The controversy around saying the “n” word continues. While the word did derive from a place of hatred, it’s spoken throughout many of the most popular rap songs that dominate our culture today. If you go to a rap show, thousands of people will be singing along to tracks by Drake or Kanye, and the crowd will be multi-cultural. One group of girls were singing along to the new “Freaky Friday” song by Lil Dicky and Chris Brown when they were recorded singing along to the “n” word.
The Virginia Tech Women’s Lacrosse team is under fire after the Snapchat recording began to circulate on social media. In the song and music video for “Freaky Friday,” Chris Brown wakes up in Lil Dicky’s body, and vice versa. Hilarity ensues as Dicky raps about finally being “blessed” below the waist, and he also enjoys being able to use the “n” word, now that he’s black. It’s worth noting that Chris Brown is the one singing and pretending to be Lil Dicky, which means Dicky himself never says the ‘”n” word on the song. Brown does though, and the women’s lacrosse team sang along with the lyrics gleefully in the circulated Snapchat video.
Coach John Sung issued an apology via the Roanoke Times. “This is a teachable moment,” he stated. “It’s not something that we’re proud of. The team is very apologetic and sorry. There’s nobody of any color that should say it. Period. There’s nobody that should say it.” No disciplinary action has been taken against the girls.
Dee Beasley is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of FreshAsFrankie.com. After starting out as a musician-producer he went on to study the music business and work in Urban Promotions, followed by artist management. Mr. Beasley entrepreneurial spirit has led him to launch numerous businesses in music and fashion marketing. He’s a huge fan of the ’80s and ’90s Hip Hop and R&B, and he’s a firm believer that Hip Hop Music will never die.