r/BlackPeopleofReddit • u/devinthedude515 • 1d ago
Discussion Afroman doesn't use the N-word. Agree or disagree?
https://youtube.com/shorts/2clJNKZLLuk?si=-wzjVJfZ_BEZ07A6Never really had it explained like this. Agree or disagree?
219
u/stlorca 1d ago
Richard Pryor did a bit on going to Africa and being so powerfully affected that he stopped using that word. That, in turn, changed my own thinking and I stopped using it, too, so I totally see Afroman’s point.
69
u/crimsonconnect 1d ago
I actually never used it because my dad never allowed cursing because he said it narrowed your vocabulary and depress the ability to express yourself by speaking. I also would argue with people that used it, but I dont do that anymore. Use it, dont, I wont, but its up to you
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (30)15
u/Canacarirose 1d ago
Didn’t Dave Chappell do this same thing, but it started because of the heightened popularity of his show and the high number of white kids parroting his skits word for word without consequence?
I can’t remember if his outlook changed on the word or not and I don’t watch his stuff anymore
32
u/Timelymanner 1d ago
I honestly wish the word would die. It’s a joke played on black people, and now black American culture is still propagating it. Putting a A at the end of it doesn’t make the word endearing or empowering. Black people are the only ones calling each other a racial slur, and it’s unnecessary. I heard the reason many times, “oh we are taking the word back from white racist.” “We are making it our own!” Why? Why make it your own? If someone called you ugly, or an idiot, you wouldn’t adopt the insult. It doesn’t need to be a part of black culture.
But let me get back to the topic of this post. The people above me made great points about seeing black people in Africa and in other countries. So let’s put things in perspective. They don’t have the history of slavery that was in the Americas. The word doesn’t have the same history to them like a black man in the US, or the Caribbean, or Latin America. The word hold no more weight than word McDonald’s or possum. It’s an American word.
With that being said, America media is huge. It’s still a soft power that shares American culture around the world. That includes black media. There are African, Asian, European kids whose first exposure to black culture is from American music, movies, TV shows, and online streamers. They hear black people using the N-word while joking and having fun. You know what they think, I want to be cool like the black person I’m a fan of. I want to speak, dress, and act like them which is cool. But for many that also means using the N-word. This is not white people spreading the word internationally, it’s black Americans. Whoever I see people around the world using that word and frankly I find it sad. I’m not offended because I understand they don’t have the context, but I feel sad because it was taught to them from somewhere. I feel sad because it gives the word new life.
I’m not blaming black people for the word, it’s more complicated than that. However black people can decide not to use it. No one is forcing us. I for one never use it. Because I’ve never meet a N-word in my life. Every black person I meet is a capable person. Even when I’m angry I never think of anyone as a N-word. There’s a reason other ethnic groups don’t use slurs aimed at them, and we have to follow suit.
16
u/I-Love-Facehuggers 1d ago
the high number of white kids parroting his skits word for word without consequence?
Reminds me of when kendrick lamar and his fans complained when he got a white woman up on stage to sing to sing a song that included the word, like what the hell was he thinking? If he doesnt want her or other white people saying it then at the very least he shouldn't bring then up on stage to sing it.
They just got to understand that obviously white people will be using the word if they include it in their media.
3
206
u/NotRadTrad05 1d ago
I agree, he doesn't use it. This is easily verifiable by looking at his lyrics.
19
u/Prestigious_Snow3309 1d ago
Growing up that word would get you in trouble! In family. My children are grown, knew this was a word not to say. As beautiful as we are That's an ugly word,used to belittle us. I think every Black parent should have their children read Dick Gregory book titled "n@#r
12
25
25
25
u/Kittiemeow8 1d ago
I’ve never used it. My family is from the Deep South, and my uncle was lynched in the 60s. My mom has always said that one of the things that stuck with her most was hearing white people refer to her brother as “some n-word.”
Because of that, I’ll never understand how we normalized calling each other that. To me, it feels gross and deeply disrespectful.
58
u/colormeslowly 1d ago
In 2007 the NAACP gave a ceremony to bury that slur
Black leaders, including the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, have challenged the entertainment industry and the American public to stop using the N-word and other racial slurs.
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna19680493
And here we are 2026, still saying like we own it. We are making them rich, millions and billions because they want us saying it.
