During a newly-published interview with Vlad TV, Immortal Technique was shown video of Chet Haze, rapper and son of actor Tom Hanks, defending his use of the n-word.
After watching the video, the Harlem, New York lyricist went on to address his own experience using the word. Technique also explained that those who love Hip Hop can’t have a true appreciation for the culture “without loving the people that created it.”
“That sounds good from the sanctity of your $100 million home,” Immortal Technique said. “That plays out a lot different in the street. That’s just the God’s honest truth…I hope someone doesn’t do something negative to him over that…When I talk about my use of the word, I always tell people that my mother hated that. My parents never liked that. It was just that I grew up in Harlem…As an adult, I think that she was probably right. But at the same time, in terms of Hip Hop, Hip Hop was definitely something that came from an African American experience, black struggle…You can’t love Hip Hop without loving the people that created it.”
Technique later revealed that although he doesn’t agree with Haze’s point of view on the debate, he does appreciate that the rapper stated that he would never use the n-word while addressing someone he doesn’t know.
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“I can’t ever tell someone what to say and what not to say,” he said. “But at the same time, somebody that communicates with me and talks to me like that that’s definitely something I have control of. Sure, I can’t tell you what to say to you and yourself, but I can regulate how you speak to me. So, if you talk to me like that and I have a problem with it and I tell you that I’m not going to tolerate that then I can at least appreciate—the thing I can at least appreciate about his statement, if I don’t agree with what he said, is the fact that he said he would never address somebody that he don’t know like that.”
Immortal Technique’s interview with Vlad TV can be found below.
