Under PepsiCo, Mountain Dew dropped Lil Wayne over Emmett Till lyric in rap song
A few days after Lil Wayne refused to properly apologize to the family of civil rights icon, Emmett Till for using his name to describe rough sex in a rap lyric, Emmet Till threatened he would pressurize companies to drop any deals they had with Weezy.
The family of Emmett Till asked Lil Wayne for a public apology back in February after the remix for Future’s Karate Chop leaked online containing the lyric, “I’mma beat the p***y up like Emmett Till”
Lil Wayne, 30, had been the face of Mountain Dew’s “Deweezy” campaign, a play on his “Weezy” nickname until now Lil Wayne got dropped by Mountain Dew over Emmett Till lyrics
Lil Wayne wrote an open letter to the family but it obviously wasn’t enough
In a statement released announcing Mountain Dew dropping Lil Wayne over Emmett Till lyric in rap song, PepsiCo said that Wayne’s “offensive reference to a revered civil rights icon does not reflect the values of our brand.”
The PepsiCo said it plans no further work with the rapper.
Lil Tunechi’s publicist, Sarah Cunningham, called the split or rather, Lil Wayne getting dropped by Mountain Dew over Emmett Till lyrics, amicable, in an interview with The Associated Press and said it was due to “creative differences.”
Wayne had sent the Emmet Till and family a letter acknowledging how the lyric may have hurt them, but it came 75 days after the song was released and appeared online before the family received it.
The family said the letter fell short of a formal apology.
Read Till family’s letter and Lil Wayne’s non- apology letter
In and open letter sent to Vibe Magazine, the Estate of Emmett Till writes,
“How would you feel is your child was beaten beyond recognition, body mutilated and disfigured, torchered for hours, unnecessarily shot after being BEATEN TO DEATH, lynched in barbed wire weighted down by a 70 pound cotton gin fan and tossed in a river with intent to never be found again? “
Emmett Till was just a child! Emotional consumption of devastation, sadness grief and anger would impel you to your soul, similar to the response your lyrics evoked from our family. The impact of your words left us in awe with our hearts and our mouths wide open. Your lyrics reopened Emmett Till’s casket and reminded the world but most importantly my family including surviors of
the tragedy, of the gruesomness of hatred and served as a reminder of the loss owe suffered. Although its been over 57 years it feels like yesterday.”
Lil Wayne’s letter to the Till family
Dear Till Family:
As a recording artist, I have always been interested in word play. My lyrics often reference people, places and events in my music, as well as the music that I create for or alongside other artists.
It has come to my attention that lyrics from my contribution to a fellow artist’s song has deeply offended your family. As a father
myself, I cannot imagine the pain that your family has had to endure. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge your hurt, as well as the letter you sent to me via your attorneys.
Moving forward, I will not use or reference Emmett Till or the Till family in my music, especially in an inappropriate manner. I fully
support Epic Record’s decision to take down the unauthorized version of the song and to not include the reference in the version that went to retail. I will not be performing the lyrics that contain that reference live and have removed them from my catalogue.
I have tremendous respect for those who paved the way for the liberty and opportunities that African-Americans currently enjoy. As a business owner who employs several African-American employees and gives philanthropically to organizations that help youth to pursue their dreams my ultimate intention is to uplift rather than degrade our community.
Best,
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr.
Lil Wayne
PepsiCo Drops Rapper Lil Wayne Over Controversial Lyric and right after Reebok Dumped Rick Ross over rape lyrics. This guys need to watch what they say!
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