'Pimp Juice' Draws Criticism From Black Community

Hip-hop rap artist Nelly has become the subject of controversy recently, but not for his catchy lyrics or fast moving videos with half-nude young women gyrating to the beat of his recordings. Nelly, a St. Louis native, has branched out into the food industry with an energy drink called "Pimp Juice" that is drawing a great deal of public criticism.

A green-colored beverage that contains vitamins and guarana, Pimp Juice is slowly entering the Black consumer market targeting 18 to 30 year olds. According to a spokeswoman for Pimp Juice, the drink will be kicking off nationally in November. Protest and public outcry to halt the distribution of the product have begun in Chicago, across California and in St. Louis.

"What's next, 'Whore Kool-Aid'?" asked Najee Ali, founder and director of Project Islamic Hope, the National Alliance for Positive Action. "We intend to chase Nelly's Pimp Juice out of our communities all around the country."

Other well-known social activists share Ali's concerns. "This mentality of turning Black people and their values into trash is saturating our community and must be stopped," said Dr. Frances Cress Welsing, author and psychiatrist. "Young Black people calling themselves gangsters, thugs, whores, pimps and bitches in this hip- hop industry to make money is fueled by people who are not Black. If people think destructively and negatively about themselves, it is much easier for others to hold them in oppression and exploit them. It's horrible."

Nelly has said his intent and the name of the product are being misjudged. In his 2002 Grammy-winning album, Pimp Juice, he referred to things that attract the opposite sex, such as fame, money, and intelligence. Many hip-hop rappers are trying to change the use of negative words and give them positive meanings, but Welsing said the majority of us are not following what is going on with an in-depth analysis.

"Nelly is not strong enough to change the meaning of words," said Welsing. "Youth think calling each other 'nigger' and 'dog' makes these terms acceptable now. On the contrary, this shows that young Black youth are presented with a grotesque, horrific image and that Black people don't care about themselves. Are we now accepting ourselves to be a race of trash? No, we must stop this behavior whenever it arises."