Since Lil Wayne was released from Rikers Island back in 2010 — after doing an eight-month bid for a gun — things with the rapper have been … well, off.
Sure, there have been some glorious moments — like when we first heard “6 Foot 7 Foot” and everyone was marveling at the “real Gs move in silence like lasagna” line — but, for the most part, Wayne’s shortcomings have overwhelmed his strengths.
He got weirder, ditching his rough southern upbringing and embracing a new hybrid hipster/skateboard/Village People persona. But worse than Wayne’s physical appearance changing, the music deteriorated.
2011’s Tha Carter IV was met with yawns after most of the songs had a regurgitated texture to it. The latest installment of Tha Carter was followed by a number of limp guest verses. Things reached a Sarah Palin-type of low when he dropped the disastrous Dedication 4, a project that felt the full fury of Black Twitter upon its release.
What the hell is Wayne doing?
I’m not sure, but I know yesterday Wayne got the best pub he’s gotten in years, when a video of the rapper being cross-examined by a lawyer hit the streets.
The deposition video, which was obtained by TMZ, might be the most normal Wayne we’ve seen in ages. In the videos (there’s two!) we see a defiant Wayne going full on asshole-mode, giving some serious shade to some poor lawyer fella named Pete Ross.
(Quick back-story break: Pete Ross is Quincy Jones III’s lawyer. Lil Wayne is suing Jones over the rights to release a documentary called The Carter, where Jones shadowed Wayne for a couple of months. At first Wayne supported the documentary, but after he saw it and how much it exposed, he said “nay.”)
The deposition really is hilarious, awkward and just so … Wayne.
It was also universally praised. A fact that convinces me that no matter how low his music sinks, we’re always going to have a place in our heart for Wayne.
More than a rapper, Lil Wayne is a showman. Someone who knows how to exaggerate his many characteristics.
He knows better than anyone that we love us some crazy Wayne.
A couple of weeks ago, I praised G.O.O.D. Music for its variety of voices and how different they are from everyone else.
Same thing goes for Wayne.
I do not think that it’s a coincidence that Wayne, who has been lurking around BET since the late ’90s, really got hot at the same time blogs did (around 2006, or so.)
Yes, his musical quantity and quality were at an all-time high, but just as important, we got to see the many faces of Wayne. Sometimes he was happy, sometimes he was moody. Sometimes he was charming, other times he was cold. Every time he did another magazine interview and he spazzed out on Clipse, Jay-Z or a reporter, for really no apparent reason, we had the popcorn ready.
What I enjoy most about Wayne is the metamorphoses we see from Wayne every year or so. Though I didn’t like all shapes of Wayne (rock Wayne was particularly suicide-inducing) I always respected that he wasn’t afraid to be different.
Even as Wayne goes through his current hybrid phase, there’s interest there, sort of like how I would look at a five-legged dog, or something.
In other words, we’re at a point where Wayne matters more than Wayne’s music. Which, trust me, is better than someone caring more about your music, than you.
Dimas S.
Meet me @Twitter @Milkman__Dead
