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.
You knew a video for this one was comin'. I've heard and seen more positive reviews on "Millions" than I have negative ones (like mine), but there's no denying the fact that this resonates with most of us as a hype, going out record. Here's the first peek at the upcoming video in the slideshow above.
"Millions" will be off the upcoming mixtape from Pusha T, Wrath of Cain, coming soon.
