Rapper Kanye West's sociology professor father is urging his son to stop degrading African-Americans in his songs.

RAY WEST, a former Black Panther activist, smarts every time his son uses the word 'n**ger' in his hits and wishes the JESUS WALKS star would refrain from using the term.

He tells Rolling Stone magazine, "I've stated to him very clearly that he needs to move beyond the negative language and the 'n**ger' statements.

"It's alright to say 'bitch' and 'motherf**ker' on the corner, but when you start operating on a different level you can't talk like that.

"Fine, you're trying to get some street acceptance. Now that you got that, get back to your roots. You know that's not where you came from. You know that's not how you were raised."