Ciara Defends Using the ‘N-Word’ in Her Songs

By: Amanda Anderson-Niles

When it comes to the racism in this country surrounding the African-American community, there’s a certain word that means different things to different generations. Even today, the “N-word” is still very prevalent in the black community, however, to some people the word has been stripped of its painful meanings and now is a “positive” slang term used in rap music and amongst some circles of friends. Interestingly enough, despite what many say is now a positive meaning associated to the word, that positivity quickly disappears still if a person who isn’t black uses the term, a situation we all see quite vividly in Paula Deen’s current controversy. Some critics of the situation call that a hypocrisy, but R&B singer Ciara says it’s just part of our culture.

During a recent appearance on Access Hollywood, when asked why she would use the word in her new music amidst the Paula Deen controversy, Ciara says:

“As an entertainer you have fun and it’s all about the context it’s used in. I am an African-American woman, so I can identify with that word in different ways.

“It’s all about the context and in my case I know I can have fun because I know where I’m coming from with it.You have to be light-hearted and it has to be in a certain way. I cannot hear another person of another race saying, ‘you this’ like ‘you that.’ Again, it’s all about how you say it and what context it’s used in.”

 

Ciara also claimed using the word now is harmless when black people use it because its meaning has changed since many years ago:

“That word has as much power as you give it. That word is so old that it references the context of where it comes from. I want to make sure I’m clear about that, it doesn’t mean that same thing that it could have meant years ago, especially when we can have fun about it.”

 

What are your thoughts on Ciara’s explanation for why she uses the N-word?