Jadakiss is right to ask "Why"
Published August 03, 2004
I'm a music lover, but I don't follow the gangsta rap arm of Hip Hop very closely. I've heard the n-word more than enough times to last me for a lifetime already. It was people on the Right who brought my attention to the Jadakiss controversy. They were saying Jadakiss (pictured), another one of those ignorant you-know-whats, was attacking George W. Bush, accusing him of personally destroying the Twin Towers during 9/11. When I looked into the controversy, I found something quite different. The people criticizing Jadakiss, real name Jason Phillips, white folks on the Right, did not know he existed until they heard he had a line in the song "Why" saying who is ultimately responsible for 9/11. They immediately converted that into 'some stupid Negro thinks Bush blew up the towers.' But, if you listen to the lyrics, the remark is one of a series of rhetorical questions — some serious, some tongue-in-cheek.
Why would niggaz push pounds and powder?
Why did Bush knock down the towers?
Why you around them cowards?
Why Aaliyah have to take that flight?
Why my nigga D ain't pull out his Ferrari?
Why he take that bike?
Why they gotta open your package and read your mail?
Why they stop lettin' niggaz get degreez in jail?
Why you gotta do eighty-five percent of your time?
And why do rappers lie in eighty-five percent of they rhymes?
It is clear Jadakiss does not think Bush personally caused the buildings to go boom. He is saying the president should have been prepared for terrorism. The rapper has reiterated his message when asked.
NEW YORK (AP) — Over the years, the rapper Jadakiss has depicted a world of drug dealing, murder and other assorted mayhem without raising many eyebrows.
But seven words in his new song "Why" — "Why did Bush knock down the towers?" — has gotten Jadakiss the most mainstream attention, and criticism, of his career.
"It caught the ear of white America," he said proudly during a phone interview with The Associated Press. "It's a good thing. No matter what you do, somebody's not going to like it, but for the most part, most people love the song."
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- Jadakiss is right to ask "Why"
- Published: August 03, 2004
- Type:
- Section: Culture
- Writer: Mac Diva
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