolds and learning a new perspective with every comment.
[Reply]
m .
yo, this is my first post on here (waddup TROUBLMan!) — but i just wanted to jump in and throw my few cents in on this issue.
for me, i share the same sentiment as a few others, i’ve noticed. the words: “nigga” “niggas” “nigger” all of which definitely contain decades upon decades of negative history, also contain questionably positive and transcendently inspirational qualities.
how, you ask?
i’m not sure who stated it earlier, but it shows growth. that same term that we now (some more than others) use on a frequent basis to show, oddly enough, forms of affection i.e.: “yo, those are my niggas!” once was used to oppress°rade our people. because back then, we were nothing short of property, hell pets even. but everybody knows that.
let me not stray for my purpose of posting w/ an unnecessary history lesson because school was never really my thing, but the word to me is nothing more than a word. i suppose the context in which you use it in, can change the weight the term contains, but again, that would depend on who’s in the situation where the word is being used. myself, i don’t have much of a problem hearing the word used by anyone. i have friends, co-workers, etc. from various ethnic backgrounds and “nigga” is used more often than the most simplest of words.
i just don’t see the logic in trying to be some form of vocabulary martyr because you don’t agree with how the word is being used, or whom it’s being used by. that’s fighting a never-ending battle. at the end of the day, you cannot control what come’s out of the next person’s mouth, no matter how many times you stoot-slap them for “being out of line.” the word is going to be around for years to come, and as long as people have opinions, there will always be a difference in such when it comes to the word. that’s why i’ve come to terms with the word(s) and the history they contain, and moved forward.
now, in no way, shape or form am i trying to go at Q. or anyone else for that matter, i just wanted to add my viewpoint to the discussion.
[Reply]
Boosy
Q don’t retire, this convo is for the many more who are not as privilieged t know enough about the discussion or put their opinion on wax.. much love….
[Reply]
"a mom"
Q
Love some of your points. They are very well taken. I think I’m stuck when it come to the word.
[Reply]
Reply to “TROUBL in Spain”
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