I know it’s a given. You all are probably saying “well, duh Jukeboxx!” but NO…I’ve been listening to this man since before Juvenile’s 400 Degreez. His underground music back in the day didn’t have the extreme mysogyny that it has today (or the complete lack of common sense aside from the random clever bars, which include something about life being a bitch and how he should fuck her, screw her or etc.). Nor did he have the recurring theme about his love for lighter skinned women and disrespect for the darker ones. It was a little more about being a gangsta in a different way, in a way in which you could tell he wasn’t really one (lol). This is evident in his first solo album.
I stopped listening to Lil’ Wayne after the Carter II. Nevertheless, I chose to give his music a chance for my choreography. I began listening to his new music and became more disappointed. The beats are cold….but damn those lyrics. They made me think back to when he started to change- (the industry, their agenda and their demands are evident- but that’s a whole ‘notha topic!). Lil Wayne is smart, witty and clever. He has a sharp mind (“mind so sharp I fuck around and cut my head off”) and it shines in his metaphors. Sometimes I don’t catch his metaphors and the way he plays with syntax. For me that is a sign of a dope emcee (Black thought is a good example of an emcee that does this). He approaches emceeing in ways that I have never heard before. His flow is impeccable and he has a style like no other.
So here is my very, very mini-analysis:
A few quotes from some of his most recent music (song/lyrics)- And yes, I talk back:
She Will (I mean, just look at the title)- “Karma is a bitch but just make sure that bitch is beautiful”
“I already know that life is deep, but I still dig her”
“I like my girl face south and her ass north”
I Don’t Like the Look of It – “you can catch me poolside at Dwayne Wade’s house with a high yellow thick bitch with
with her legs out”
We Like Her Too– “I like a long-haired thick red bone”
“I wish I could fuck every girl in the world”…even your daughter???
6 foot 7 foot– “Life is a bitch and death is her sister”
Mega Man– “Well if life is a bitch then I’m a gold-digger”
Gonorrhea– “Life’s a bitch, naw better yet a dumb broad”
“Pussy ass nigga I don’t want your gonorrhea”
“you’s a bitch like zeta phi beta muthafucka”- for the sorority people
“yeah we in this bitch, like tampons”
I’m Me- “niggas is bitches, bitches I think they full of estrogen”
A Milli– “A millionaire I’m a young money millionaire tougher than Nigerian hair”
“I’m a venereal disease like a menstrual bleed”
“Sicilian bitch wit long hair wit coke in her derriere”
“But you like a bitch wit no ass you aint got shit” – So if we have no ass we mean NOTHING. Explains the craze for butt implants and weight gain to keep a “butt.”
“Tony told us this world was ours, and the bible told us every girl was sour”
Right above it– ” Women are possessive and they wanna possess Wayne”
“uh, how do he say what’s never said beautiful black woman I bet that bitch look betta red”
Bill Gates- ” Weezy fuck the world yep I fuck it till it ovulate. Take her to the crib get in that pussy and just dominate”
Up, Up and Away- “Flow so raw this beat is pregnant flow so tight its yeast infected Kill ‘em all when they least
expect it, money tall, Lisa Leslie”
“Woman up in my sheets is sexy, if she ain’t fucking she can exit”
“Ain’t this a bitch, I just saw my bitch kiss a bitch You’re lucky I don’t kill your ass but you can
still get pistol whipped”
“Skinny jeans, red Vans, skully on, money long Her mouth is like my house, so I guess you
can say I’m coming home”
“I be with niggas took lives and niggas that’ll take it outside And niggas that’ll take it to your
crib, take the baby out the crib and rape housewives”
As you can read, Lil’ Wayne is exceptional with misogyny in unimaginable ways. One could actually use his lyrics to teach a history class on the origins of sexism and misogyny- he references many things such as the bible “…and the bible told us every girl was sour.” However paradoxically, he has a few lines that use femininity in an empowering way that I sometimes wish women would use in their bars.This is also what I feel about bgirls, being able to use these ideas as burns in battle ( this is what my thesis is about).
Mega Man- “boy I send them bloods atcho’ ass like a tampon”
Abortion- “We in the belly of the beast and she thinking ’bout abortion”
There’s only so much I can take, the beats just aren’t worth all that. I know it’s been said over and over again but…I urge ALL, especially women and girls to really listen to what he’s saying (and ALL other emcees for that matter), analyze it and decide if you want to continue listening and supporting pure hatred and the complete degradation of women.