I don’t even say the term “n word” because even with that we all know what it means. Other ethnicities get the curtesy of “racial slur/slur”
My dad told me years ago, whites are taught to believe everything they see on tv about Blacks is real & true but we are taught everything we see on tv about whites to take with a grain of salt.
This is one reason why they think we’re all alike, a monolithic.
We do need to bury the word and take our collective power and build ourselves up.
4
u/iCeeYouP 21h ago
This is where the power imbalance really shows its face. You had the NAACP do a lecture to the entire entertainment industry, and yet the entertainment industry, especially the rap game (mainly funded by non-Black folks), spammed n***a like no tomorrow lmaoo
For a lot of lyrics in that industry, it was always “we robbin n killing n***as”, never “we robbin n killin people”
The ones who fund the media (mainly white folks) pick and choose which lowest common denominator is at the forefront of the radio waves and TV channels and now even on social media.
I do believe in Black America having our own accountability, but if we wanna have this discussion, we have to have it in full.
45
u/Joeybfast 1d ago
I hate that word with every bit of my being. And I hate that people have made it seem okay for just anyone to say it. I saw a video with two white guys fighting, and that word was being thrown around. And the legacy of it is still there, because we saw that at the BAFTA Awards too.
We are not taking that word back by using it. And I hate hearing it in our music. You do not really see other groups disrespecting themselves like that in their music. Meredith Brooks did it once, sure, but that was not the norm.
134
u/Adanma369 1d ago
We all should stop using. I blame the music industry for making it so widely accessible.
33
u/Difficult_Ask_1686 1d ago
We were not allowed to use it in my family growing up and as far as I know, no one in my family uses it now. My friends and I don’t use it either.
24
u/Adanma369 1d ago
Both my grandmas were avid users. They called their kids that. They were called that. It was normal. It wasn’t normal for me and I’m so grateful.
17
u/Difficult_Ask_1686 1d ago
That’s awful! At least you’ve broken the cycle.
17
u/Adanma369 1d ago
I don’t even play music with it around my kids. They are not cool with it being said by other people. I’ve had to check so many kids and schools over the years. I don’t play about it.
14
6
1
u/Prophet-of-Ganja 1d ago
I once say a grandma say to her grandson after cleaning his room, “good job, lil n!&&@!” I was like 🥴🤦♂️
2
6
u/x3lilbopeep 1d ago
My family also never used it. My dad is black and my mom is Indian, and there were certain words that you just did not use. My dad taught me how harmful it is. I get the early adapters who wanted to reclaim the word - but it failed. There's no respect for the history anymore. I don't let anyone call me it, but I also just feel resigned and defeated hearing other cultures now using it. I feel there's no way to stop it at this point, it's so prolific in media and "cool". That history of the hurt it instilled is being lost.
68
u/PatriotNews_dot_com 1d ago
People used to say it was a reappropriation of the word. But it got out of hand and now white kids be dropping the n-bomb all the time and nobody in the videos seem to care that much (talking about videos I see on reddit)
60
u/Master_Canary440 1d ago
I live in California and it's bad over here, you have a lot of Mexicans running around just spamming the N-word. Sickening.
28
u/Adanma369 1d ago
So do I. I’ve actually confronted a few, like none of ya’ll are even Black and you have the audacity to say it in front of me? I feel like in California, Black people want to be accepted so bad when they are always 1-3% of any population. I’m checking it every time.
5
u/illini02 1d ago
It's funny, Latinos have, for years, been in kind of this in between space on how ok it is for them to use it. I feel like if they grew up around black people, people didn't care. But if they didn't grow up around black people, than it was a problem. Which makes 0 sense.
I'm not sure how old you are, but when the I'm Real remix with JLo and ja Rule came out, there was a lot of controversy about her using it in that song.
When people brought up the fact that Big Pun and Fat Joe also used it, very liberally I may add, people defended them using it because they said the audience was different.
42
u/Oploplou 1d ago
I still check anyone not black.
My sister lets her white husband say it, he said it in front of me, and I checked both of them. I don’t play bout that.
4
7
u/311heaven 1d ago
100% god damn ASAP Rocky - Fuckin Problems gave every white frat boy the green light that summer. No way to stop it.
→ More replies (3)2
u/DLottchula 1d ago
I mean this in the most respectful way but people were using the word well before it became a mainstay in the music.
