I was scrolling through my Twitter timeline one morning when I encountered yet another article on a white rapper trying to justify their use of the “n-word.” The article was not being majorly discussed on twitter, however, it's sad that I can’t even scroll down my timeline without being reminded that we live in a country of systematic oppression. Coincidentally, since we are approaching the New Year, my twitter timeline was also broadcasting things they won’t be bringing into 2016. Some won’t be bringing certain friends, others won’t be bringing a bad work ethic, but me? The discussion of the n-word. So while 2015 is still alive and well, let’s break this down one last time. Be sure to take notes.

In an interview with No Jumper, a podcast, white Mob rapper V-Nasty boldly defended her use of the N word against critics. "It's just a term of endearment, like, “That's my nigga.' I'm a n---a. Everybody my n---a. It's just a word. F--k a race. F--k white, black, Puerto Rican, Asian, all that." she stated. "We came from that environment, the streets, the struggle." However, this is where V- Nasty is wrong. In the United States, the "N" word became a prominent part of the country’s language in the nineteenth century during the period of enslavement and Jim Crow. The word was used as a slur, and was used to demean African American’s in a horrific manor. Her attempt to erase race from the equation is a sign of privilege, because this word is in every way racial.

Secondly, V-Nasty's, assumption that all African Americans came from the streets is subjective. I have lived in the suburbs my whole life, and have never truly struggled. So what exactly is she trying to say? Even for African Americans who are living in low poverty areas, which I’m sure is what V-Nasty was referring too when she said “we call came from the streets”, the struggle that they go through is one that she will never fully understand. Why? White Privilege. What is white privilege? Societal advantage that white people, like V-Nasty, have benefitted from because of the dominance their race has had in this country for centuries. How do you have white privilege? Systematic Oppression of course. What is Systematic Oppression? The mistreatment of a group of people within a group. This oppression is supported and enforced within societal systems. Examples of this oppression include the target of mass incarceration that occurs specifically in African American communities. According to the NAACP, African Americans serve as much time in prison for drug offenses as White Americans do for a violent offense. In 2010, the U.S Sentencing Commission reported facts of black people receiving 10 percent longer sentences than white offenders for the same exact crime. In a study done by the University of Wisconsin, 17 percent of white criminal offenders get call backs from employers while only five percent of African American offenders receive one. It is a proven study done by news sources such as CBS that show even a “black sounding name” could hinder an African-American getting a job that they are well qualified for. In New York City, Black and Latino’s get stopped at more rates than white counterparts. 80 percent of stops by the New York Police Department are people of Black and Latino Descent while 8 percent of stops are people of white descent. The Oppression of African Americans goes back to periods of enslavement and the Jim Crow era. When my great grandmother had to drink from the colored fountain. You do remember learning about that right?

Hip hop was created as an outlet for and by African Americans to speak their mind and voice their pain, experiences, and struggles in the middle to the late 1900s. Given that this particular genre was used to communicate experiences, often tales of oppression were spoken and are still spoken through music. Messages of police brutality, incarceration, and racism often ring in the lyrics of modern day hip hop artists such as Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole. Far before these artists, there was also N.W.A, who’s controversial song “F*ck the Police” was a catalyst in bringing the discussion of police brutality in African American communities to the forefront of American conversation. Rap groups and artist such as KRS One, Ice Cube, Jay Z, Trick Daddy, 2Pac, and Lauryn Hill have also been known to bring up issues the African American community faces in their lyrics. This is why V Nasty’s use of the n word in the hip hop genre is so disgusting. Although created by Black people, participation in the hip hop genre is not exclusive to Black people. This genre however, is used as a political platform and a safe space for African Americans to voice beliefs and experiences. White rappers, who are essentially taking part in a cultural phenomenon that does not belong to them, should understand boundaries. The use of a word that was often used in a derogatory sense towards African Americans should not be used within a culture created by that group. It’s disrespectful.

V Nasty is not the first white rapper to use the N word. Post Malone, Kreyshawn, and Eminem have also had cases of using the word comfortably. However, these artist have not been known to use it in music, unlike V Nasty. Furthermore, V-Nasty has never spoken publicly about the #BlackLivesMatter movement or any issues affecting people of color. This movement, created in 2013 after the killing of an unarmed Black boy by the name of Trayvon Martin, is solely intended to require awareness and action on the ways black people are still being dehumanized in society. You want to the freedom to be able to say the n word, but don’t want to speak up when this so called struggle that we all supposedly live becomes an obvious reality? It's just a term of endearment though right? Cute. So V-Nasty, What’s good?