Count KRS-One, self-proclaimed prophet of all things hip-hop, among the black people who are okay with Michael Richards, sort of. “I loved it when that dude Kramer used nigga!” he said at the 25th anniversary of Nike’s Air Force 1 sneakers. “The people who made my clothes, made your tape recorder are using that word right now. People at big companies are saying it right now! If I could use cracker, kike, spic, and chink, then anyone else can use nigga. Let’s get it right: N-I-G-G-E-R is offensive, N-I-G-G-A is not.” Except Richards used the former.

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• Archive: “Intelligencer”
• Table of Contents: December 25, 2006 issue of New York | Subscribe!