Emmett Till’s family is not impressed with rapper Lil’ Wayne nor his recent apology for lyrics he made about the murdered young boy that remains a stable figure in civil rights history.
Til was murdered back in 1955 at the age of 14 for looking and whistling at a white woman. On Future‘s “Karate Chop” remix Wayne rhymes, “Beat the p—y up like Emmett Till” .
On Wednesday, following his hospital admittance and release for another seizure, Wayne issued a letter, fist appearing on MissInfo.tv, apologizing for the offensive lyrics.
In his letter Wayne states, “I have tremendous respect for those who paved the way for the liberty and opportunities that African-Americans enjoy.”
Unfortunately Till’s family didn’t think his letter and apology was sufficient. Wayne failed to use the actual words, ‘I’m sorry‘, in his letter according to a Till family representative.
“While it’s commendable that he has vowed to respect the legacy of Emmett Till and his memory to ‘not use or reference Emmett Till or the Till family in his music,’ this statement falls short of an apology, as none is mentioned,” Airicka Gordon-Taylor, the family rep told TMZ on Wednesday.
At the time that Wayne’s lyrics first emerged, the family threatened to put pressure on all corporate sponsors affiliated with the rapper if he did not issue an apology. in an attempt to fire him.
Now that Wayne has issued one, and the family is still left disappointed, there is no word on whether they’ll continue with their initial threats.
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3 Comments
SMH…Till family has every right to be upset
That family do has every right to be upset but how are you gonna say his apology wasn’t good enough????
Because he didn’t actually apologize. No “I’m sorry” or “I apologize”. Not anywhere. It’s bloody brazen if you ask me.
But he did “take a moment to acknowledge your hurt, as well as the letter you sent to me via your attorneys.” LOL. Which is why he is responding publicly.