Whitey Wins Again

So it looks like Don Imus has done what Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson et al have been unable to do: get rappers to reconsider their use of the "n" word in their rhymes. Well, not quite.

According to the Associated Press, "platinum-seller Chamillionaire recently announced that his new album, Ultimate Victory, would be cuss- and N-word free." He goes on to state that it was not the Imus debacle but in fact seeing his white fans sing along to the epithet at his shows that brought about the change of heart. “I was like, 'You know what? I’m not going to say the N-word on this [next album] because when I go back on the road, and I start performing, I don’t want them to be saying it, like me teaching them.'” Fellow rapper Talib Kweli praised Chamillionaire’s decision, calling it “a wise one, a smart one and a creative one, and I commend him on it. He’s the type of artist who is talented enough to pull that off, and he’s making a point. Industry executives ... are so used to the formula that they don’t know what to do, and I think they’re scared.”
No word as of yet from the respective Jackson or Sharpton camps. This should be interesting.