Some comments from fans so far in that "SOC" thread... keep in mind this is a MODERATED forum.. important point here:
"40 Minutes later and its still on loop. This rocks Nina !!"
"yowza. she drops the n-bomb! me likey anyway."
"hahaha
this is the most rediculous thing I ever heard
sounds nothing like my version of straight outta compton which I thought was pretty rediculous, myself"
"that cracked Tim and i up!!!
we loves it!
thanks, Nina, mark and may for hooking us up yo
laters"
"LMAO that was hilarious. I love you Nina. :D"
"That was great. It's funny to hear Nina say motherfucker so sweetly, almost like it's a compliment."
"That was great! Thanks Nina
Now if we could just get Ice Cube to do Horses in the City :)
Cheers"
"Does no one else here think it's weird for a white girl from chicago to be singing "the n-word"; to be taking a song that was/is revolutionary and making a joke of it?
I've been a fan of Nina Gordon's from the way early veruca salt days - her voice and lyrics are awesome. But I don't understand how anyone can drop a cover like this with no explanation other than it's a christmas gift. It seems like she wants her fans to take it like they've been taking it - ooh that's so funny! Well, that makes me angry. It wasn't a song that was hers to take.
If she was trying to make some artistic statement about how we listen to songs from black and white artists, or about the political relevance of these words, or something that I'm not getting, I wish she had written about that, or spoken about it in an interview. If she has, sorry for the asumptions, please help me out and point me in that direction.
If on the other hand, her/other's response is "hey, take a joke, it's not a political statement, it's just ironic" then my response is, white people always assume that they can take/take over/corrupt anything they want to. They assume that it's okay to say the n-word because blacks do, they assume that it's okay to make a joke out of anything. News flash: it's 2005 and its time for whites to understand that the world is not only their oyster. Time to be respectful."
"dude calm down. freedom of speech works both ways you know. i don't use the n word and i don't like for anyone to use it, but i don't think this cover was done out of anything more than fun. i once covered nsync's "girlfriend" no political statement there..."
"She covered it for a Bring the Rock show at Largo this past summer. Now, for people like you who don't know, Bring the Rock is a comedy show, where comedians relate humorous anecdotes to specifically themed genres of music, songs, etc. Nina is a member of the band that plays these songs for the comedians every month or so, and it just so happens that Nina was assigned to cover "Straight Outta Compton," and it served its purpose: to be HILARIOUS.
Apparently, the song was so well received at this show, that she planned to record her cover and share it as a special treat for her fans.
Sorry if you're offended, "wtf." And as for SEIZEPRODUCTIONS... thanks for nothing. You made the most annoying kind of rebuttal ever."
"wtf... the group was called niggas with attitude. get a grip. it's the name of the group. if ice cube didn't want white people to ever use the word, it wouldn't be in the name of his group.
nina's cover is funny. it's not a political statement. not everything needs to be political. now go listen to the other bring the rock songs and lighten up."
"Before we go crazy about covering a revolutionary song in a joking matter let us first recall why this is a revolutionary song. NWA brought rap to the foreground of white America, its very purpose was to make a song about how it is and make white America largely uncomfortable. The song is famous more for being famous than actual content.
As for the word's general usage, context is a major factor. Saying it during a NWA song is within context, where as censoring it would be totally against the concept of the entire song. It is a more true to its roots cover by fully expressing why this song is this song. If Nina would have sang "neighbors" or something instead, none of us would be brave enough to comment on the missing element of the song, and that is sad. I guarantee nobody here would have made a post asking why the n-word was omitted, but we would have wondered and we would probably as soon forget about the song. It's really the only way it works.
Finally, this song is not packaged for mass release or anything and is accessible by only a few hundred (at most) people who frequent this website. Sure it's availible for anyone who might find there way here, but I'm going to bet that there are not too many of those. The song is clearly marked, and you know exactly what you're getting when you click on it. If you're that easily offended you shouldn't listen to it.
Ulitimately, it's Nina's site, and if she wants to assoicate herself with her version of the song it's her perogative, as she is the only one to gain or lose from it."
"You know, the n-word ('cause I guess none of us are as brave to say it), doesn't hold the same negative connotation that it did years ago. There are exceptions of course, I'm just saying generally. Its use in rap and hip hop music is responsible for changing its definition. I'm not saying that it's a nice word to call anyone, but it's only a word. Nina didn't mean anything by covering that song. I don't think she ever needs to do interviews explaining the songs she covers. It would be like her admitting she's doing something bad, which she's not.
