Rap legend Nas has joined the recent list of celebrities, which includes The-Dream and Russell Simmons, who have come to the defense of actress Gwyneth Paltrow after she tweeted the n-word during a Jay-Z/Kanye West concert while referencing their hit song “Ni**as in Paris.” The Oscar-winning star has faced a considerable backlash for her use of the polarizing racial slur.
“I would slap the sh*t out of somebody for Gwyneth Paltrow,” Nas said in his most recent interview with Atlanta’s CBS affiliate. “She’s the homie, she’s cool. Gwyneth gets a pass. Real people get a pass. We know what this sh*t is.”
This ‘pass’ the Nas references suggests that certain white people who are seen as worthy are granted the right or ability to use the word freely because they are not seen as using the word in a discriminating manner, but more as a term of endearment. Nas does acknowledge that some blacks may disagree with him, but he stands by his statement.
theGrio: The Gwenyth Paltrow problem: Is it ever OK for whites to use the n-word?
“Some might not feel the same way,” he said. “Some of us will get angrier about it than others; but some people get a pass. The people that I know who are cool and real ni**as, Gwyneth Paltrow is a real ni**a, that’s my homie. That’s how I’m on it. Some people get a pass.”
Q-Tip is one hip-hop star who disagrees with Nas. “There’s a scope of black folk that exist beyond the ones that she partied with in Paris who are still dealing w the complexities of their circumstances. black folks that dont know about giving a white person a ‘pass’…” he tweeted.
“Listen Rush Simmons, Toure, and all Black folk who are sympathist to this gwen paltrow n***a thing,” Q-Tip added. “She may not have meant harm, sure it was in the heat of the moment but that fact that she showed not 1 IOTA of an apologetic tone, given the historical weight of that word is not responsible of G Paltrow’s part.”
Follow Marquise Francis on Twitter @mKfly