Kendrick Lamar: I'm not ready to stop using the N-word in my music

The rapper sought to reclaim the word on his latest album, explaining its linguistic roots to mean 'royalty, black emperor'

(Getty)

Kendrick Lamar is among many rappers who have tried to reclaim the N-word by using it in a positive way – and the artist doesn’t see why he should stop using it.

In his track “i” on his latest album To Pimp A Butterfly, Kendrick explores the word’s supposed African etymological roots.

“Well, this is my explanation straight from Ethiopia / N-E-G-U-S definition: royalty; King royalty – wait listen / N-E-G-US description: Black emperor, King ruler, now let me finish / The history books overlook the word and hide it,” he raps.

But despite some opposition to the word among the black community, Kendrick said it would be hard to stop using “n*****” in his music at this point in his career.

Read more: How should we use the N-word?

“I don’t know if I can stop,” he told NME. “The closest I can do to stopping is putting the root word, 'negus', on my album. But I don’t know if I’m there mentally to stop saying the N-word yet. I dunno, maybe one day.

“That’s 27 years of reversing that word, I probably been saying that since I was one year old.”

The cover of Kendrick Lamar's latest album, To Pimp A Butterfly (Kendrick Lamar/TDE)

Whether rappers should use the N-word continues to be a topic of debate among hip hop artists.

Russell Simmons, the founder of legendary hip hop label Def Jam that signed Public Enemy and Run DMC, has said rappers should stop using the word.

“The word ‘n*****’ is a racially derogatory term that disrespects the pain, suffering, history of racial oppression and multiple forms of racism against African Americans and other people of colour,” he said.

In 2007, rapper Nas was forced to change the title of his album “N*****” due to pressure from leading black figures, releasing an untitled album instead.

He said he wanted to use the N-word in the album title because “it’s not just that the word is horrible, but the history behind the word, and how it relates to me, it’s how it’s affected me, offended me.”

In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2009, Jay Z said the word can be reclaimed to mean something more positive.

“I believe that a speaker’s intention is what gives a word its power. And if we eliminate the N word, other words would just take its place,” he said.