Cover art for Niggy Tardust by Saul Williams
Nov. 1, 20071 viewer

Niggy Tardust Lyrics

[Verse 1: Saul Williams]
NiggyTardust, Grippo King, philosopher, and artist
Downright to the marrow, he's the arrow through the heartless
Sunlight in the afternoon, his shadow travels furthest
Woven through the heart of doom, he's bursting through the surface
Hardly nervous, suffice to say, he understands his purpose
Threshold King of everything, a comical absurdist
Sometimes when he talks he sings, yet keeps his high notes wordless
Sing along when Niggy sings, without you he'd be worthless
Homeless, Earthless, Venus Hottentot, up in the circus
Freak show, hear him speak so properly, cause every word is
Measured against meaning, probably scheming to unlearn us
Don't you call him by his name, white people call him 'Curtis'

[Chorus: Saul Williams & CX KiDTRONiK]
When I say Niggy, you say nothing
Niggy, Niggy
When I say Niggy, you say nothing
Niggy (Nothing), shut up
When I say Niggy, you say nothing
Niggy, Niggy
When I say Niggy, you say nothing
Niggy (Nothing), shut up

[Verse 2: Saul Williams]
"Put your mama on the phone", you can't say that, girl, Niggy grown
What your daddy gonna do? He can't deny what he know's true
What the preacher gonna say? Preacher can't shit, girl, the preacher gay
What your granny gonna do? She can't deny the truth
Hey, NiggyTardust, here to stay
Paint him on your lunchbox or your thermos, for a fee
You might win the chance to hang with Niggy for a day
Side effects may include simply doing what you say
Hey, NiggyTardust, no guitar
Ghetto Gothic millionaire, a super-duper star
Side effects may include simply being who you are
You are yourself, my darling dear, and were never a nigga
[Chorus: Saul Williams & CX KiDTRONiK]
When I say Niggy, you say nothing
Niggy, Niggy
When I say Niggy, you say nothing
Niggy (Nothing), shut up
When I say Niggy, you say nothing
Niggy, Niggy
When I say Niggy, you say nothing
Niggy (Nothing), shut up

[Verse 3: Saul Williams]
So what y'all niggas wanna do?
I'm standing at the Pearly Gates so you can run and get your crew
I'm knockin' once then I'm bustin' through
With some gold Diadoras and a shirt that reads, "Do unto who?"
What y'all niggas wanna do?
Elevate the race or love these other motherfucker's too?
The choice is yours, which means it's up to you
But how can I love myself if I can't love you?

[Outro: Saul Williams]
NiggyTardust
NiggyTardust

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Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Saul Williams say about "Niggy Tardust"?
Genius Answer

“We wrote this on the road. There were two sections of two different songs from the 14 track cd that I thought would work well together. First I asked CX to cut and paste them, then I had him program a beat under a section. When we played it for Trent I only had the first verse written which he really enjoyed. I tried the chorus out on CX and he naturally said "nothing” which I responded with a very Prince-like “shutup”. We kept it, as it was funny as fuck. It was Trents idea to add the vocoder which has definitely grown on me. Weirdly enough, this is my sons favorite song.“
– Saul Williams

“Another true product of collaboration. Born from two pieces of music I gave Saul spliced together – the verse was a fairly new thing and the chorus was from an unused Fragile track. Never would I have considered the two coming together and NEVER would I have imagined those lyrics involved! If you ever get access to the multitracks, I’m sure you can hear lots of laughing in the background. The vocoder over the end makes me smile every time. Very fun to work on.”
– Trent Reznor

Credits
Produced By
Additional Programming
Engineer
Programmer
Mastering Engineer
Mixing Engineer
Backing Vocals
Release Date
November 1, 2007
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