Obama References Lil' Wayne

Time :

As Karen notes below, Barack Obama crossed the pop culture/politics divide today by praising Lil' Wayne's rhyming ability at a campaign event in Powder Springs, Georgia. Before dismissing this development as trivia, consider that Lil' Wayne is both the most acclaimed rapper of 2008 and one of the biggest pop culture figures in the nation, with a song, Lollipop, that is #2 on the Billboard charts four months after its release and an album that sold 423,000 copies on its first day in stores. Add to this the fact that Weezy, as he sometimes calls himself, is perfectly willing to rap about politics, albeit crudely.

Take the lyrics of Lollipop, the aforementioned song which, if you have not yet heard on the radio, then your children certainly have. As is the habit of most modern Hip Hop, it is a song of sexual conquest, with Lil' Wayne boasting of his ability to attract women and enjoy their company. Not so interesting, you think? Check out this set of lyrical couplets.

Read the whole story: Time

Comments

[Zoolie]

A big deal about nothing!!

I watched the speech. Obama was talking about kids dropping out of school. He was telling kids no matter how well you play basketball, you;re not going to be an NBA star. And no matter how well you think you rap, you're not going to be the next Lil' Wayne.

Obama was just telling kids they need an education. Why does everything he says have to have a hidden meaning?

[utd]

Didn't the Supreme Court tell us to stop being idiots about rap lyrics like 20 years ago?

[Quotidien]

Who's Lil' Wayne?

I feel old.

[fair1234]

Obama was telling kids to follow their dreams and stay in school. I hate MSM for trying to twist everything Obama does.Someone needs to do something about MSM and I am ashamed of huffpo for encouraging this!

[Quitcherbichin]

I think BO should begin airing TV and radio spots where he conveys his message via rapping. It would guarantee his defeat in November.

[lisak2008]

quitcherbichin

[LuvDaH8ters]

lmao!!

[JMBrodie]

Only because he probably got no skillz.

It he can rap, you'd have to rank it up there with Bill on the sax.

[walk0nwalls]

Can. Not. Stand. Lil Wayne.

There's a reason I've stopped listening to all rappers on MTV.

[JAsonMA]

lol I hear you...
His new album is interesting though, definitely not for the faint of heart!

[Mdazes]

WHAT? Obama better be careful with this Pop Culture. Lil Wayne is not the guy you take home to meet your parents.

[lisak2008]

That's not his point. Right now, Lil' Wayne is supposed to be the hottest rapper out there, at least that's what my 14 year old son and his friends say. I have never played this guy on the radio and my son doesn't have a radio. Yet, he knows this guy's music. He said he heard it in school from kids with ipods/mp3s during lunch, probably watches the videos when he gets home. Kids now want to be this fugly rapper because he has money and a lot of good looking, half-naked girls in his videos. They want that too. I just looked him up on youtube. As ignorant as that guy sounds, he most definitely leads kids to believe that they don't need an education to get where HE is.

[laborgrunt]

Obama didn't say anything about inviting Weezy over for Pasta and Meatballs. Get a grip.
He told kids to not drop of school, because the odds are that they won't get as big or famous as Lil Wayne. He didn't say Wayne was good, he simply said for kids to not strive to become him.

[ohiodem250]

This article never quotes exactly what Obama says about Lil' Wayne or the context in which he said it. Not that I care anyway...I'm just bored at work.

[LittleSanityLeft]

Lil Wayne the best rapper alive? You've got to be kidding he can't even hold CaniBus's piss pot. Mainstream media says it then you know it's wrong.

Get educated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZeIqklHnew

[LeaveArtieAlone]

OK, Wow I have no idea who CaniBus is either!

The day where I would say “the music of today.......” came sooner than I thought. :-)

[Clevelanded]

Feel not bad, for Canibus is hardly the music of today. He rhymes well and is a good lyricist, but just makes music no one too much likes. Try Talib Kweli or Common or one of Kanye's first two albums.

[lisak2008]

I know. Doesn't this make you feel old? I remember when I was hip. Now, I just feel old. CaniBus? Really?

[deeliz]

I like his song off the album that disses LL. The song talks about when his mom was pregnant with him. Whats the name of that song?

[evekendall]

Dan Abrams of MSNBC has a segment on his show called "Why America Hates Washington."

Someone should come up with an entire show called "Why America Hates the Main Stream Media."

[legoh]

Please change the headline. "Obama tells kids to stay in school" would be better don't you think?

Huff - Don't become part of the problem.

[bmsrosmuc]

weird, when I heard Obama suggest to the kids that thier education was important and that in thier heads they may think they were the next great NBA player or a rapper like Lil wayne, I took away a message that getting a good education was going to give them more out of life. Weird, I just keep misunderstanding Obama's secret messages, must be getting old. :)

Obama '08/12

[1oneWON]

Lil Wayne is a disgrace to hip hop. He's a terrible lyricist ever. Do you want a political rapper? Check out Immortal Technique. Actually, I think people on Huffington Post would LOVE Immortal Technique. He just came out with a new album called The 3rd World like 2 weeks ago.

[305Rider]

Damn, I thought I was the only one here that heard about Immortal Technique. Speaking of the 3rd World here's the title track:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBTFUl3RjQk

[tds1273]

Ugh, so many intelligent rappers he could cite.

Blue Scholars
Saul Williams
Lupe Fiasco
Mos Def
Talib Kwali
Sage Francis
Immortal Technique
The Coup


...among many others. These guys are so much more skilled with their words and metaphores. They're also very socially conscious and smart to boot. You could learn more from a single play through of any one of their albums than you could from watching a weeks worth of the news. Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, Souljaboy any of the garbage rap you see on eMpTV is merely what old rich white men think hiphop should be.

[Obama08Supporter]

Well, I don't like rap but something must be good about his rapping, if he can sell that many records, I'd say a lot of people think he is a good rapper. Go figure.

[tds1273]

Good marketing. Impressionable youth.

Corporations not going broke by underestimating the intelligence of the American people.

That many people buy Brittney Spears, Ashley Simpson, Milli Vanilli, etc.. albums they can't be that bad right?

That many people watch Faux News they can't be that bad right?

[deeliz]

dead prez
Strange Fruit project
the Roots
Of course, Common(and he's from Chicago!)

We could go on and on...

[mcole]

you left out common!!

[politicalgenius]

Whoever wrote this has no sense of what HIP-HOP actually is and completely mistakes Lil Wayne for Hip Hop. Lil Wayne is not Hip Hop, his music isn't Hip Hop - it's Rap. Only those outside of culture of Hip Hop mistake all "black music" for Hip Hop. Examples of Hip Hop artist- Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, KRS-One, Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West. Rap artist - Lil Wayne, David Banner, TI.

Now that the lesson is outta the way, I'm guessing that because of slight reference of/to "Wezzy F Baby, Please say da Baby" by Barack Obama, FAUX News will be able to doped the uneducated whites in the country that Barack Obama shares the same sentiments of the lyrics in Lil Wayne's song(s). Please don't be fooled...

Ba-ROCK the Vote '08