Nigga is a term used in African American Vernacular English that began as an eye dialect form of the word nigger (a word originated as a term used in a neutral context to refer to black people, as a variation of the Spanish/Portuguese noun negro, a descendant of the Latin adjective niger, meaning the color "black").[1][2][3][4][5]
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Use in language [link]
In practice, its use and meaning are heavily dependent on context.[5] Presently, the word nigga is used more liberally among younger members[6] of all races and ethnicities in the United States. In addition to African Americans, other ethnic groups[7][8] have adopted the term as part of their vernacular.
There is conflicting popular opinion on whether there is any meaningful difference between nigga and nigger as a spoken term.[9] Many people consider the terms to be equally pejorative, and the use of nigga both in and outside African American communities remains controversial.[10] H. Lewis Smith, author of Bury that Sucka: A Scandalous Affair with the N-word, believes that "replacing the 'er' with an 'a' changes nothing other than the pronunciation"[11] and the African American Registry notes, "Brother (Brotha) and Sister (Sistah or Sista) are terms of endearment. Nigger was and still is a word of disrespect."[12] The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a civil rights group, condemns use of both nigga and nigger.[9]
Some African-Americans only consider it offensive when referred to as a nigga by white Americans.[9] In this case, the term may be seen either as a symbol of brotherhood,[13] similar to the usage of the words dude and bro, and its use outside a defined social group an unwelcome cultural appropriation. Others have derided this as hypocritical and harmful, enabling white racists to use the word and confusing the issue over nigger.[7]
Non-rhotic English-speakers, such as speakers of many British dialects and African American Vernacular English, pronounce "nigger" and "nigga" identically, as their accents do not distinguish between these two words.
Cultural influence [link]
The term "nigga, please", first used in the 1970s by comics such as Paul Mooney as "a funny punctuation in jokes about Blacks,"[14] is now heard routinely in comedy routines by African Americans. The growing use of the term is often attributed to its ubiquity in modern American hip hop music.[15][16] Examples include: hip-hop group Niggaz Wit' Attitude (N.W.A.), A Tribe Called Quest's "Sucka Nigga", Notorious B.I.G.'s song, "The Realest Niggaz", Jay-Z's "Jigga That Nigga" and Snoop Dogg's "For All My Niggaz and Bitches". Ol' Dirty Bastard uses the term 76 times in his Nigga Please album (not including repetitions in choruses).[16] This is reflected in the term's wide use in modern American gang culture. According to a Texas Monthly article about Houston gangs, many Hispanic street gang members call each other niggah.[17]
However, its use has spread beyond North America. The Portuguese comedy group, Gato Fedorento, uses the word nigga in an audio sketch, where the four individuals (all Caucasian) say they are niggas ("I'm nigga, nigga; are you nigga, nigga?"), and end up admitting that they do not know what nigga means, although "people say it's amazing" (since the word isn't familiar for most Portuguese people, and is seen in the sketch simply as a strange-sounding word). Da Weasel later sang a song named "Nigga" in Gato Fedorento's last episode of season 5.[citation needed]
Comedian Chris Rock's routine "Niggas vs. Black People" distinguishes a nigga, which he defined as a "low-expectation-having motherfucker", from a "black person". In contrast, Tupac Shakur distinguished between nigger and nigga: "Niggers was the ones on the rope, hanging off the thing; niggas is the ones with gold ropes, hanging out at clubs."[18] Tupac, who has been credited with legitimizing the term, said his song N.I.G.G.A. stood for "Never Ignorant Getting Goals Accomplished."[19]
Use in trademarks or brand names [link]
The Lanham Act does not permit registration of trademarks containing terms that may disparage persons or bring them into disrepute.[20] Registration by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) of terms that are historically considered disparaging to groups of people has been allowed in some circumstances. Self-disparaging trademarks have been allowed in some cases where the applicant has shown that the mark as-used is not considered by the relevant group to be disparaging.[21]
In 1995, two Houston, Texas men filed a trademark application with the PTO for the words "Naturally Intelligent God Gifted Africans," and its acronym. The application was rejected, as were numerous subsequent applications for variations of the word nigga. Most recently, comedian Damon Wayans twice attempted to trademark a brand name called Nigga, "featuring clothing, books, music and general merchandise."[15] The PTO refused the application, stating "the very fact that debate is ongoing regarding in-[ethnic]-group usage, shows that a substantial composite of African Americans find the term 'nigga' to be offensive."[16]
See also [link]
References [link]
- ^ Pilgrim, David (September 2001). "Nigger and Caricatures". https://www.ferris.edu/news/jimcrow/caricature/. Retrieved 2007-06-19.
