Ahh, puns are fun. Anywho, the news today outta PepsiCo is that they have dropped Lil Wayne as a sponsor of Mountain Dew, stemming from his offensive line about Emmett Till in Future's "Karate Chop" (of which he apologized to Till's family for a couple days ago). The statement from PepsiCo states the reason being that the, "offensive reference to a revered civil rights icon does not reflect the values of our brand.", while Wayne's publicist Sarah Cunningham says the parting of ways is due to "creative differences." *rolls eyes* I guess you can say that Lil Wayne was canned... (oh, puns.)
What do you think of the news? Drop your thoughts in the comments!
Perhaps an apology, perhaps a desperate plea to not get the piercings sued off of him, Lil Waynefinally issues an apology to the family and estate of slain teenager Emmett Till. This comes after the family heard Wayne's reference to Till in an inappropriate way on Future's "Karate Chop" remix.
Dear Till Family:
As a recording artist, I have always been interested in word play. My lyrics often reference people, places and events in my music, as well as the music that I create for or alongside other artists.
It has come to my attention that lyrics from my contribution to a fellow artist’s song has deeply offended your family. As a father myself, I cannot imagine the pain that your family has had to endure. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge your hurt, as well as the letter you sent to me via your attorneys.
Moving forward, I will not use or reference Emmett Till or the Till family in my music, especially in an inappropriate manner. I fully support Epic Record’s decision to take down the unauthorized version of the song and to not include the reference in the version that went to retail. I will not be performing the lyrics that contain that reference live and have removed them from my catalogue.
I have tremendous respect for those who paved the way for the liberty and opportunities that African-Americans currently enjoy. As a business owner who employs several African-American employees and gives philanthropically to organizations that help youth to pursue their dreams my ultimate intention is to uplift rather than degrade our community.
Best,
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr.
Lil Wayne
This comes a day after MTV reported the rumor that Mountain Dew might have been looking to drop Wayne from his endorsement deal over the controversial lyric.
I mean, I get it, he's seen how the repercussions of people being overly sensitive can affect a rapper through what happened with Ross. At the same time, I don't think the line was that bad that all of the above was necessary. I'm sure we've all heard way worse from rappers as far as punchline goes, and I mean that in every sense of the word. Not only was Wayne's line not the corniest I've heard, it certainly wasn't the most offensive, even though I wouldn't go so far as to justify it's use. Common sense should tell you what is and isn't okay to rap about, regardless of artistic license, but I'm torn because that same license says that you should be able to talk about whatever as long as you're creative. I don't know, maybe someone can provide some insight for me in the comments? Cuz this censorship s#%! is getting out of hand.
Possibly the most popular song in hip-hop right now has finally got a remix worth talking about. Even though the song doesn't have one of those classic verses from Trinidad the song is still as dope as the original. This beat was made for 2 Chainz and he killed it.
One of the most under appreciated artist from Chicago plain and simple. This song is just another example of his skilled and ability to out write a lot of artist from Chicago. If your still sleep on Add-2 do your homework.
For some reason this is a rumored track to be on Lil Wayne next album. If it doesn't make the cut then this will be another terrible decision to add to his growing list which already includes his new forehead tattoo.
Calez has been releasing a lot of dope music lately and is another artist that you all need to do your homework on if your not up on him and his 2008ighties team.
I'm not 100% sure what I like about this song but it grew on me after a few listens. Smooth verses and hook, and a change of pace from the other music I've been listening to recently. Is it me or has R. Kelly been making his rounds in the hip-hop world recently.
That's this weeks Top 5 so let the disscusion begin. Feel free to let me know your thoughts.
