Wow I'm happy they have "agreed to disagree" but I'm sure Maya won't be working with any more rappers in the near future after this.. Do you think Common should have gotten approval from Dr. Angelou before sending it in to the label?
Legendary poet Maya Angelou told The Post she’s horrified that one of
her biggest fans, the rapper Common, put her on a song peppered with
the “N” word — which she abhors.
The song “The Dreamer,” off the
album “The Dreamer, The Believer,” features a poem that Angelou penned
and recited at the rapper’s request. It urges people to follow their
dreams, with such lines as “From Africa they lay in the bilge of slave
ships / And stood half naked on auction blocks /. . . and still they
dreamed.”
Common’s lyrics, however, include such lines as “Told my
n---a [Kanye West] I’m ’bout to win the Grammys now” and the boast
“N---as with no heart, I’m the pacemaker.”
The Pulitzer Prize-nominated poet was petrified when she heard the lyrics.
“I
had no idea that Common was using the piece we had done together on [a
track] in which he also used the ‘N’ word numerous times,” Angelou said.
Angelou said she never knew Common used the “N” bomb at all, calling it “vulgar and dangerous” to the black community.
“I’m
surprised and disappointed. I don’t know why he chose to do that. I had
never heard him use that [word] before. I admired him so because he
wasn’t singing the line of least resistance.”
Common tried to
squash the squabble, insisting that he’s spoken with Angelou about his
use of the “N” word — and claiming they have agreed to disagree.
Hit the jump/continue to read the rest and listen to "The Dreamer" by Common featuring Dr. Maya Angelou.
Hit the jump/continue to read the rest and listen to "The Dreamer" by Common featuring Dr. Maya Angelou.
