What Should Lil Wayne Have Said About Black Lives Matter?

Social media is in an uproar over Lil Wayne’s recent interview with Nightline, in which he says that he doesn’t feel connected to the Black Lives Matter movement.

In previous interviews, Lil Wayne has said that he does not experience racism. He says that his concerts are full of white fans. On Nightline, he points out that he is a wealthy black man, a clear indication that his black life truly matters — at least to someone. “I don’t feel connected to a damn thing that ain’t got nothin’ to do with me,” said the Young Money rapper. “I’m a young black rich mother****er. If that don’t let you know that America understand.”

This leads me to our question of the day, what should Lil Wayne have said about Black Lives Matter?

Granted, privilege, success and wealth can shield you from a lot of issues the average Joe has to deal with day to day. However, you can still experience some form of racism, rich or not. Is that to say that Wayne has experienced racism? Not at all. In fact, who are we to tell him that he has. One thing I cannot do is tell another person how to feel, or that their feelings are wrong or invalid.

Do I personally feel that Lil Wayne has experienced racism, definitely. On the day his tour bus was pulled over in New York, I personally believe that he was profiled.  However, he doesn’t think so and that’s fine.

Here’s what I believe Wayne should have said about Black Lives Matter: Nothing. Radio silence. You see, outlets are asking Lil Wayne about Black Lives Matter for click bait, sound bites and headlines. Lil Wayne isn’t this generation’s crusader. He isn’t an activist. He doesn’t march. There is truly no reason that we should be asking him a bout social injustice other than to hear him say something crazy while he’s heavily intoxicated. In fact, I feel like the media is hyping up this man’s self-destruction. They want him to lose his black fan base, lose his money, lose his livelihood, all for the sake of a viral video. Asking Lil Wayne about Black Lives Matter is the equivalent of Dave Chapelle saying we should ask Ja Rule about…. anything. Since when did we ask Lil Wayne about politics? social injustices? anything?

These outlets are allowing Lil Wayne to come on set, not in his right mind, and babble on incoherently about things that don’t make sense. They’re piecing it together then releasing tidbits to get Black Americans riled up. They’re laughing at us as we pull Lil Wayne off the pedestal we held him on as an entertainer. The fact is, we were just fine not knowing what Lil Wayne felt about Black Lives Matter, because we didn’t care.

Black Lives Matter as a movement is to fight for justice for those who are not here to fight for themselves. Black Lives Matter is here to force lawmakers to hold police officers accountable for their actions. Black Lives Matter is here to remind America that Black Lives are just as important as non-black lives. If you wanted to talk about Black Lives Matter and get a true idea of what the movement is about, why not talk to celebrities who are informed about the movement and have intelligent things to say. Why not talk to Jay Z and Beyonce who’ve donated to protesters and the families of the deceased? Why not talk to Jesse Williams who has been very vocal about Black Lives? Why not talk to Colin Kaepernick and Carmelo Anthony who hold down the movement from a Sports aspect? Why not talk to those who can piece together coherent sentences? Why are we choosing poor representation?

I’m not at all mad at Lil Wayne’s opinions. They are his. In his mind, in his bubble, he does not experience the same issues. I am more mad that people keep asking him about it and just as mad people expected better.

Watch a clip from the controversial Nightline interview below.

#LilWayne tells #Nightline he doesn’t feel connected to the Black Lives Matter movement

A video posted by Baller Alert (@balleralert) on Nov 1, 2016 at 7:28pm PDT