Bales of hay and cornstalks decorated a fall-themed high school dance I was recently DJing.   Over three hundred mostly-white students packed the cafeteria to spend their Friday night dancing with friends.

As the evening progressed, I lost count of how many times students requested Mo Bamba, by Sheck Wes.  When I explained that I wouldn’t be playing that song at the dance, many were genuinely surprised.   “Why not?”  They asked.  I tried my best to explain over the blaring music that I didn’t think it’d be appropriate.   The students automatically thought I was referring to the ‘bad words’ found within the song, and they lit up.  “Just play the clean version!” they exclaimed.  Again, I had to decline.

Earlier in the evening, a teacher recounted previous dance experiences where students sung the original words: “We may play the clean version but [students] don’t sing the clean version.”  I empathized with these students as they walked away.  I had decided to avoid a song they loved without being able to fully unpack why, which would have been disappointing and confusing for them.  Perhaps this article will offer insight and help continue the conversation.

Dancing is an extremely participatory activity with dancers singing along and engaging their entire bodies with each song they know.   Nothing packs a dance floor and causes voices to go hoarse like classic songs like Firework by Katy Perry, Wannabe by Spice Girls, or Can’t Hold Us by Macklemore.  For those who knew Mo Bamba, it would have been extremely difficult to hear the song without participating in it by singing along.

And each word within a song has its own history, with the power to build up or tear down, empower or dehumanize, bring people together or divide.  Mo Bamba includes the n-word repeatedly, a word that has culturally become taboo (forbidden) for people outside of the black community to use.  Some members of the black community, including many rappers, have reclaimed the n-word and given it a new meaning within their community.  While not all members of the black community agree that reclaiming the n-word is an effective method of protest, harm reduction, or empowerment, wider society generally agrees that it is inappropriate for people outside the black community to say or sing this word.

In May 2018, a white fan was invited on stage with Kendrick Lamar to sing along with his song m.A.A.d City.  When she started singing the lyrics including the n-word, Kendrick stopped and said let’s do it again but “you got to bleep one single word, though”.  Her response was:  “Oh, I’m sorry. Did I do it? I’m so sorry… I’m used to singing it like you wrote it.”  When they tried again, she wasn’t able to adjust her singing to edit out the n-word so Kendrick Lamar just stopped the song altogether and moved on.

When we avoid placing blame on either the fan (for singing the word) or Kendrick Lamar (for inviting her to sing the song), we can learn a lot:

Billboard columnist Stereo Williams notes:

“The word’s ugliness can’t ever be erased by white use, inasmuch as it can be subverted by Black people. White people invented this word, and Black people culturally re-purposed it as a weapon to negate the power of white folks’ view of Blackness. It has been used to dehumanize and now it’s sold as a signifier of cool.”

Kendrick Lamar offers his perspective as the artist by saying:

“Let me put it to you in its simplest form. I’ve been on this earth for 30 years, and there’s been so many things a Caucasian person said I couldn’t do. Get good credit. Buy a house in an urban city. So many things—’you can’t do that’—whether it’s from afar or close up. So if I say this is my word, let me have this one word, please let me have that word.”

And author Ta-Nehisi Coates shows what white audiences can learn by not using the word:

“For white people, the experience of being a hip hop fan and not being able to use [the n-word] is actually very insightful.   It will give you just a little peak into the world of what it means to be black.   Because to be black is to walk through the world and watch people doing things that you cannot do. So I think there is a lot to be learned from refraining.”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO15S3WC9pg]

I don’t know how these high school students would have responded if I agreed played Mo Bamba at their dance.  It could have created a fun moment for many.   But my intent was to avoid a harmful situation where other students felt marginalized.  I wish I had more time to talk with the students requesting it as I’m curious to know what they love about the song and how it makes them feel when they hear it.  I also would have loved to introduce the voices of Stereo Williams, Kendrick Lamar, and Ta-Nehisi Coates into our dialogue as well.   More conversation is needed between all hip hop fans as we navigate towards a more aware and accepting society.