With the highly anticipated video for Nas' "Be a n*gger Too" recently hitting the net, caught up director Rik Cordero to get his take on the concept and construction of the video and why he felt he had to translate the song's vision to video.

Though the n-word resonates strongly with African-Americans, Cordero, a Philipino American, said the message in the song is one that touches others as well.

"There's a message of this universal theme about what we all go through as minorities in this country." the director told. "At the same time, it presents what the word really means and how it's been changed over the years."

Cordero had to be equally thoughtful in his approach to creating the video. [Watch Below]

"Some people wanted me to go really over the top with it, but I couldn't do that," he said. "I could have put Nas in front of a green screen and thrown up pictures of people getting their heads blown off, but I didn't want to do that."

Instead, Rik went with understated, black and white screen shots of the every man, each piercing the camera before cutting to the next scene. He drafted people to appear in the video and explained the concept behind the song to them first.

What's left is an eight-minutes-and-40-seconds-long conversation starter.

"It doesn't solve any problems, it doesn't answer any questions, but what I want it to do is make people think," he said. "To start a discussion."

Rik said he's gotten an overwhelmingly positive response from the video and ultimately, it's that kind of fan response that will propel the mini flick forward.

"I didn't make this video for the internet, or even MTV," he explained. "If it gets picked up, it'll be because the fans were really behind it and demanded it."

Nas' new untitled album features appearances from Busta Rhymes and stic.man from dead prez along with production from DJ Toomp, Mark Ronson, Cool & Dre and Polow Da Don - who provided the beat for the first single, "Hero." It his stores on July 15th via Def Jam Recordings.