a word that has caused racial controversey over the last few decades and up to current times. It came from the derogatory term for African Amercans "nigger" yet it has a completely different
definition than said term.
The contemporary meaning of nigga has two distinct definitions.
One means
friend, brother, etc. and is mostly used in greeting, such as "Yo wassup my nigga", in this
case the word nigga is used in a friendly way.
On the other hand, nigga can also be an insult. Statements such as "
F*ck you bitch ass nigga" and "That nigga stole my iPod" are used when one is angry, frustrated, etc. So it all depends on the mood: good mood and nigga means
friend, bad mood and nigga means enemy.
Though nigga is used most commonly by African Americans, people of other races use the term as well, though SOME African Americans, not all, feel uncomfortable with others, Caucasians in particular, saying it. In today's society, a white
guy can only say "wassup nigga" to a black
guy if and only if the black
guy is perfectly cool with it. Otherwise, verbal fights may occur.
Again, this word isn't to be confused with "nigger" which really means african piece of sh*t. There is absolutely no friendliness in that word. The only ones who say nigger these days are either people making fun of the word (ex: guys
like Dave Chappelle) or racists who seriously need to get
shot.