Jail vs. No Ceilings
I’ve always been a fan of Dwayne Carter Jr. Before Young Money Entertainment existed, before all the Carter albums, and even before the “bling bling” phenomena I liked Weezy. The pint-sized rapper from Hollygrove, New Orleans had a guttural delivery that was edgy and catchy at the same time. I can recall watching Hot Boys music videos after school and quickly turning the channel when my Mom walked in the room. In all honesty, I wouldn’t want my ten year old watching the “Block is Hot” either. Nevertheless, I grew up in the age of “Rap City the Basement” and “106 and Park”, it was hard to keep most of my friends from this music too.
I digress. Back to Mr. Weezy F. Baby, please say the baby. So today Mr. “No Ceilings” was sentenced to a year of nothing but ceilings and cinderblock walls in New York’s Riker Island. Although he plead guilty to criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree in October of 2009 he has been more evasive than O.J. Simpson in a White Bronco. Well that’s not too evasive. He’s been more evasive than Amy Winehouse at a detox center. That’s more like it. The first time he was scheduled for sentencing the judge postponed it so that he could get dental work. I guess the sparkly grill needed to get fixed up for state funded toothbrushes. The second time a fire in the courthouse postponed the sentencing. I guess the former “Hot Boy” was too hot for justice. Some of my friends have been monitoring his sentencing date. With all the wars, famine, and injustice in the world the last thing I cared about was Lil’ Wayne going to jail. Nevertheless I couldn’t escape it. One of my friends kept telling me “5 days until Weezy goes to jail”. In the back of my mind I was wondering why he was so happy to see his favorite rapper go to jail, as if it were some rite of passage (but that is for another blog).
I’m sure I’m probably the “umteenth” person to blog about this situation, but I think the fact that this is on my mind speaks to a greater problem. Why is it cool for rappers to go to jail? Why do people celebrate it? I’ve already seen the “Hold it Down Weezy” t-shirts. What does that even mean? I’m so tired of hearing about what his cell will look like, or if he’ll get special treatment. Dwayne Carter Jr. broke the law and now he is paying his debt to society. Get over it. Hundreds of thousands of people go to jail everyday. Of course most of those people aren’t award-winning artists, but they are still people and their lives are worth just as much. It bothers me when we condemn one man for going to jail but celebrate or hype up another man. I read a status on facebook today that said “T.I. out and Lil’ Wayne in, I can dig it”. In Vibe’s magazine online edition they went into detail about his first meal and what he plans on eating tomorrow for breakfast. I hate to sound like Bill Cosby but “Come on People!”
This reminds me of about five years ago when 50 cent blew up. Although his music was catchy and Dr. Dre provided him with some great beats, it seems as if he was just as popular for being shot 9 times and surviving. Don’t get me wrong. That is a blessing. I don’t want to get shot once. Nevertheless, why does taking 9 bullets make you a better rapper or a more interesting person? It’s sad to say, but I think Lil’ Wayne and T.I. have and will continue to profit off of their vacations behind bars.
I wish Weezy the best of luck behind bars. Prison is no place that anyone should ever want to go. Yet, I’m afraid that as long as we continue to praise celebrity incarceration, many young people will trivialize going to jail. Remember, “no ceilings” only exists mentally in penitentiaries.
First, i love that thing about Amy Winehouse!!
On the issue at hand, I have mixed feelings about Weezy going to jail. Don’t get me wrong, i’m not one of those that see jail as a coming of age for rappers.
On one side, i feel like there’s gonna be a drought in the rap game with Weezy “on vacation”. But i’m kinda waiting to see if and how his lyrics will change once he comes out. Will he be more reflective? Will he be the same? Will jail teach him a few things or reinforce what he already knows? Will he speak about this issue, i.e. rappers going to jail and gaining street cred for it and how that’s a messed up mentality or totally legit?
Fanele
First, i love that thing about Amy Winehouse!!
On the issue at hand, I have mixed feelings about Weezy going to jail. Don’t get me wrong, i’m not one of those that see jail as a coming of age for rappers.
On one side, i feel like there’s gonna be a drought in the rap game with Weezy “on vacation”. But i’m kinda waiting to see if and how his lyrics will change once he comes out. Will he be more reflective? Will he be the same? Will jail teach him a few things or reinforce what he already knows? Will he speak about this issue, i.e. rappers going to jail and gaining street cred for it and how that’s a messed up mentality or totally legit?
Fanele
Seems like incarceration is priority #1 in the game these days when the fear of exhausting all subject material arises.
But looking past his legal situation…he seriously is a Martian. Dwayne (no, I won’t refer to him by his alter-ego) has mutilated himself so much as to have turned his life into a rock star spectacle, and for a person who speaks so much of Kurt Cobain, Dwayne might find himself riding down the whole “pop culture martyr” road his flannel-wearing role model drove straight to his grave. The drugs, the illegitimate children, the absurd body art, it’s all fine. The problem is that his behavior getting to a point where his persona is outshadowing his musical talent, rather than complementing it. Not to mention those outstanding medical records…
And oh-so-many young suburbanites will buy into it. Who else do we point to as our inspiration for the nihilist lifestyles we live? When Dwayne can get away with smoking blunts right next to dad, curfew is the farthest thing on his mind. He’s the escapism for a whole generation, but a glance at his upbringing makes him seem more sheltered than his admirers.
After laying out the blueprint for the lifestyle you can follow when you get “a milli” in your checking account (while most of his audience is praying those fucking overdraft fees don’t surface), he mentions that he’d:
“rather be pushing flowers,
than to be in the pen sharing showers”
Obviously not the case. I’m still waiting for the alien to come back down-to-earth. I’ll know he (it) has somehow. Rolling Stone usually has fairly glossy obituaries.
P.S. – At least Plaxico has someone to kick it with. I’m not sure that Riker’s has throwing machines included in their budget.
Seems like incarceration is priority #1 in the game these days when the fear of exhausting all subject material arises.
But looking past his legal situation…he seriously is a Martian. Dwayne (no, I won’t refer to him by his alter-ego) has mutilated himself so much as to have turned his life into a rock star spectacle, and for a person who speaks so much of Kurt Cobain, Dwayne might find himself riding down the whole “pop culture martyr” road his flannel-wearing role model drove straight to his grave. The drugs, the illegitimate children, the absurd body art, it’s all fine. The problem is that his behavior getting to a point where his persona is outshadowing his musical talent, rather than complementing it. Not to mention those outstanding medical records…
And oh-so-many young suburbanites will buy into it. Who else do we point to as our inspiration for the nihilist lifestyles we live? When Dwayne can get away with smoking blunts right next to dad, curfew is the farthest thing on his mind. He’s the escapism for a whole generation, but a glance at his upbringing makes him seem more sheltered than his admirers.
After laying out the blueprint for the lifestyle you can follow when you get “a milli” in your checking account (while most of his audience is praying those fucking overdraft fees don’t surface), he mentions that he’d:
“rather be pushing flowers,
than to be in the pen sharing showers”
Obviously not the case. I’m still waiting for the alien to come back down-to-earth. I’ll know he (it) has somehow. Rolling Stone usually has fairly glossy obituaries.
P.S. – At least Plaxico has someone to kick it with. I’m not sure that Riker’s has throwing machines included in their budget.
btw, can’t wait for that next mixtape, da drought 3 still goes hard
btw, can’t wait for that next mixtape, da drought 3 still goes hard