- ^ Being a Nigger is Not Cool
- ^ Abolish the "N" Word
- ^ J. Douglas Allen-Taylor. “The Word 'Nigger'” Metroactive News & Issues. April 1998.
- ^ a b Randall Kennedy. Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word, Pantheon. 256 pp
- ^ Jeremy Cooke. Racial slur banned in New York, BBC News, 1 March 2007
- ^ a b Kevin Aldridge, Richelle Thompson and Earnest Winston. "The evolving N-word." The Cincinnati Enquirer, August 5, 2001.
- ^ Kendra Pierre. 'Nigger,' 'Nigga' or Neither?, Meridia, May 1, 2006.
- ^ a b c J. Douglas Allen-Taylor. New Word Order, Metro, April 9, 1998.
- ^ Alex Alonso. Won’t You Please Be My Nigga: Double Standards with a Taboo Word, May 30, 2003.
- ^ Smith. H. Lewis."Why The N-word Is Not Just Another Word." The Black Commentator. January 25, 2007. Issue 214. Retrieved 01-26-2007.
- ^ Phil Middleton and David Pilgrim, "Nigger (the word), a brief history!." African American Registry. 2001. Retrieved 03-14-2007.
- ^ Kevin Aldridge. Slurs often adopted by those they insult, The Cincinnati Enquirer, August 5, 2001.
- ^ Darryl Fears. Jesse Jackson, Paul Mooney Call for End of N-Word, BET.com, November 27, 2006.
- ^ a b Darryl Fears. Patent offense: Wayans’s hip-hop line, The Washington Post, March 15, 2006.
- ^ a b c Rogers Cadenhead. Actor Tries to Trademark 'N' Word, Wired, 23 February 2006.
- ^ Skip Hollandsworth, Southwest Houston After Dark," Texas Monthly, December 2006
- ^ Katy Guest (10 June 2007). "Big Brother: A brief history of the 'N' word". The Independent: p. 1. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/big-brother-a-brief-history-of-the-n-word-452465.html.
- ^ Desiree Hunter (24 February 2007). "Racial slur takes center stage at Stillman". The Tuscaloosa News (Tuscaloosa, AL).
- ^ 15 U.S.C. § 1052.
- ^ Anten, Todd (1 March 2006). "Self-Disparaging Trademarks and Social Change: Factoring the Reappropriation of Slurs into Section 2(A) of the Lanham Act" (PDF). Columbia Law Review 106: 338. https://www.columbialawreview.org/assets/pdfs/106/2/Anten-Web.pdf
External links [link]
- "Let's Make a Deal on the N-Word: White folks will stop using it, and black folks will stop pretending that quoting it is saying it," John McWhorter, The Root
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Look up nigga in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
https://wn.com/Nigga
Flex (singer)
Félix Danilo Gómez (born August 26, 1969), known by his stage names Flex and Nigga, was a Panamanian Latin Grammy Award winning reggaeton artist. He adopted the name Nigga after being told by another Panamanian artist that he "sings like a nigger from Africa." Before releasing an album in the United States in 2008, Flex removed references to his nickname in songs, and his CD packages were reprinted with the name "Flex."
Awards and accomplishments
Flex has received nominations for a variety of awards shows including Premios Billboard, Premios lo Nuestro, Latin Grammys, Premios Juventud, Premios Oye, and Premios Monitor Latino. Flex has won an Oye award, a Latin Grammy, and eight Billboard Latin Music awards.
