( CNN ) Things got testy on `` CNN Tonight '' when conservative commentator Ben Ferguson charged that rappers like Trinidad James are profiting off the n-word . `` I 'll be honest with you , '' Ferguson told James on Monday night . `` I think you know that we should probably get rid of the n-word , but in reality , I think many rappers are afraid they will lose out on money and sales and street cred if they do n't stop using the word . '' The two were part of a panel discussion about who can say the n-word . The panel also included CNN commentator Marc Lamont Hill . `` I 'm making money off of doing music and being creative , sir , '' James responded . `` I 'm not making money just because I use the n-word . Nobody goes to buy an album because it 's full of the n-word . '' To which Ferguson responded : `` Trinidad , you would n't be on this show tonight if it was n't for using the n-word in your rap music . Let 's be honest . '' Trinidad James is the rapper whose hit song , `` All Gold Everything , '' is heard playing in the background as the house mother of the University of Oklahoma Sigma Alpha Epsilon house -- known as Mom B . -- was caught on a Vine video repeating the n-word seven times on camera . The woman , Beauton Gilbow , was bombarded with claims that she 's just as racist as the fraternity members who were caught singing a racist song on a bus earlier this month . In a previous interview with CNN , James said he was willing to give the house mom a pass -- though he said he did n't condone her use of the word . But when Ferguson said Monday the rapper was only on the show for his use of the word , the third panelist -- Hill -- quickly jumped in . `` He would n't be on the show if a white woman had n't said the n-word on a tape , '' he said . `` White people have been saying the [ n-word ] long before Trinidad was born . '' Watch the full exchange above .
Ferguson : `` Rappers are afraid they will lose out on money '' James : `` I 'm making money off ... being creative ''