One of my favorite all-time songs is "Made You Look" from Nas. If you're not familiar, Nas is a rapper. He's a good one. One of the best. He also uses language in his songs that I can't let my little kid go anywhere near, which is just being a good parent but also a case of one day if she's interested, I want her to discover the music herself and make up her own mind about what is offensive and not. I don't want to force those judgments on her. Further, the world she'll be living in as she grows up will continue to be much different than the one I grew up in. Whose to say the words that cause me to flinch or reflect on now will even carry the same power later when she's ready to take them on.
Nas lyrics specifically use the "N" word, which for me brings up another interesting question, one that my other family members have been discussing lately. Honestly, I like a lot of rappers and a lot of rap songs that also use that word liberally. Very liberally. And while I understand the context in which it's being used, and most often I don't even necessarily object to the use, I can't bring myself to actually sing the word as I would the other words contained in the song, not even when I'm by myself and no one would no the difference. The few times that I have were weird and awkward, mixed with doses of guilt. The use of that word has been debated many times by many people in many types of different settings. I know where I come out, but I guess I don't have a firm grasp on why it seems offensive to me for me to sing the word. I do know that I won't stop listening to songs that contain the word, so just how far does my hypocrisy go? At any rate, this is just another reason why I love music as much as I do and argue its importance whenever I get a chance.
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