One of the earliest uses of the term in a popular song was the 1983 song New York New York by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, although it had featured in some very early hip hop recordings such as Scoopy Rap and Family Rap, both from 1979.
Comedian Chris Rock's routine "Niggas vs. Black People" distinguishes a nigga, which he defined as a "low-expectation-having motherfucker", from a "black person".