To most True School Hip Hop music lovers, Lil Wayne is not on the top of the list. In fact, he is no where near it. He represents the pop sound and style over substance brand of rap that make classic Hip Hop fans cringe. While he seems to draw a random and misguided creativity out of his drug induced fog, which at times seems almost acceptable, he more often sounds like a babbling, crazy person. If Lil Wayne was 50 years old standing on a corner reciting the same lines he says in his rhymes, he would sound more like 50Tyson than Jay-Z. And 50Tyson has autism, if you don't already know. With that in mind, understand that I have no love for Lil Wayne or his music and basically wrote off his latest brush with the law as "he brought it on himself." I mean, he should already know he is a target being who he is, a rich rapper from the hood. So, to to get caught with illegal weapons on his tour bus doesn't garner much sympathy.
His latest news comes to us from behind bars at Rikers Island correctional facility in NY. It seems that Wayne was caught hiding a pair of unsanctioned headphones stashed inside a potato chip bag in his cell. Although headphones bought at the jail commissary are allowed, his higher end brand was not. For this infraction he is being given solitary confinement for the last 30 days of his 8 month sentence. This means he will be confined to his cell for 23 hours a day and permitted only one call to the outside per week. In light of the preferential treatment most celebrities like Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton get, this does come off as harsh. Although his charge involved a weapon, this infraction unlike a failed drug test, has nothing to do with the original crime. He is after all a performer who must earn a living after his sentence is over, so to have a job aid in prison is almost like work release. If the effort is to rehabilitate him, this type of punishment could be very counterproductive. To be locked away, unable to move freely in such confinement, after the jet-set lifestyle Wayne has lead must be a harsh reality to face. To have made a living as the center of attention on stages in front of thousands of people only to be forced into a room by himself with no phone, no personal contact, and none of his usual coping mechanisms like drugs or alcohol must be torture.
For whatever reason, it seems that Lil Wayne has been targeted for some type of programming. The question is what message are those in charge trying to send? Are they sending a message to the larger community who follow Lil Wayne's music? Or are they trying to manipulate Lil Wayne specifically to affect how he makes music in the future? These questions only came to me after I watched the topic discussed on The Young Turks this week. Watching their take on the situation drew some empathy for Wayne's situation that I had not previously had. Now I feel there might be something deeper at work here. What do you think?
His latest news comes to us from behind bars at Rikers Island correctional facility in NY. It seems that Wayne was caught hiding a pair of unsanctioned headphones stashed inside a potato chip bag in his cell. Although headphones bought at the jail commissary are allowed, his higher end brand was not. For this infraction he is being given solitary confinement for the last 30 days of his 8 month sentence. This means he will be confined to his cell for 23 hours a day and permitted only one call to the outside per week. In light of the preferential treatment most celebrities like Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton get, this does come off as harsh. Although his charge involved a weapon, this infraction unlike a failed drug test, has nothing to do with the original crime. He is after all a performer who must earn a living after his sentence is over, so to have a job aid in prison is almost like work release. If the effort is to rehabilitate him, this type of punishment could be very counterproductive. To be locked away, unable to move freely in such confinement, after the jet-set lifestyle Wayne has lead must be a harsh reality to face. To have made a living as the center of attention on stages in front of thousands of people only to be forced into a room by himself with no phone, no personal contact, and none of his usual coping mechanisms like drugs or alcohol must be torture.
For whatever reason, it seems that Lil Wayne has been targeted for some type of programming. The question is what message are those in charge trying to send? Are they sending a message to the larger community who follow Lil Wayne's music? Or are they trying to manipulate Lil Wayne specifically to affect how he makes music in the future? These questions only came to me after I watched the topic discussed on The Young Turks this week. Watching their take on the situation drew some empathy for Wayne's situation that I had not previously had. Now I feel there might be something deeper at work here. What do you think?
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