“[They are] profiting from a racial slur that has been used to dehumanize people of color for centuries,” said Jeffries. “It is time for Nas and other hip-hop artists to clean up their act and stop flooding the airwaves with the N-word.”  

Nas says his last album, controversially titled Hip Hop is Dead, was supposed to have the name of his new one, but he says, “the climate wasn’t right, and Hip Hop Is Dead is also what I was feeling. That went first, and now I’ve got to get this one off my chest.”  

Addressing the controversy surrounding the new title, Nas says, “It’s like talking to your child about sex. It’s hard, but it’s important. It’s probably going to make people uncomfortable. I don’t expect a lot of people to sell a record called Nigger. Hopefully, people can open their minds up and lose some of their fear and deal with it. It’s just an album. It’s one piece of the many things I do, and this will be one of my favorite pieces.”