Don't get so defensive. Not everything white people do is a slur against black people. I'm not racist, I just can't stand when people can't take a joke without getting so mixed up in the political and racial views of it. It's a joke, nothing more. Get over it.
By saying that it's "weird" for a "white girl" to cover this song, you are further segregating black from white. Do
you even realize that it's 2005? The worlds changing, buddy, but not if you keep holding it back.
By the way, I'm white and I don't think that the world is my oyster? Any white people here think that?"
"Thank you all for making my point for me - it's the very fact that it IS a joke that is so offensive.
And I'm sorry, just because blacks have reclaimed the word, doesn't mean it's okay for whites to use it, especially in a joke."
"It's your own opinion that it's offensive. If Nina didn't mean the song as a joke would you still think it was so offensive? I bet you would."
"it'd be much easier to lump us all together in one catagory - like...i don't know, "people" or "human" - then to keep finding colors, beliefs, and abnormalities (aaahahaha) in which to seperate us all by.
can't we all just be one large group of people? together?
oh. except for the swedes. they're different."
"if it wasnt for this song i wouldnt have been here now,
You have an amazing talent nina"
"Love this song , and have no problem with any part of it, as much as love th original and the Kid606 version...and it is the reason I am here, and heard of Nina Gordon (although I had heard of Veruca Salt WAAAAY back i the day).
...and if you think NWA were always serious in their work and intentions, well maybe Ice Cube should come and put a "cap in yo ass" cos they weren't. I'm sure they'd find this SO funny...and even funnier you were stressed about it.
It IS in the lyric of the song here, so it is valid...IMO Censoring it would be WAY worse as that's definitely one of the things NWA and PE and co. were against politically at the time and had to fight for.
Have any of you heard of Richard Cheese doing lounge covers of 'Shake Yo Ass' or 'Baby Got Back' or Rage Against the Machine....he was doing the same thing, and those were officially released and I bet those artists didn't go 'oh you changed my political intent!' - most covers change the feel totally, and the best ones like this bring a new aspect, or feel, like Johnny Cash did.
Anyway my main reason for posting here is that I'd love to play this cover on my podcast http://www.mutantpop.net/radioclash/ and share it with my listeners, but I want to get official permission to do so - is that possible?
It's freely out there on the internet but didn't want to assume it's 'ok'.
I can't see any contact info on the site...anyone know how I can contact the powers that can answer that?
cheers"
And I ended the thread myself by responding:
"Is there an official word about the cover from Nina herself about why she chose to cover the song? From the posts here, it seems there's a consensus that it was done for humorous purposes. But I just wanted to see if there was an "official word", so to speak, given the controversy surrounding it.
Mind you, Nina doesn't HAVE to provide an answer. That's up to her to say or not say. Just asking."
...
But it seems like her fans pretty much think it was done for humor. The key post above is the one from a fan that saw her perform the song live at a Bring The Rock show, which is supposed to be a comedy show. So, unless that fan is severely misinformed about the purpose of the show, it seems the cover was done to be funny. So, at this point, my respect for Nina and her (as I see them) intentions has taken quite a dip.
Still want to hear from Nina herself about this, and we and her fans may be yet surprised, but at this point, I doubt it now.
So, they it iz! HA HA HA, "GANGSTA RAP!"
― donut christ (donut), Thursday, 20 January 2005 23:04 (nineteen years ago) link
My favorite comments from above:
"yowza. she drops the n-bomb! me likey anyway."
Whenever a tense race related thread ever erupts again on ILE, I'll just drop this little bomb in there and run away.
"dude calm down. freedom of speech works both ways you know. i don't use the n word and i don't like for anyone to use it, but i don't think this cover was done out of anything more than fun. i once covered nsync's "girlfriend" no political statement there..."
I think Martin already mentioned this one. No explanation needed really.
"wtf... the group was called niggas with attitude. get a grip. it's the name of the group. if ice cube didn't want white people to ever use the word, it wouldn't be in the name of his group. [...]"
haha, I love the assumption that people name their songs or groups certain things with the intention of hoping white people use the words later.
"if it wasnt for this song i wouldnt have been here now, You have an amazing talent nina"
OK, who's the person in this thread who went to the forum to confess their love? Mark? Spencer? Ned? Heavens, come on now, don't be shy! ;-)
― donut christ (donut), Thursday, 20 January 2005 23:32 (nineteen years ago) link