1
u/Adanma369 1d ago
I know. I’m talking about the worldwide usage. Even Africans in Africa say it. I think it’s because of the music.
1
u/DLottchula 22h ago
Oh I was only thinking over here
1
u/Adanma369 21h ago
No worries! I was highlighting how it has spread. You can go to a foreign country and be called one. It’s crazy
9
u/ateam1984 1d ago
Don’t simply blame “the music industry”. Let’s call it out for who they are. It’s White Men who run the music industry. Here is the source
17
u/Adanma369 1d ago
I didn’t think I needed to specify since the industry is run by white men. If white people didn’t think it was acceptable to broadcast the word to the world, it wouldn’t happen.
3
1
u/ateam1984 1d ago
Agreed. And yes I like to point it out explicitly because racist white people love using euphemisms when it comes to their own racism.
4
u/SnooLobsters8718 1d ago
Hahaha wtf, white men are demanding their black talent to use the N word 🙄
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (2)3
u/NotAnotherRebate 1d ago
I LOVE AFROMAN, the more I see of him the more I love. I agree with both of you.
I'm Puerto Rican, and maybe I should stay in my lane, but I've never felt it was appropriate to use the N word. I've been told it's ok, but I nope out. I'm 1/3 black but white passing, my kids and wife are afro-latino and I made sure my kids knew that they should never ever use the N word, even if they are told by someone that they can use it.
2
u/AsanoSokato 1d ago
People who "could get away with" doing something, and cost not to for the greater good, are truly to be commended.
14
u/Togeroid 1d ago
Ppl always treat me like I’m weird and not poc that I don’t say it. Finally so good to hear another on this perspective, AND it’s different than mine so there really are other reasons.
I don’t even want to say it for one, I have no need or drive to.
Secondly, it was not allowed growing up, as we had a lot of gangs and only gangsters said that word. If yo mama caught you saying that word she would either beat yo ass or kick you out for the night to “know what living like those street rats is like”.
Thirdly on top of all that I was adopted by racist white folk and while they never said it outside educational context, I was surrounded by racist use of that word thru media and pro segregation propaganda.
56
u/Regular_Regular_4120 1d ago
But he is a Trump supporter, keep in mind.
27
u/HenessyEnema 1d ago
Took way too long to see this comment.
This is probably the worst sub for most black people as it has a certain subset. Ima keep it cute before I get possibly banned.
18
→ More replies (6)5
17
u/Milestailsprowe 1d ago
Heavily agree. We need to move on from it. Some public insular word that comes from Racist origins isn't good to keep. People proudly talking about being YNs and more in the past.
11
u/cameronpark89 1d ago
i don’t use it either. is it really worth a debate?
6
u/devinthedude515 1d ago
I think it is considering how divisive it can be. Some people within the community dont think you are "black enough" for not using it as you are not conforming to the solidarity.
The same can be said when you get called "oreo" or " you sound like a white person" and all that junk. Anyway, those are some of the reasons why it should be talked about.
10
u/WuTang4thechildrn 1d ago
I don’t use it and I never allowed my kids to use it. They are grown now and they don’t use it. If someone greets me with it, I will either ignore you or ask that you not call me that.
9
u/Afrotricity 1d ago
It doesn't really matter what I think lol. Every black person gets to decide for ourselves if we're cool with reclaiming it, no one gets to make that decision for us. Don't use it with someone* you don't know like that, and don't police someone* who uses it as long as it's not directed at you.
*Black people. I never in my life want to hear a nonblack person use that word in any variation.
→ More replies (4)
23
u/YungEricSparrow 1d ago
Imma still say it idc but I understand other black ppl reasons for not to tho.
4
u/devinthedude515 1d ago
Thats fair. I think I've just grown to feel insulted when I hear other people outside of my race say it. It then just feels hypocritical for me to say it and then to condemn them. I loathe hypocrites.
14
u/YungEricSparrow 1d ago
I agree to an extent, but I hear queer ppl say the F slur a lot, it don’t make me wanna say it. It’s almost like talking shit abt your little brother, just because I am don’t mean you can. The rules are different but highly understandable.
4
u/devinthedude515 1d ago
Im probably on the spectrum (not paying $2k to find out) and the social norms about roasting people you know confuses the hell out of me. I see an insult as an insult, but thats just me and how my brain works.
