New York: Please stop making examples of celebrities like Lil Wayne

First Plaxico, now the rap star. Not cool. Thanks in part to New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, the state has some of the strictest laws on the books when it comes to gun possession. Plaxico Burress at least shot off his gun before he got a two-year jail sentence for gun possession. Unfortunately for Lil Wayne, though, he was nicked with “attempted gun possession” and will face as much as a year. As a non-resident of the state, he was unaware of the law, but simply being unaware of the law is not a good enough reason. Not that we’re suggesting he should’ve been in possession of the gun, but jail time for this is unbelievable. For shame, New York state. source

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This is still a concession to homophobia, but one that enables a less rigid definition of the hip-hop self than we’ve seen before. It’s far from a coup, but, in a way, it’s progress.
Slate columnist Jonah Weiner • Who’s obviously thought way too hard about the role of homophobia in hip-hop. While it’s always been there, the latest mutation, the use of the phrase “no homo,” seems to at least offer a degree of wiggle room. “No homo tweaks this dynamic because it allows, implicitly,” he says, “that rap is a place where gayness can in fact be expressed by the guy on the mic, not just scorned in others.” Cam’ron, Lil’ Wayne and Kanye West (who has made statements denouncing homophobia) have all spouted the phrase on record. Is it really a turning point? • source

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They might think they’ve got a pretty good jump shot or a pretty good flow, but our kids can’t all aspire to be the next LeBron or Lil Wayne. I want them aspiring to be scientists and engineers, doctors and teachers, not just ballers and rappers.
President Barack Obama • Speaking at last night’s NAACP 100th anniversary dinner. The president has largely avoided taking on issues of race in his presidency, letting his actions speak for themselves, but spoke openly about the racial divide at the dinner, saying “the pain of discrimination is still felt in America.” But of all the comments he made, this one strikes the hardest. Obama isn’t saying that either LeBron or Lil Wayne are bad on their own, but they set terrible examples for children. You don’t want to lean too hard on the “scientists or engineers” angle here, but he has a solid point. • source

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The “milli”-selling rapper plans to make his next album a rock album. Really. source

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Lil’ Wayne’s “Tha Carter III” sold 2.87 million copies. source

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22 Oct 2009 21:50