WHO GETS TO SAY THE N WORD IN A RAP SONG?

2018年五月Kendrick Lamar在一次演唱会上请了一位白人粉丝上台和他一起唱m.A.A.d City. 合唱的那一段每一句结尾都以 My N----结尾，而这位粉丝跟着Kendrick唱了每一句, verbatim. Kendrick随后阻止了她，告诉她她可以唱这首歌，但是不能说那个字。台下的观众（不乏白人粉丝）在此之前也在视频里非常清楚地唱了My N----，而此刻却开始boo这位粉丝。有人拇指向下。有人大喊Fuck you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEcugkqcHO8

这件事引起了争议。有非常多人试图谈论为什么白人“永远，不能，在任何场合下（context）”说出这个字。也有许多人认为Kendrick在misuse his influence--如果你邀请ta上台与你合唱却不想让ta唱着一个字（在这个context里，这个字早已脱离了它原本的violent connotations），要么你一开始就不要写，要么你可以一开始告诉她。Context matters.

文章和reddit讨论很多这里就不发了。

Kendrick后续在接受一次访谈的时候简短地回应过，白人一直在告诉我什么可以，什么不可以。所以当如果我说这是我的字的时候，让我拥有这个字。

https://www.nydailynews.com/2018/06/28/kendrick-lamar-explains-why-he-asked-white-fan-to-leave-stage-after-she-rapped-the-n-word-let-me-have-this-one-word/

四年后，Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. 没有Good Kid那样一鸣惊人，没有To Pimp A Butterfly锐意盎然。They say it's his most personal. Father Time, 那句neat no chaser (not to mention Sympha), 却足以让我这种偏心鬼给这张专辑满分好评。然而真正made this album的那首歌，却应该是Disc 2里的Aunt Diaries.

See, I was taught words was nothing' more than a sound

If ever they was pronounced without any intentions

The Very second, you challenged the shit I was kickin'

Reminded me about a show I did out the city

That time I brung a fan on stage to rap

But dissapproved the word that she couldn't say with me

You said, "Kendrick, ain't no room for contradiction

To Truly understand love, switch position

"Faggot, faggot, faggot", we can say it together

But only if you let a white girl say "Nigga"

Kendrick的伟大有很多种。可以是Humble这种广为传唱的无脑ego stroke, 可以是not like us的narrative skills, 可以是how much a dollar cost近乎于残酷的自我剖析。对我而言却只是Mr. Morale收听量最少的歌之一，Aunt Diaries.

在所有人都已经忘记的时候，在许许多多人早已为他建起了钢铁城墙时，在这种事情对于任何拥有他的clout的人来说都只不过是a tiny chafe, somehwhere, some time时，他说，fuck the walls. 他说，hey, I was just the same.