Damn right! Larry King is one of the most revered names in journalism , but at the tender age of 75 he’s been conducting interviews with hip-hop artists like Tyler the Creator, T.I. and DJ Khaled for Ora.tv. Noisey interviewed him about his latest endeavors and we were fascinated by what he had to say about why he often asks artists about the N-word : Another theme in a lot of these interviews is prejudice and the use of the N word. What made you decide to explore that in major depth this year? Well it’s been a major topic in the world. The word is a terrible word when done by a white man. It’s a terrible word when said on the football field, especially by a white athlete to a black athlete. But in the black culture, it is not a terrible word when used to talk to each other. I make no judgements. I understand it. I understand that a black person might use the word in an often complimentary about another black person—while it is never complimentary for a white person to use it… just as it is never complimentary for someone to say, “kyke,” or “wop.” I don’t like the Washington Redskins name. I don’t like prejudice of any kind like that. But if a Native American wants to use terminology referring to another Native American, that’s their perogative. It’s dope that he’s speaking out about the Redskins too, don’t you think? The interesting thing is that King is pretty clear about who should be using certain words but he also defends artistic freedoms. He was asked about what he lets his kids play and he said everything is fair game. When I listen to music with my dad, he allows four N-bombs before he shuts the music off. Do you let your kids play the music out? I let them listen to what they want to listen to. I don’t think words can hurt you. I’m an atheist. My wife’s a devout Mormon. She very fervently objects to them listening to songs with curse words. I’m shocked by the amount of curse words played on the radio. That’s the old school in me. I can’t believe that songs with the F word or N word are played on the radio. That’s wild that he’s an atheist married to a devout Mormon. Courtesy Ora.TV