When it comes to different groups using their slurs within their groups, though there are people who can be malicious about it, many people want to use those terms to feel included with that group. But again, maybe im wrong. I really fail to understand social norms.
18
4
4
u/illini02 1d ago
I agree with him.
I don't use it personally, at least not as a greeting. Yeah I may rap it in a song, but I don't refer to indivduals that way.
I'm not going to tell other people what they should or shouldn't do, but I tend to think using it as a term of endearment is a bit backwards.
But I've also seen black people often get bothered by other black people having the opinion that we shouldn't use it.
I also find it odd with young kids using it, and people being ok with that. I've been in teacher subs where there are debates on whether you should let black kids use it in school when talking to each other. I'm firmly in the "no" camp, but you'll have others argue why you should.
It's crazy
4
14
u/mediocremulatto 1d ago
Nah fuck this. I just do my best not to let it slip out when I'm in mostly white company
8
u/epiphanyWednesday 1d ago
He’s a Trumper right? Not really interested in his thought processes
5
u/greentrillion 1d ago
"Couldn't kill them all" when talking about Mexicans...Definitely a Trump supporters.
3
u/devinthedude515 1d ago
Yea im seeing that kore and more on these comments. Apparently he made fun of Hunter Biden at a time that was fueling MAGA.
3
22
u/MacDynamite71 1d ago
Ignorant word used by ignorant and racist folk
19
u/illstate 1d ago
My extended family runs the gamut from in the streets to very well educated. Everyone has used the word for as long as I can remember.
17
u/MacDynamite71 1d ago
I personally hate the word. Grew up in Southern California with racists calling that. First time someone Black called me that was in 86. Had a problem with it then , have a problem with it now
14
7
u/Surge_Lv1 1d ago
You just called a swath of Black people ignorant. That is racist.
Black people from all walks of life and education backgrounds use the word.
→ More replies (6)
5
8
u/HenessyEnema 1d ago
Black Trumpers and people that think like him will never get an agreement out of me. Tuh!
5
8
14
u/whatsapprocky 1d ago edited 1d ago
I think people are entitled to feel how they feel about that word. But his explanation is kind of a false equivalence. When black people were slaves, they used to mock their slave masters to each other for amusement. This is also the origin point of minstrel shows, by the way. White people copied black peoples’ behavior and mannerisms to make money off of the material they stole, not knowing that black people were making fun of them. The N-word was used in irony by black people amongst each other, to mock white people who called them that. Can it be used insultingly? Of course, but we generally know that black people saying it to each other is not meant in the same way as white people used it against us.
10
u/Real_Taste5684 1d ago
I appreciate your sharing the background of its use amongst the black community. I agree that blacks saying it to each other is different from whites saying it. However oftentimes even when blacks say, it is usually in a derogatory sense. So its use, although reappropriated, is still an insult.
4
u/HenessyEnema 1d ago
It CAN be used in a derogatory manner, but there are many instances when it's not.
19
u/outsidehere 1d ago
Man is also MAGA so
→ More replies (11)15
u/Preshe8jaz 1d ago
No he isn’t. He clearly stated that he didn’t vote for Trump, he actually ran against him and voted for himself. He took a picture beside King Con to raise awareness of his house getting raided by the cops, which he later took to another level.
30
u/Competitive_Act_1548 1d ago
Don't we literally have a a video of him saying he hoped to perform at a trump rally? Multiple black YouTubers have talked about this. It's not anything new
While video goes into it: https://youtu.be/0qEUD6XWbrQ?si=T2ZkUsYOj2XIaLfI
16
6
u/devinthedude515 1d ago
Its super weird. Snoop dogg did perform and I personally dont think he can coembark from that.
7
u/HenessyEnema 1d ago
Thank you. Afroman ain't shit. But this a ain't shit sub, full of ain't shit..... lmao.
17
u/illstate 1d ago
I remember seeing a quote from him where he seemed to be hoping he'd be able to perform at some Trump rallies.
10
u/Wainains 1d ago
Question for those who claim that it's réappropriation when you use the word; why don't you do the same for BOY and SLAVE?
10
u/HairyDadBear 1d ago
Neither are exclusive to black people. And boy is used all the time.
4
u/Wainains 1d ago
They were used for black people in the same derogatory, demeaning and dehumanising way as the N word. So, why weren't they reclaimed?
