I came to realize the impact Lil Wayne had on pop culture a couple months ago at a party.
After a friend of mine handed me a cup of a purple alcoholic concoction, I couldn’t help but wince at the awful taste.
“Ew, that tastes like cough syrup!” I said, handing her back the cup. She declined from taking it out of my hand and said, “That’s okay! We’ll drink like Weezy!”
The self-proclaimed “best rapper alive” has become famous over the last couple of years not only because of his rhymes, but also for the swagger he has surrounded himself with. And because of it, many are rejoicing for his return to the world after he was thrown in jail eight months ago.
He’s known for plenty, and at this particular party I was attending, it was his popular “purple drank” that we were referencing.
Plenty of people have different variations of how the drink is mixed but basically, Weezy F. Baby is famous for sipping cough syrup mixed with Sprite and pieces of Jolly Rancher candies.
Now, at the party, I wasn’t drinking cough syrup, but the fact that Lil Wayne is the one who came to mind is enough to prove the man has taken the music world by storm.
Wayne, who also goes by Mr. Carter or Weezy, quickly seemed to become an untouchable celebrity. He compares himself to an alien in plenty of his songs, and by his appearance consisting of long dreadlocks, permanent diamond teeth and collection of tattoos from head to toe (including “Fear God” on his eyelids,) one could think that were true.
But the man who was once featured in half the songs on the Top 40 list at one point was placed in handcuffs and locked away. With the many different “Free Weezy” T-shirts I’ve seen on campus, it’s evident his fingerprints on the pop culture were missed.
He quickly became a pop culture phenomenon. Even in the age of illegal downloading, “Tha Carter III” sold over one million copies its first week released, a feat unheard of these days.
Before serving his jailtime, his hilarious rhymes were offered on songs by Chris Brown, Keri Hilson and Kanye West. He even defined music by collaborating with latina pop star Shakira, nerdy rockers Weezer and ’80s icon Madonna.
When he left, there was no telling what would happen to today’s pop music. The fact that this summer’s biggest song, “California Girls” by Katy Perry, reincarnated a washed-out rapper, Snoop Dogg, should be proof enough that the world needs Lil Wayne.
He left us in good shape though. His protégé Drake continues to stride on mountains of success, while another rapper in the Wayne army, Nicki Minaj, is quickly becoming a household name.
Even the hugely successful return of Eminem was Weezy-assisted, as one of “Recovery’s” best tracks, “No Love,” features a verse by Lil Wayne.
He’s been missed, but far from forgotten. His latest album, “I Am Not A Human Being” hit No. 1 while he was locked away. If he can do this in solitary confinement, there’s no telling what he can do now that he’s back. People can throw away their “Free Weezy” shirts and start purchasing the “Lil Wayne: Free At Last” shirts I saw for sale at Hot Topic.
And if anyone can get this copy of the newspaper to him, I would just like to say welcome home, Weezy!