By: Amanda Anderson-Niles
Lil Wayne is now the second rapper to lose a multimillion dollar endorsement in the last couple of months as a result of offensive lyrics, as he lost his Mountain Dew endorsement because of his disrespectful lyric surrounding the violent beating and murder of Emmett Till. Although Lil Wayne did acknowledge the Till Family in a statement submitted to the media, the Till family made it known to the Associated Press they were not impressed by the letter because he didn’t apologize. After the Till family called for a meeting with Lil Wayne, Mountain Dew and Rev. Al Sharpton; the company decided to just end its partnership with the rapper. Airickca Gordon-Taylor, Executive Director of the Mamie Till Mobley Foundation, says in a statement sent to AllHipHop that she is happy the soda company has decided to sever ties with Lil Wayne:
“Back in February, when I first heard the lyrics, I was in utter shock, disappointment and sadness. Just as Mamie Till Mobley didn’t endure the pain of losing Emmett Till alone, many people have stood in solidarity with our family, even if it wasn’t the most popular stand to take.
“The road less traveled is surely not the easiest but standing for your principles provides the endurance needed to fight for human and civil rights. This decision was monumental, we commend Mountain Dew for taking action towards better social responsibility, and now I finally feel that we can exhale and focus on our beloved Mamie Till Mobley’s charge, ‘Let’s get on with the business of positive thinking and living.'”
Simeon Wright, an eyewitness to Emmett Till’s kidnapping, says he was shocked the soda company decided to drop the rapper for his controversial lyric:
“This is beyond my expectations, I’m pleased that it happened and it shouldn’t waited for public outcry. Anything that belittles or degrades the memory of Emmett Till shouldn’t be in the public square. Racism is still out there. Whatever you listen too, whatever you do, get an education. Don’t let this system destroy you.”
Well I’m glad their voices were heard. The good thing is, so many of these young people are know learning about a part of civil rights they should have learned about in school. Something positive came out of something negative.
*Now, not know
#Truth
Hopefully, now these rappers see you can’t say disrespectful things and keep your endorsement deals.
I think this has opened up my eyes to see how different the younger generation is. A lot of them didn’t even know who Emmett Till is! That’s scary and sad!
Girl! I just couldn’t believe they didn’t know who he was! We learned about Emmett in school!!!! WTH!
I’m from Barbados and we learned a lot of African American history in school since it is so closely entwined with slavery and our roots in Africa. I was horrified by the general indifference shown by many in this community, not just over the offensive lyrics, but by the lack of knowledge of who Emmitt Till was. I had a very frank discussion with my 15-year old daughter where we discussed his brief life and pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement. I’m happy to say that this has caused her to rethink her love for Lil Wayne and to pay more attention to his lyrics. She has now begun to skip/delete his songs on her playlists.
Smart rappers keep their endorsement deals. LOL.
The right thing was done by Mountain Dew. This is why you always stand up for what is right, even if a lot of people don’t see the big deal.
I’m still going to boycott Lil Wayne and every other rapper who is speaking poison into our communities. Now we see what hurts them, hitting them in their pockets! Let’s not stop here. More needs to be done.
Agreed!
That little boy was beaten and tortured you never make light of a situation like that Lil Wayne . Then he has the audacity to be reluctant to apologize. I’m happy for Emmit Till’s family.
Another company will pick him up and he will still sell records.
Dey done dropped Lil Weezy and he ain’t even kno it.
Who is Emmit Till.