Read what Nas had to say about the situation-
"I would slap the s*** out of somebody for Gwyneth Paltrow," Nas told CBS Local exclusively. "She's the homie, she's cool. Gwyneth gets a pass. Real people get a pass. We know what this s*** is. We don't interrupt Italians when they say 'Wop' to each other. They gonna punch you in the mouth if you interrupt that. Don't interrupt us. We pick and choose." Nas acknowledged that other black people might feel differently, but still stood by his statement. "Some might not feel the same way," he said. "Some of us will get angrier about it than others; but some people get a pass. The people that I know who are cool and real n****s, Gwyneth Paltrow is a real n****, that's my homie. That's how I'm on it. Some people get a pass." (CBS Local)Well, what I have to say is that everyone knows she didn't mean it in an offensive way or anything, she was just saying the title of a song; so what's all the fuss about? Jay and Kanye are the ones that made the song, and they were performing it in Paris, where majority of their audience were white people. I see this as bridging the gap between the races...this generation are not the ones that enslaved black people, and most don't even really know much about it. If black people keep catching feelings on things like this, then they don't really want that equality they have been making noise about all along. I think African-American's just like to have someone to point the finger at when things are not going well for them.
Below is what Russell Simmons had to say-
A few months ago, I went to the Jay-Z charity concert at Carnegie Hall. It was pretty exciting to watch hip-hop's biggest star play the world's most prestigious venue. However, there was nothing more exciting than him donating 100 percent of the proceeds to charity, including my $25,000 donation.The third song that came on during the show was “Ain’t No N*gga”… the song I signed Jay to Def Jam on. Everyone in the hall was singing every word to the song. Every white girl (and there were a lot of them) was singing it to their man…“Ain’t no n*gga like the one I got!” EVERYONE was singing every word of every song for the entire set, which ended with “N*ggas In Paris.” White, black – everyone was singing along.
But a couple of nights ago, a similar milestone occurred in Paris with Jay and Kanye's Watch The Throne Tour. It was at this show that my friend Gwyneth Paltrow tweeted something that got me a little twisted. I follow Gwyneth on Twitter and when I saw her tweet about the “N*ggas in Paris” show in PARIS, I said ‘Damn everybody is there but me.’ I’m a bit older and I don’t get to jet-set to concerts like I used to, but when I saw Gwyneth was there, I must admit, I got a little jealous. The tweet she sent has since angered some in the black community, since she used the n-word. But when I saw it, it didn’t faze me - not even one bit.
I have to throw my hand up and stand up for Gwyneth. I know her intentions were not to be offensive ... she was just proud of her friend, Jay-Z. My words are in defense of her.
I don’t have a permanent answer to the n-word controversy that appeases everyone. I remember when I tried to fix it and said we should maybe beep that word and a few others on the radio, Oprah quoted me as if I said not to use the n-word. However, for the record, I have NEVER told any artist not to use that word or any word in my life and I never will; a poet can choose their own words to describe whatever they want in their art.
And in the case of “N*ggas in Paris,” it is clear that these two poets are celebrating the fact that they now travel the world and are literally ballin’ in Paris … it started as a badge of honor, something to be proud of, something to poke their chests out at. Because for them, when they were kids, Paris was a million miles away and now it’s a private jet ride. The idea of being in Paris with a movie star, whether she’s black or white, is incredible!
There is something truly inspiring about black culture and black music, hip-hop culture and hip-hop music. No matter what color skin you might have, there is an overriding good effect that this music has on you. It is contagious. It was this explosive expression that spread out of the inner cities of America into the walkmans of kids like Gwyneth Paltrow during their childhoods in 1980s and 1990s. It allowed white kids to begin to sympathize with the plight of many in black America. And these kids have overwhelmingly become progressive in their politics and their social concerns. Having any Hollywood starlet at your concert was unimaginable, and having her quote your lyrics as a badge of honor that she was hanging out with you, you never would have dreamed of that – until your poetry hit the market and changed the world.
So, for Gwyneth to tweet out her excitement about hip-hop taking over the planet is a good thing. She didn’t mean any harm, she just was trying to ball so hard, and like Jay-Z says, "motherf*ckers can’t fine" her.
-Russell Simmons
