False Rap Idols and T-Shirts - Chris 'Preach' Smith

Enough is enough is enough.

There's been some flat-out nonsense floating around here that
I feel needs to be addressed. Namely, some people out here with
the slogan 'Free Weezy'. As in Lil Wayne. They're in a distinct
minority, but they're out there and they're serious about making
that statement. Let's examine this situation fully; you want to
protest or attempt to protest for the freedom of someone who
PLED GUILTY to having an illegal firearm on a tour bus? Someone
who, if he didn't know the laws of the different states he's going
to be travelling in, has enough paper to employ people who
should know better? If you're advocating for that, you qualify as
an imbecile in my book.

This is nothing new, of course. When Winona Ryder got caught
trying to boost some new gear for herself in L.A. a few years
back, the 'Free Winona' tees were gag items for the hipsters and
the satirists. But seeing tees for Lil Wayne and even worse, for
Max B, who was involved in a botched robbery and murder, is
flat-out ridiculous. These two dudes are entertainers, RAPPERS.
Not necessarily role models, although Weezy does do his part in
the community, I'll grant him that. But it says something about the
mindstate of some of us out there in the streets. It speaks of
being drawn to fluff and shallowness that can't be easily covered
by oversized shades and tattoos. Especially when you consider
that fifty years ago, people were dying in these same streets
so we could live and breathe as equals in this country. And some
of those individuals are now living out the rest of their lives in
near-solitary confinement. You might have heard of them. Names
like Mumia, Leonard, Mutulu. But they're not crunk enough for
those who'd rather see Max B and his unintelligible style on a
stage somewhere. I could see it for Shyne given his circumstances.
But it's a slap in the face to those in prison, in exile and in the
next life when you have that T-shirt or rock that slogan. Because
for every person who wears it in jest, there's another three that
feel that it's a serious movement. I don't know about you, but I'd
be a bit uncomfortable about such things. And I feel that those
individuals need some re-programming real quick.

Comments

[levar F.M.]

i at least give wayne a bit of respect for owning up to his mistake and accepting his bid like a man. its the ignorant trend-humping that's behind this BS. i play devil's advocate and wonder how people feel when they see kids wearing them tees while thinking back to an era when wearing such a statement for an individual who actually stood for something would probably result in a clubbing via the nightstick of an overzealous racist police officer.