…will Nas actually release an album titled “Ni**er” ?

If his record company does, it might cost them $84 million.

New York assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries (D–Fort Greene) has threatened to have the $84 million that the state has invested in Nas’ record label Universal and its parent company, Vivendi, withdrawn should the album be released with this title.

Jeffries, a former assistant general counsel at CBS and a lawyer at Viacom, says “(i)t is time for Nas and other hip-hop artists to clean up their act and stop flooding the airwaves with the N-word.”

After this, we should expect Jeffries to take similar actions against Dick Gregory for his book “Ni**er”, the estate of the late Richard Pryor for his comedy album “That Ni**er’s Crazy”, the blaxploitation flick “Boss Ni**er” and John Lennon’s estate for his LP “Woman Is The Ni**er Of The World”?

Sorry for the sarcasm but, the assemblyman seems not to care how many times a rapper actually says the word “ni**er” in one of his/her recordings, he just doesn’t want to see it on the cover.

Ni**a please!

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Mos Def, Bun B (of UGK), David Banner, Common, Talib Kweli and M1 (of dead prez) are all highly-regarded rappers but, they are now also being recognized for their stepping up on behalf of the Jena 6.

As posted here previously, Mos Def (as well as Bun B) were actually down in Jena as part of the protests. David Banner, while not being able to be in Jena, used his tour as a platform to discuss the plight of the Jena 6. Most recently, Mos Def, Common, Talib Kweli and M-1 organized a school walkout in protest of the Jena 6’s prosecution.

However, Mos Def did have some pointed words for other rappers who haven’t lent the time or voices to this issue. He calls them out in the following clip:

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