WEEZY GOT HIS PARDON. HOW WILL HIP-HOP RESPOND?

I started getting text messages 48-hours ago that read: “Lil Wayne is on the list for a Trump pardon. See, it all makes sense now.”

Let me start this post by being very clear: If I were facing federal jail time and a picture with Trump would get me a pardon, I’d do it too. I get it.

BUT am I to believe that it was all an act? Weezy was playing the semi-long game to get a pardon out of Trump and clear him of federal gun charges that he’d pleaded guilty to last year and was facing sentencing.

Well, the truth is, Wayne can claim victory. He got his pardon in the final hours of the Trump administration (along with Kodak Black and Steve Bannon). He is a free man. And all he had to do was throw everyone that looked like him and anyone that respected hip-hop culture out the boat to save himself. (Which again, I would have done myself.)

When you think about it, it had to be a pretty easy decision for Tunechi. Throughout his professional career, Wayne has made it very clear that he’s the star of his own show and will forever come first when it comes to Wayne vs. hip-hop culture. Saddling up to the Trump train fits the pattern of problematic statements and actions that Wayne has accumulated over the last decade-plus. So, am I surprised? No. I’m more surprised Trump granted the pardon. But when I think about that, issuing a pardon to Wayne fits Trump’s standards of operation too. Clear a few high profile rappers and call it a day for the Black community.

The real question is: How will hip-hop respond to Wayne now?

Will his connection to Trump impact his career at all? Wayne recently sold part of his masters to Universal Music Group for an undisclosed amount (most outlets reported around $100 million). Up until the Trump photo of 2020, Wayne had survived the many dumb things he said about the Black community and hip-hop culture on the strength of his music. Is this any different?

Only time will tell if hip-hop fans will be lined around the block for the next Weezy album. Don’t forget The Carter III went platinum in a week, back in 2008. It helps that Wayne’s fans seem to skew younger as he gets older. Very similar to another hip-hop creative with an inconsistent allegiance to Black people and hip-hop culture, Kanye West. Hip-hop fans that are Wayne’s age seemed to have aged out sometime after the mixtape Weezy days. But they were replaced with a younger crop of fans that seem more loyal to hypebeast culture than music. It hard for me to call the younger generation of Wanye and Yeezy fans true hip-hop fans but that could be me just showing my age and bias, right?

So just to recap, if you’re keeping score it’s Wayne: Free – Hip-hop: Ugh.

#WESEEIT