Kendrick Lamar stops white fan using N-word on stage at concert (2024)

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Kendrick Lamar stops white fan using N-word on stage at concert (1)Image source, Getty Images

A white woman has been booed at a Kendrick Lamar gig for singing the N-word on stage.

The rapper invited the woman, who identified herself only as "Delaney", to sing M.A.A.D City during his set at the Hangout Festival in Alabama.

But Kendrick stopped her after she repeatedly used the N-word - which is heard multiple times in his song.

As the crowd reacted angrily, Kendrick told her: "You gotta bleep one single word."

She appeared not to realise why she had been stopped, and asked: "Am I not cool enough for you, bro?"

The crowd in Gulf Shores, Alabama started booing on hearing the woman sing the racial slur.

She apologised, saying: "Oh I'm sorry, did I do it?"

Kendrick then asked the audience if she should be given another try - and despite many shouting "No!", Kendrick allowed her a second run at the song.

Is it ever acceptable for white people to sing the N-word?

Image source, Getty Images

"Every person can say what they want, there's freedom of speech, but you have a responsibility," South London grime artist Yizzy tells BBC News.

"If you use the word... and you're not of any black heritage, in this modern day world, be prepared to face a backlash."

Journalist and blogger Jessica Noah Morley adds: "If you don't want people to sing an offensive word, it should not be sung or included in the song in the first place.

"We, myself included, have to be careful about being hypocritical and implementing a double standard when it comes to race relations. The N-word is, and will always be, offensive, no matter who says it."

Read more: Should white people ever sing the N-word?

Twitter user @alsostephenking said that Kendrick had been looking for fans who could rap along to his song M.A.A.D City - and that several people had been on stage before Delaney.

Image source, @alsostephenking/Twitter

Rohan was one of them. He rapped the whole song to cheers from the crowd and omitted the N-word throughout.

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The reaction to the response from Kendrick and the crowd has been mixed.

Some people said that expecting Delaney not to sing Kendrick's own lyrics back to him was unfair.

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However others agreed with Kendrick's decision to cut her off.

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Kendrick Lamar was headlining the final day of the Hangout Festival.

In April, he became the first non-jazz or classical musician to win a Pulitzer Prize for Music for his 2017 album DAMN.

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More on this story

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  • Who made the best album of 2017?

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      22 December 2017

Kendrick Lamar stops white fan using N-word on stage at concert (2024)

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