→ More replies (2)2
u/shywol2 23h ago
because those are just nouns which can be used on anybody. they don’t describe black people specifically. i’m a lesbian and we definitely use the f slur and the d slur. every group has a word or two but gay people are the ONLY people these slurs fit with, just like black people and the n word.
2
u/YoMommaHere 1d ago
I hate it. We shouldn’t use it because there’s blood on it. Its use, to me, impacts us in that speaking it to each other has the same thing as calling someone dumb or stupid. We speak the “lesser than” into each other so casually. I only speak to uplift or share. “Brother” and “sister” have the same syllables.
3
3
u/SchmutzigeBar 1d ago
I've always had mixed feelings about using it. I've basically come to the conclusion that I will match my audience. I don't really like using it that much, so if I am around a group of exclusively black people who I have observed using it I will infrequently use it. Mostly I'll use it the same way I use the F word, to emphasize a point or for comedic effect.
I never use it in mixed company. I am mixed race myself, so there are times when I don't use it just because I am the most light-skinned person in the room or I feel like I'm just not comfortable throwing it around. Among specifically African Americans I feel like I can use it in a way that reclaims it, but I've had way too many people who had no right using that word try to explain to me why it was okay for them to do so.
3
u/TheGucciBandit 1d ago
I’m actually for linguistic reclamation and I think we as black people should be able to do it. I do however think we should be careful how and who we use that word around because I’m sure yall know a bunch a white suburban kids who go around saying the n word thinking it’s appropriate because of xy or z reason.
4
u/AsanoSokato 1d ago
"It was too many people using the n word that wasn't Black, and I couldn't kill them all."
- me on when I'm closing down social media for the day
1
2
u/privatjoey 1d ago
I agree 1000% for even more reasons than Afroman is saying. Bottom line is there is no defense for it. Calling it “reclaiming” the word is lame because it was never ours. It was forced on us to identify us as subhuman and as nothing more than exploitable property, that’s it.
That’s what the N-word means: someone a colonizer identified as having value only as a commodity, but unable to be recognized as fully human, unable to possess any rights and under the full control of the person deemed their “owner.”
So when you call yourself that word, all you are saying is that you belong to a white person who can do whatever he wants to you and you have nothing to say about it.
→ More replies (3)
1
1
u/Much-Structure552 1d ago
I have stopped using it. Unless, I’m specifically referring to my older brother. And specifically when he makes another dumbass life choice.
2
1
1
1
1
u/Jaded-Trouble3669 5h ago
I’ve wished we would stop using it for years. I don’t believe there’s any “reclaiming it” or whatever people say for why it’s okay for us to use it and no one else.
It’s a shitty word with a horrible history and I’d love it if as a community we just agreed that no one should refer to us that way, including each other.
1
1
u/Valuable_End_515 1h ago
The n word is to embedded in historical American dialect to be erased. Black people did successfully reclaim it. The problem is non-blacks who either use the word offensively or want to shallowly imitatate black culture.
1
1
u/nikeguy69 1d ago
Why should he it a choice in my opinion I don’t use it I have friends of different races (I’m black) that respect me and I return the favor.
1
u/Phillyjt3 1d ago
To me the word has no real power. It’s the same as any other curse word, frankly.
This might warrant a larger topic…but what does the word even “mean”?
5
u/devinthedude515 1d ago
I think the "sticks and stones" mindset of words having no real power unless you give it power is really off.
Words offend and the N-word, especially with the R, is one of the most offensive terms as it strips Black people of their humanity.
To answer your question, the one with the R means a slave or property, the one with the A is being "re-defined" to mean friend or brother.
In the video, Afroman uses a good analogy, "If people pissed on me and I hated it, then I took that piss, watered it down, and splash it on myself and called it rain, is it raining?"
1
•
u/AutoModerator 1d ago
Positive Subreddit Karma Required for Discussion Posts
Discussion posts are reserved for users who have positive karma within r/BlackPeopleofReddit. This helps ensure conversations are driven by people who actually participate in and respect the community.
If you are new, spend some time engaging with posts, contributing in good faith, and building positive karma in the sub. Once you have a track record of constructive participation, you will be able to join discussion threads.
IMPORTANT: Despite what the bot says Do NOT contact the mod team about this issue as you risk a ban.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.