Lil Wayne publicly apologized to the family of murder victim Emmett Till at a concert in Tennessee after previously upsetting them by referring to his violent death in a song. The line, from a leaked remix of “Karate Chop” with rapper Future, said he was going to “beat” a female’s genitals like Emmett Till, who […]
Saturday night, when the verdict came down, it was difficult to be a concert because there was so much pain. And that morning I was on a conference call to 5:30 in the morning with young folks worldwide who were just expressing pain and agony, went down to the White House with some Alphas and […]
When rapper Lil Wayne used offensive lyrics that included the name of Emmett Till, it sparked a conversation about whether or not much of this generation actually knew him or why or how he died. Now, this generation has an Emmett Till of its own, Trayvon Martin. The circumstances of their murders have some eerie […]
Focus on the details, and the cases seem very different. One was killed by virulent white racists, the other by a part-Hispanic neighborhood watchman who insists he faced a vicious attack. One was weighted down and dumped in a river; in the other case, police were called by the shooter himself. Six decades and myriad […]
The fallout behind Lil Wayne‘s controversial lyrics where he referenced the heinous death of Emmett Till continues. After Mountain Dew dropped him as their celebrity…
NEW YORK (AP) — The Rev. Al Sharpton says a meeting he held with PepsiCo Inc. officials and members of Emmett Till‘s family was “positive.” Sharpton says in a statement PepsiCo officials apologized to the Till family at the Wednesday morning meeting at company headquarters in Purchase. PepsiCo and Lil Wayne ended their commercial relationship […]
NEW YORK (AP) — PepsiCo Inc. officials will meet Wednesday with members of Emmett Till‘s family and the Rev. Al Sharpton. Sharpton continued to press for the meeting last week after the company’s partnerships with Lil Wayne and Tyler, the Creator, of Odd Future to promote Mountain Dew sparked controversies. PepsiCo and Lil Wayne have […]
A friend of mine once said, “Correctly applied heavy effort is greater than hard work.” The family of Emmett Till must have heard that saying before because just days after they said they would pressure Mountain Dew to drop Lil Wayne as a celebrity spokesperson for his insensitive rap lyric referencing Emmett Till, Weezy penned an emotional letter sympathizing […]
The family of Emmett Till is not letting Lil Wayne off the hook after spitting an offensive line about the slain teenager. The rapper is featured in a new Mountain Dew ad, but the family wants him completely dropped. Wayne has been targeted by the family over his verse on Future‘s “Karate Chop” remix. On […]
Click here to listen to Airickca Gordon Taylor’s interview with the Tom Joyner Morning Show. We are all for freedom of expression, but when there is a lack of taste that is tied into it, we have to take a step back and really wonder, “Why?” Rapper Lil’ Wayne referenced Emmett Till in the Future song, “Karate Chop” where […]
Roland Martin talks with Airickca Gordon-Taylor, the cousin of Emmett Till and the founding director of the Mamie Till Mobley Memorial Foundation about Lil’Wayne’s explicit lyrics that referenced Till’s beating. The lyric was featured on Future’s “Karate Chop” remix with Lil’ Wayne. After facing a lot of scrutiny, Epic Records and LA Reid decided to […]
As the civil rights movement and Brown vs. Board of Education was blatantly being ignored in most of Mississippi, the decision to send a young Chicago boy who needed structure to the South was made by his widowed mother, Mamie Till. Unaware of the depth of racism and Jim Crow in the South, 14-year-old Emmett […]