His accomplishments include a number one position in Mexican and American radio for over 20 weeks, as well as Gold and Platinum album sales worldwide.
Personal life
After five years of dating, Flex married his longtime transgender girlfriend Osiris Vega on August 26, 2008 and got divorced in 2011 Flex continues to live in Panama.
Untitled Nas album
The untitled ninth studio album by American rapper Nas was released by Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records on July 15, 2008 in the United States, with earlier dates in some other countries. Its original title—Nigger—was changed due to controversy surrounding the racial epithet. The album is distinguished for its political content, diverse sources of production and provocative subject matter.
The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, Nas' fifth to do so. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of 500,000 copies in the United States. Upon its release, the album received generally positive reviews from music critics; it holds an aggregate score of 71/100 from Metacritic.
Background
Title controversy
The original title of the album—Nigger—was mentioned by Nas several times, as well as on an October 12, 2007, performance at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City where he announced the title and release date.Def Jam made no comment on the title. This was similar to attempts to name his 2006 album—eventually titled Hip Hop Is Dead—both Nigga and Hip Hop Is Dead... The N. On May 19, 2008, it was confirmed that Nas changed the name of the album to an untitled one (although on iTunes, the album is self-titled), stating that "the people will always know what the real title of this album is and what to call it." The cover of the album shows the back of a shirtless Nas with flagellation scars forming the shape of the letter N, a reference to the racial slur and how slaves were tortured. Fort Greene, Brooklyn assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries requested New York's Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli to withdraw $84 million from the state pension fund that has been invested into Universal and its parent company, Vivendi, if the album's title was not changed.
Bossman
The name Bossman may refer to:
People
Surname
Music
Bossman (rapper)
Bossman, aka Travis Holifield or Jimmy Hash, is a hip hop artist from Baltimore, Maryland.
He has appeared on mixtapes promoted by DJ Kayslay who is well known through Baltimore Club music. Bossman began his rapping career as a part of N.E.K (Northeast Kings) where he was known as "Jimmy Hash". The rap group gained a moderate level of popularity throughout Baltimore. Bossman has released his debut album Law and Order in 2004 in Baltimore only as well as Mixtapes hosted by DJ Envy and Big Mike.
Early life
Bossman was born Travis Holifield and grew up in Northeast Baltimore, Maryland. When he was 11, Holifield's parents were sent to prison for their involvement in a robbery, and he and his younger sister lived under the care of their grandmother for the next two years until their mother was released. During his time as a student at Hamilton Middle School, he had his first experiences performing when he and a childhood friend performed a Kris Kross song at local talent shows. Shortly thereafter, Holifield and friends created the underground hip hop group N.E.K., or Northeast Kings.
Big Boss Man (wrestler)
Raymond "Ray" W. Traylor, Jr. (May 2, 1963 – September 22, 2004) was an American professional wrestler who was best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name (The) Big Boss Man, as well as for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling as The Boss, Guardian Angel and Big Bubba Rogers. During his appearances with the WWF, Big Boss Man held the WWF World Tag Team Championship once and the WWF Hardcore Championship four times.
Professional wrestling career
Jim Crockett Promotions (1986-1987)
A former prison guard in Cobb County, Georgia, Traylor debuted in 1985, initially working as a jobber for Jim Crockett Promotions, under his real name. Seeing his potential, head booker Dusty Rhodes pulled Traylor from TV for 12 weeks, in order to repackage him as "Big Bubba Rogers", a silent bodyguard for Jim Cornette, who, along with the Midnight Express, was feuding with The James Boys (Dusty Rhodes and Magnum T.A., under masks). He got a solid push as a seemingly unstoppable heel and feuded with Rhodes (the top face at the time) in a series of Bunkhouse Stampede matches in 1986. He and Rhodes were tied for wins in this series, leading to a tiebreaking cage match, which Rhodes won.
