The family of Emmett Till asked Lil Wayne for a public apology back in February after the remix for Future's Karate Chop leaked online containing the lyric, "I'mma beat the p***y up like Emmett Till"
Lil Wayne ignored Till's family until earlier this week when they threatened to put pressure on Mountain Dew and Weezy's other sponsors to drop him.
Lil Wayne wrote an open letter to the family but it obviously wasn't enough as Mountain Dew's parent company PepsiCo just released a statement saying; “We do not plan any additional work with Lil Wayne moving forward. His offensive reference to a revered civil rights icon does not reflect the values of our brand” and cut all ties with the rapper.
Read Till family's letter and Lil Wayne's non-apology letter after the cut...
In and open letter sent to Vibe Magazine, the Estate of Emmett Till writes,
“How would you feel is your child was beaten beyond recognition, body mutilated and disfigured, torchered for hours, unnecessarily shot after being BEATEN TO DEATH, lynched in barbed wire weighted down by a 70 pound cotton gin fan and tossed in a river with intent to never be found again? “
Emmett Till was just a child! Emotional consumption of devastation, sadness grief and anger would impel you to your soul, similar to the response your lyrics evoked from our family. The impact of your words left us in awe with our hearts and our mouths wide open. Your lyrics reopened Emmett Till’s casket and reminded the world but most importantly my family including surviors of the tragedy, of the gruesomness of hatred and served as a reminder of the loss owe suffered. Although its been over 57 years it feels like yesterday."
Lil Wayne's letter to the Till family
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
87 comments:
I knew it would get to this.@ least a lesson is learnt.
LIL WAYNE... ONE OF THE BEST RAPPER ALIVE. lol!
#BBPINDATE.COM
This is getting interesting! From Rick Ross now to Wizzy, looks like rappers would have to scrutinise lyrics a lot now. But then, its rap remember? That's what's lyrics of the rap genre are known for.
Nice apology from Wizzy's camp.
Abeg make we hear word jare. The Till family should take a chill pill. He's an artist playing with words FFS!
For you people that don't know. Emmett till was a young Mississippi boy that was beating and killed for dating a white woman.thank me later
*beaten
He did not date a white woman, he allegedly flirted with her in her shop...her hubby and other fam members lynched Emmett...
We know!afterall google is our friend.
They should leave wayne alone! After all he wrote a letter and appologised! Mtchew!!!
I don't get it, why they saying he didn't apologise ni? His letter sounds very mature sincere and heartfelt to me. Wat else do they want him to do? Hang himself? All these ppl sef and their too much senrenre
@rnc u re talkin stupid,imagine is ur father or ur luv one dey abuse like dat,wuld u jst say he jst playin wt word. U must b black africa bastard. Fake nigga
My dear, Emmett Till did not date a white woman. He was a 14yr old boy who was accused of flirting with a 21yr old married woman at her grocery store. Get ur facts strait bikonu.
So many busy-bodies sha. #rme and walking by very fast before they chop my head off.
He is very stupid! Is that supposed to be an apology? What an ass!
As for Mountain Dew, this action against was probably only taken because Pepsi Co is also in hot water for its tasteless (excuse the pun), racist goat advert. It's probably all in a bid suck up to consumers.
Is this what you got from the post. "Lol" "Best rapprochement Alive". Your Head is messed up. You e an idiot, I suggest you scroll up and read the post once more before laughing about using the gruesome murder of a child to reference rough sex
May God forgive you
keep stealing news from yahoo VERBATIM!!. No news tatafo for naija again...
u right... flirted... that dude saying date, how can an eight year old DATE ...... Linda,, a word of advice.. go study NOTJUSTOK...and see D COMMENT SECTION..there should be a reply section directly under people's comments ..... Take note!!!!
Rick Ross now Lil Wayne hmmmm other brand ambassadors should take note and be careful.
9ice appologi. Indeed a nice one..
lol..@ beating instead of beaten....some folks on here though...after u go say u no get job.... poor speeling and grammer !!!
Just went on wiki to read the story, initially I thought Wanye's apology was ok, but after reading the details(wiki) I just have to say....it was insensitive and disrespectful to use Till in his lyrics like dat. and to imagine he was born and breed in US and dis is part of his history....mtchewwwwww
I knew u ve never heard abt d song before bitch.
*tears in ma eyes as d name is being recalled* (E.T. RIP)
ITK anon 12:27pm -the past tense of beating is beaten!u sef thank me later.
What about 'his offensive reference' to other people and things?
This is what happens when you make ILLITERATES RICH.....and an idiot above commented that its just lyric ..no its not!...if someone calls you an idiot would you ignore it because its just a word?........if these rappers went to school nonsense like this wont happen.....using a civil rights icon or one of the people who motivated the civil rights song and tarnishing his name in a nonsensical sexual form is not art ...it is stupidity......the stupid fans of these rappers should stop saying its just rap ......
RNC you are so insensitive to make that comment. You are an ignorant ape, who is probably uncouth and uncultured. How would you feel if a member of your family was lynched at the age of 12yrs for whistling at a white woman. And then someone mocks his death in a song, how would you feel, dumb ass moron. Can't stand uneducated people yuck.
See pot calling kettle black.beaten IS NOT the past tense of beating....check your english textbook......linda post dis for him/her to see ooo
Its "spelling" and not "speeling" Mr Jobberman
Poor "speeling"??? Its "spelling" PLS!! Pot calling kettle black.
Recalling the story i read about E.T brings tears to my eyes.
Gosh, whites are so despicable!!
Go read Black Boy, you'd know what i'm talking about.
Those that listen to Lil wayne are retards.
Bloody bastard.
I don't get it they think becos they spit some lame rhyme and it sells and dey becom superstar and they get endorsement deals it gives them the right to shit on icons in their rhymes first rozay went of board with his molly lines now its wizzy the epileptic clown that has multiple seizures each time he takes a puff on the herb its a good thing they kicked his arse they think they cant go from rich to zero
lil wayne is an imbecile for even referencing that story...being from new orleans he should even know better. Although searching any rap artiste's old songs for ill-concieved lyrics will produce results...this looks like a lynching by corporate america...turning mountains into mole hills to overturn the endorsements of big black entertainers like rick ross etc. Has anyone ever listened closely to what the heavy metal/rock peeps say in their songs...necrophilia,cropophelia etc
Exactly what I thought. His letter was absolutely perfect and showed remorse... The way I see it they dropped him cos the damage with the lyrics was already done and not cos he didn't apologise enough...
Where is the apology in the stupid letter from lil Wayne's camp. Nonsense
Shut up fool... Lil wayne is smarter than u'll ever ever be. Nigga was a stright A's student. Abi u think making great rap music is possible without education and exposure?... He made a mistake and we all do. So take a chill pill or jump off a cliff and die or something... Hediot
See who is talking about someone else's grammar ?... "Speeling"...??..Grammer????! !oversabi go kill all of una for this blog.!!..ITK!!!
Bruv!, I'm sure say diz ur own english go get u nice job wella....lolz...."Poor speeling and grammer"..LMFAO!
Bruv!, I'm sure say diz ur own english go get u nice job wella....lolz...."Poor speeling and grammer"..LMFAO!
Just what to expect when intellectuals are pushed down the food chain and entertainers(for what really?) are made ambassadors.
Glo should take note and act wisely. They could spend the money sponsoring education like cowbell is doing.
Poor "speeling"?you are one to talk!
Som libers sef & dia i.t.k, ....i bow.! Emmett Till was actually a 14yr old boy hu flirted wit a 21yr old married white woman, after which d husband of d said woman, beat Till, mercilessly, gougin out one of his eyes, weightin him wit a heavy fan den threw him in a river...d murderers wia acquitted by an all-white-jury,, which made d story even mor pathetic & Till became a worldwide phenomenon for civil right activist..
So yu can imagine hw d family must hav felt hearin lilwayne make lyrics lik "i'ma beat dat pussy up lik emmett till"..
Obi
@anon 1:31 na bcos of people lyk u phyno sing ghost mode- a mad man calling anoda mad man a mad man.
1. The word "beating" is a present tense and cannot have a past tense.
2. The past tense of the verb "beat" is "beat".
3. "beaten" is the past participle of "beat"
Don't thank me later
#DefenderOfTheOppressed
That was not a fucking apology! Did he say am sorry? if u want to see apology, compare this with what Rick Ross wrote then ask yourself if wat dis asshole wrote is a proper apology. Imagine the pomposity of the letter. Mshewww play with words my ass...it is very very tasteless comparing the gruesome details surrounding Emmett death & tagging it rape! it was never said nor recorded that he raped the woman in ques, he reportedly flirted with her, it was never proven and even if he did, what is the correlation between that & lil wayne lyrics? Not only Pepsico, every sponsor out there should drop his lousy ass. He needs to really go back & look into that mirror he sang about. Uchu
When I first heard about this wizzy's song, I had to google Emmett Till, the picture alone is heart breaking! It won't kill him to apologize, he should know better.
The story of Emmett Till's death is so so sad and cannot be trivialised! Makes it worse that it was based on racism, lil Wayne being an African American should know better.. It's rap, we know, but what does it tell the new generations about what several activists have had sleepless nights on- Racism
Another Rick Ross with a different menu.
I wonder how matured(not only matured in age but in foolishness too)RNC listens to such music... @ ur age u still listen to sex and drugs? God have mercy!!!
I'm replying now, isn't it?
@ anonymous 12.38pm abi o!
Anonymous 1.12pm, check your SPELLING too.
All ya please chill..Wane fucked up bt I believed tried to apologies bt dis will stay as a lesson to rappers to mind der lyrics even wen high.
Just to show how humility pays!
Na spelling no be "speeling" ITK.lol
That serves him right....and moreover, that's not an apology.......he should av thought of it b4 opening that his rotten mouth †̥ÏŒ̲̣̣̣̥ rap shit about a brother........Ω̴̩̩̩̥α so them they loose their senses after too much smoking! Anu ohia
only ross will support dat
ROTFLMAO... Oooh dear!!!! And u were correcting someone's #gbagaun. Sweetie it's "spelling and grammar"! Go get yourself "brighter grammar" it works like magic. U're welcome
Anon 12:2z and 1:31, it's not 'the past tense of beating' but, 'the past tense of BEAT'. Now, all of u, thank me.
*sad* RIP Till.
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He ran out of lyrics.*fool* thats what happens when people use their brain 2 draw tatoos.u don't have any right 2 disrepect the dead especially not a young boy who's life was cut short in such a grusome manner.
@ anon 1.12 it's "spellin" and "grammar". Teacher no teach me nonsense
Linda, please when next you post a story like this, try to put a little background information. For example, you could have written a few lines on who Emmett Till was. That way, ignorant people will not come here and say insensitive things about Till and his family. I can understand White people making these ignorant and callous comments about Till and his family. However, it is horrifying to know that it is black people(Nigerians) who are making these wicked comments. Thank you.
Lil wayne was totaly insensitive to have used Emmett Till in reference to dirty sexual activity.incase u don't understand why,just read up the story of emmett on wiki.he even called that an apology?,dude is such a jerk.Lyrics my arse!
"speeling"?????
"grammer"??????
My dear "English Teacher", those words are spelt as SPELLING & GRAMMAR!!!!
Thank Me NOW for saving your butt!
Wat was Wizzy thinkin in d 1st place....#mouthopenedinawe
@1:12pm,mumu wey dey laff person wey no fit spell....na "spelling and grammar" not the rubbish u wrote
Anony 1: 11pm na true u talk! Linda take note
Best rapper my foot,wetin him dey rap sef.mtwsssss
Teacher Okoro! You wey come get job de 'speel', abi? 'Spell' it is. And also dont use the 'urban' dictionary to change the spelling of 'grammar' to 'grammer'. Thank you
I actually feel he has apologized readng this sha. Abi do they want to hear the word 'sorry' from him?? Ngwa nu bros, tell them sorry. E no hard but e hard to say.
I actually feel he has apologized readng this sha. Abi do they want to hear the word 'sorry' from him?? Ngwa nu bros, tell them sorry. E no hard but e hard to say.
It's all simple guys. Wayne did a wrong thing and didn't apologize fully. All he did was to acknowledge the fact that he did a wrong thing. Think about this... What if one of Wayne's family members suffered such fate, would he (Wayne) feel great if such person is used as some *sick* reference?
did u say non-apology?? people make mistakes, Lil Wayne did. and apologising is not just a single word of sorry, it's not what you do in a hurry. Reading lil Wayne's letter, he took time to acknowledge the hurt he must have caused & promised to make amends. that's a good apology Linda.
He did wrong, he let a lot down, and prolly wrote that letter to fulfill all righteousness...what bothers me is this: are our voices heard or what's the reason for aiming each other's throat aNd over-scrutinizing and analyzing things...*sips vodka*
Lil wayne iS a graduate of artS or Sumfin in uni of miami, So he aint an illiterate cos he went to skl. And I believe he has tendered a hrt felt apology to Show remorse for his action. He's human, bound to make MStakes. It is only eScalated becoS he is a star.
Mr/mrs english correcter must b d worsw
linda, Emmet Till was not a civil rights activist! He was a young boy tortured, killed and his eyes gouged out for winking at a white guy's wife. Kindly get ur facts right before misleading people.
He is d best aliv u, u too cause self and he dosnt care , lyk he said "datz his fucking problem and they drop him and he aint Got no worries
How ignorant i love lil wayne but he went to far emment till was beaten nd kill by white men and he got the nerve to laugh in the back ground. His apology dont even sound right so disapointed ib him.
How ignorant i love lil wayne but how could u say that about a black boy geti.g beat torched lynched and shot. Then after the lyric he laughing about it. His apology sound like a bunch a bullshit he really disapointed me.
Linda always update your blog pepsi-co has finally settled with lil wayne over the misunderstanding and he is still promoting mountain dew.
Emmett Till's death was a major turning point for civil right liberties in the USA. Lil Wayne's lyrical diatribe was beyond words. The child was killed at age 14!!! for crying out freaking loud. How warped can society be.Now he has to play around with words looking for an apology.when society condones words like 'B*****s' and nigg**s , limits would surely be tested
Emmett Till's death was a major turning point for civil right liberties in the USA. Lil Wayne's lyrical diatribe was beyond words. The child was killed at age 14!!! for crying out freaking loud. How warped can society be.Now he has to play around with words looking for an apology.when society condones words like 'B*****s' and nigg**s , limits would surely be tested
GLO spends money doing d right things alwedy. So calm d fuck down "mr-i-too-know".
Whether lil wayne apologized enuf or not, he deserves d boot from moutain dew for using such in his lyric in d first place. Iv neva heard of Emmettt b4 now, but as a mother I can't imagine how it wud feel if it was my son. As far as I'm concerned, lil wayne deserves more. Mscheewwww
i have never listened to these two ignorance fools lil Wayne and Rick Ross and i never will, they have proved they are as ignorant as their stupid,lucid and baseless lyrics, more of them will fall........One day the real rap music will get its place back when these stupid white folks realize this stupid party/ booze /sex clad music is not what hip hop is about....for real rap music please google jay electronica, odyssey, common and pro crew era for instance.....THE GREMLIN HAS SPOKEN!
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