When songs like “Got Money” and “A Milli” play on the radio, there are usually mixed reactions. Some opinions are stronger than others. According to one of my good friends, Julie Maffucci, “Weezy is God.” If you asked another friend, Frederick Mcnulty he might say, “Lil' Wayne with his raspy voice and crude imagery, has skyrocketed to the top of the hip-hop/rap charts within the last few years. Fully utilizing the abilities of the Internet, he heavily promoted himself by releasing numerous mix tapes, remixes, and freestyles. Personally, I enjoy listening to Lil' Wayne's music, especially due to his heavy usage of similes, metaphors, and symbolism - often making his music into a riddle of sorts, just begging to be deciphered. That being said, Lil' Wayne has a tendency to overstate his own importance, relevance, and talent - especially in comparison to more heavyweight rappers." Although Fred obviously has a bit more to say, each has a strong opinion on this artist. Both Fred and Julie, along with most other young adults in this generation know the name Lil’ Wayne and can usually recognize more than one of his over 700 songs.
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr, better known as Lil’ Wayne, or Weezy, joined Cash Money Records at the age of nine, as the youngest member of the label. He released his first solo album “That Block is Hot” in 1999. Although he had been part of two other hiphop groups, The B.G’z and Hot Boys, he decided to go solo for more creative freedom. After releasing two more albums, neither as successful as his first, in 2004 Lil Wayne released Tha Carter, selling one million copies. Then in 2005 he came out with Tha Carter ll selling 238, 000 copies the first week. His sixth album Tha Carter lll was his most successful yet, selling one million copies the first week and going two times platinum. Since then he has released I Am Not a Human Being, as well as releasing several mix tapes and freestyles.
Lil’ Wayne’s popularity has increased over the past few years. Many of his fans enjoy his unique raspy voice, catchy beats, and use of literary techniques such as metaphors and smilies. “More than even his music, Lil’ Wayne’s popularity and image in the media has had his fan base growing as well. Weezy is known for his “don’t care” attitude, vulgar language and obscene symbolism, tattoo covered body, and recreational use of marijuana and cocaine. Currently, he is serving a one year prison sentence for criminal possession of a weapon, as well as possession of a controlled substance. Despite the seriousness of his crime, his sentence has gained him even more fans and popularity. There is even a popular new t-shirt stating “Free Weezy.”
Although Lil’ Wayne is highly popular, there are also those who dislike his music, stating a lack of talent. On an iTunes review of his new album I Am Not a Human Being, a listener posted “Mumbling all over the album, can’t stay on topic for more than two bars, pure garbage, you people will listen to anything.” Those who dislike Lil’ Wayne and his music criticize him for a lack of substance in his lyrics, superficial and simple beats, and commercialized songs. The majority of Weezy’s songs are about sex, women, drugs, or himself. As mentioned before, mainly what makes him popular is his image, his catchy beats and voice. More serious hiphop fans look past the initial image given by the media and into more technical aspects of hiphop/rap. His lyrics don’t mean anything important, his beats aren’t unique or interesting, and his hooks are purely radio-friendly.
The way I see it, Lil’ Wayne is catchy. When one of his songs comes on I can dance, I can sing along, I can enjoy it. But it never goes past that, I can listen for fun, but I can’t respect what he is rapping about or the technicality of his music. What I can respect is his ability to create music that is popular and the business aspect of his career. Weezy writes flimsy lyrics, creates superficial beats, and makes millions of dollars. Despite either opinion, Lil’ Wayne is a successful rapper with a lot of money, a family, and a relaxed life style, although I can not respect his music, I respect his career.
I think it is interesting how you leave out your opinion until the very end. I was confused trying to figure out by your main body whether you were a fan or not, but the way you describe your feelings about his music in the end makes sense in relation to your main body.
ReplyDeleteI found this article really compelling, I have little to no knowledge about Weezy at all, so the bio about him really enlightened me to him. He's a controversial figure in today's society and one that is the topic of many water cooler debates.
ReplyDeleteKate- I thought this blog post was so cool. Now, most of what you wrote, I can relate to. I guess what I kept wondering was who exactly his fans were? Now, this may seem far fetched, but the basis of this question is inspired by Dunbars "Reading A Historical Document" In this skills sheet we have been using one of the questions it asks is about the intended audience. I think it would be really cool to address Lil Wayne's audience, who is he trying to impress? Who is he trying to piss off? I realize that you may not have the answers to these questions, but I think it may help us understand his music, and his image better. Cool, cool post. -Gracie
ReplyDeleteWeezy. Has raspy voice is not something I prefer to listen, however if if like it and women, drugs, or himself then no disrespect. It is interesting that he is in jail, but why? It seems as his new album though is okay, definitely some original Weezy. I think he is going down on the charts though cause he was in jail, even if you can only get past signing his songs at dances then where would he go? I would ask your friend more on why he is god and then ask someone why he/she hates him?
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Weezy got put in solitary confinement yesterday for overuse of his ipod. No joke!
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine teaches in New Orleans, and visiting with his students I quickly realized that for many of them Lil Wayne is not a hip-hop artist, he is hip-hop. Because he puts out so much music, and his connected to so many artists, their entire hip-hop universe was constructed with him at the center. I think because he SOUNDS different from most other popular MCs, it is easy to elevate him above others.
What I find challenging about listening to Little Wayne is that I inevitably feel hypocritical. If I met Lil Wayne could we have a conversation? I kinda doubt it; The character he has created is so far outside of my experience, I don't know what we would say to each other. I find many of the actions/values he expresses reprehensible and share almost no common experiences. But, I wonder if that is also part of the charm?
Lil wayne - kate I know it is unrelated but aren't you a teacher as well as a blogger????
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