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"I got 99 problems but a b*h ain't one" "Real black n*s don't give a f*k" "For all my n*s and b*s" "H*s be comin to my flat so I can tap that b*s a*" "Gonna rape you for yo life ya b*h" "Yeah I am the motherf*g n*r"

So, kids... what do we think? Could these lyrics possibly be perpetuating some negative racial stereotypes here?

Consider for a moment what the reaction would be if a white artist had released a song containing the above lyrics. There would be uproar, without a doubt. In a society where political correctness is more and more of a concern (here in the UK the media even worried when Anne Robinson made a joke about the Welsh) derogatory language like this is unacceptable.

So why, then, is it acceptable for a black artist to use it?

Whilst white people are tripping over themselves trying to avoid insulting anyone, going out of their way to be politically correct and non-discriminatory, we have black hip-hop artists rapping away about violence and rape, and using some of the most offensive language in existence to get their "message" across. Whilst we've been trying desperately to avoid discrimination, we've missed the most blatant example of it. There is some hope, especially given Russell Simmons's bid to ban abusive language from hip-hop completely, but my question is, why is this offensive language considered so important in hip-hop culture?

The "N-word" was once considered one of the most derogatory racial slurs that could be used, a word so offensive that much of the American media banned it completely. So it's somewhat surprising that black hip-hop artists are suddenly using it left, right and centre in an attempt to turn the word around into a term of endearment. Did you know that according to late rapper Tupac Shakur, n-i-g-g-a stands for Never Ignorant Getting Goals Accomplished? No, neither did I, until about 15 minutes ago when I was researching this article.

So, what are these goals that the n-i-g-g-as are accomplishing then? Well, to the casual observer, it appears they are as follows: * to objectify women, reducing them to little more than sex objects * to make insults such as "b*h" and "h*" sound cool, and terms such as "mama" and "daddy" sound sexually desirable * to modify the English language until it is barely recognisable ("it's like dis yo, I'ma certified mack yo, it's like dat yo") * to get laid and shot up as much as possible * to sensationalise violence and rape as desirable events

If these are indeed the goals, they certainly are being accomplished. It seems the more times a hip-hop artist has been "shot up", the more elevated their status. And given the foul language and general misuse of spelling and grammar within most hip-hop lyrics, it seems these self-proclaimed "n-i-g-g-as" are well and truly carving out a niche for themselves. But they've also inadvertently achieved something else...

In the days of black slavery, said slave s were viewed as uncivilised, uneducated savages. Take a look at today's "n-i-g-g-a" hip-hop culture - seemingly illiterate gangsters singing about shooting n*s and raping w*s - and it's clear that today's black artists have only succeeded in perpetuating a modern-day version of the old stereotype.

Article Published: Thursday 24th May 2007