Nigga

Nigga (/ˈnɪɡə/, pronounced identically to nigger in some dialects) is a colloquial term used in Black English Vernacular that began as an eye dialect form of the word nigger (a word originated as a term used in a neutral context to refer to black people, as a variation of the Spanish/Portuguese noun negro, a descendant of the Latin adjective niger, meaning the color "black").

Usage

In practice, its use and meaning are heavily dependent on context. Presently, the word nigga is used more liberally among younger members of all races and ethnicities in the United States. In addition to African Americans, other ethnic groups have adopted the term as part of their vernacular.

There is conflicting popular opinion on whether there is any meaningful difference between nigga and nigger as a spoken term. Many people consider the terms to be equally pejorative, and the use of nigga both in and outside black communities remains controversial. H. Lewis Smith, author of Bury that Sucka: A Scandalous Affair with the N-word, believes that "replacing the 'er' with an 'a' changes nothing other than the pronunciation" and the African American Registry notes, "Brother (Brotha) and Sister (Sistah or Sista) are terms of endearment. Nigger was and still is a word of disrespect." The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a civil rights group, condemns use of both nigga and nigger.

Flex (singer)

Félix Danilo Gómez (born August 26, 1969), known by his stage names Flex and Nigga, was a Panamanian Latin Grammy Award winning reggaeton artist. He adopted the name Nigga after being told by another Panamanian artist that he "sings like a nigger from Africa." Before releasing an album in the United States in 2008, Flex removed references to his nickname in songs, and his CD packages were reprinted with the name "Flex."

Awards and accomplishments

Flex has received nominations for a variety of awards shows including Premios Billboard, Premios lo Nuestro, Latin Grammys, Premios Juventud, Premios Oye, and Premios Monitor Latino. Flex has won an Oye award, a Latin Grammy, and eight Billboard Latin Music awards.

His accomplishments include a number one position in Mexican and American radio for over 20 weeks, as well as Gold and Platinum album sales worldwide.

Personal life

After five years of dating, Flex married his longtime transgender girlfriend Osiris Vega on August 26, 2008 and got divorced in 2011 Flex continues to live in Panama.

Untitled Nas album

The untitled ninth studio album by American rapper Nas was released by Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records on July 15, 2008 in the United States, with earlier dates in some other countries. Its original title—Nigger—was changed due to controversy surrounding the racial epithet. The album is distinguished for its political content, diverse sources of production and provocative subject matter.

The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, Nas' fifth to do so. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of 500,000 copies in the United States. Upon its release, the album received generally positive reviews from music critics; it holds an aggregate score of 71/100 from Metacritic.

Background

Title controversy

The original title of the album—Nigger—was mentioned by Nas several times, as well as on an October 12, 2007, performance at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City where he announced the title and release date.Def Jam made no comment on the title. This was similar to attempts to name his 2006 album—eventually titled Hip Hop Is Dead—both Nigga and Hip Hop Is Dead... The N. On May 19, 2008, it was confirmed that Nas changed the name of the album to an untitled one (although on iTunes, the album is self-titled), stating that "the people will always know what the real title of this album is and what to call it." The cover of the album shows the back of a shirtless Nas with flagellation scars forming the shape of the letter N, a reference to the racial slur and how slaves were tortured. Fort Greene, Brooklyn assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries requested New York's Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli to withdraw $84 million from the state pension fund that has been invested into Universal and its parent company, Vivendi, if the album's title was not changed.

Hip hop music

Hip hop music, also called hip-hop or rap music, is a music genre formed in the United States in the 1970s that consists of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted. It developed as part of hip hop culture, a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements: MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching, break dancing, and graffiti writing. Other elements include sampling (or synthesis), and beatboxing.

While often used to refer to rapping, "hip hop" more properly denotes the practice of the entire subculture. The term hip hop music is sometimes used synonymously with the term rap music, though rapping is not a required component of hip hop music; the genre may also incorporate other elements of hip hop culture, including DJing, turntablism, and scratching, beatboxing, and instrumental tracks.

Rap GTP-binding protein

Rap GTP-binding protein also known as Ras-related proteins or simply RAP is a type of small GTPase, similar in structure to Ras.

These proteins share approximately 50% amino acid identity with the classical RAS proteins and have numerous structural features in common. The most striking difference between RAP proteins and RAS proteins resides in their 61st amino acid: glutamine in RAS is replaced by threonine in RAP proteins. RAP counteracts the mitogenic function of RAS because it can interact with RAS GAPs and RAF in a competitive manner.

Family members

Human genes that encode Ras-related proteins include:

References

External links

This article incorporates text from the United States National Library of Medicine, which is in the public domain.

RAP

Rap may refer to:

Rap may refer to:

Rapper may refer to:

RAP may refer to: