(ThyBlackMan.com) Rap began as genre of music to not only to express happiness and fun and partying but also a genre of music to express anguish, strife, and struggle. The genre in its truest form is either loved for telling the truth or derided for over-exaggerating conditions some don’t want to believe are real. In the nearly three decades since the first emcees rocked party’s in Brooklyn rap has gone through many transformations as it’s become mainstream American culture instead of counter or sub-culture. These transformations have been as much geographic as they have been aural. The transformation that sticks out the most, and is often heavily criticized is the mainstream rise of Southern rap. The King of that game none other than Cash Money/Young Money emcee Lil Wayne.
Both of my parents were born and raised in New Orleans. My mother in the 9th ward. My father uptown. To say the Crescent City is a second home is an 
understatement. Kindredly it is my home. I have an affinity for all things cajun culture and that includes the music. When Cash Money broke through the rap ranks in 1995 all eyes were on Juvenile. My earliest memory of Wayne is his verse on Juvenile’s 1999 hit “Back That Ass Up.” Wayne’s was the verse that you lived for. He gave us the gem “drop it like it’s hot.”
From there Lil Wayne gave us “Bling Bling” the term and the song. When he dropped his solo album Tha Block is Hot, the title single was everywhere. Though one of my favorite Lil Wayne collabs is with the 504 Boyz. His final verse on “Hot Girl” is everything; extremely hype, raunchy, and dirty south supreme.
I’m not the biggest Lil Wayne fan, I more prefer his features than his actual projects but I vibe too him often.
His backstory, a gifted student taken in by Cash Money at 9, high school dropout at 14 to focus on music and his meteoric rise to the top of the hip hop charts may not be something every parent wants for their child — especially considering his recent prison time on gun charges and numerous arrests for drug possession. But as far as hip-hop stories go, Lil Wayne epitomizes everything the genre is about.
Like the emcees glorified in VH1’s recent Rock doc Planet Rock: The Story of Hip Hop and the Crack Generation, Lil Wayne is every bit the rags to riches rapper full of determination and a dream to do something many around him may not have believed he can do.
Influenced by his hometown sound, infused with humor, and metaphors many don’t get Wayne raps with a level of skill it takes most rappers a few years to master. When you hear Lil Wayne on a track with Jay-Z, Kanye, or Andre 3000 he’s not out of place dropping a whack 16. In my opinion; him tag teaming with The Throne and the creative mind of Outkast makes him better.
Like it or not Lil Wayne’s image is pervasive beyond the genre of hip-hop. He is a role model for young men and wanna be rappers to emulate. He is among the cream of the crop when it comes to #winning. Yet he also went back to school to earn his GED and even tried college to further his education. He’s business minded expanding the brand that made him who he is and offering the same opportunities to a new group of emcees; i.e. Nicki Minaj and Drake.
With several children by several women and the aforementioned arrests and prison stint many will take these transgressions and use them to write Lil Wayne off as another triflin’ rapper saying nothing of any importance. Always claiming to say something significant, but turning around and rapping about money, hoes, and rims again. (Word to Kanye) But that’s where we have to bring it back to the music.
Lil Wayne’s single from Tha Carter IV “How to Love” has a positive message for girls and women everywhere. The video is even more poignant. Whether you like Lil Wayne’s emo rap singing you can’t deny the lyrics. If Lyfe Jennings sang them they’d be gospel for some. The same goes for his verse on Outkast’s “Hollywood Divorce” from Idlewild. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina Lil Wayne channeled the loss of the only home he’d known since birth into a 16 bar second line afforded all the pomp and circumstance due to the Big Easy.
Lil Wayne’s talent is undeniable even as many will question his character. But intent and true heart is best judged by action. One of which that stands out is the founding of the One Family Foundation. Located in Miami Beach, the organization seeks to help underprivileged and underserved children dare to dream even if that dream is to become the Greatest Rapper Alive at 11.
The words conflicted genius are often used to describe some of the greatest artistic minds. Miles Davis, Michael Jackson, R.Kelly (loosely). For Lil Wayne his ingenuity is genius and there is no conflict about it.
Staff Writer; Nikesha Leeper
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