In the Wild West world of social media and YouTube, Rapper Lil Wayne just got drawn on… by three little girls! Watoto From the Nile served up the rap superstar in “Letter to Lil Wayne,” a music video condemning the misogyny and vulgarity in his lyrics, and it’s really great!
But before we introduce you to these three special new stars in rap and hip-hop, let’s make sure we’re all familiar with Lil Wayne. Here’s his video for “Lollipop,” in which Mr. Wayne sets out to enjoy an evening in Las Vegas with one his best friends and a dozen or so women friends. And, yes, he was nice enough to bring lollipops for them to enjoy:
(If you want to take a look at the less-than-respectful lyrics, check ’em out HERE.)
Remember that this was Lil Wayne’s first smash radio hit, notching #1s on the Hot 100, R+B, and Rap charts, with high placement around the world as well. The single went 5 times platinum and has almost 70 million views on YouTube.
Misogyny in rap and hip-hop has a long, sad history. So does flagrant and nonchalant misuse of drugs and alcohol. Lil’ Wayne certainly isn’t the first to reduce women to simple sex objects and humiliating objects of male pleasure, nor is he the original rapper to get busted with large amounts of cocaine in his possession. But he’s arguably the most influential star in the world of hip-hop today, which makes him a ripe target to answer for the themes of hedonism that are rampant in young male urban culture. Still, you’d have thought attacks against him would come from NOW or C. Delores Tucker, not a trio of little girls working under the moniker Watoto From the Nile!
Here’s the video clip currently going viral, titled “Letter to Lil Wayne.”
Who are these cute little tykes with their stirring rebuke to Lil Wayne? They are Nya (9-years-old), Nia (10-years-old), and the cutest of them all, the shy Kamaria (5-years-old). With the help of an unseen mastermind at Solvivas Records, they’ve put together a stirring rebuke to Lil Wayne. The downbeat, minor chord backing track ambles along while the three girls perform a heartfelt rap designed to help Lil Wayne understand exactly where they’re coming from. Some of the lyrics are a bit of a reach (the Steve Harvey shout out was just trying too hard), but some of them are incisive and poignant, especially when uttered by the likes of Nya or Nia or Kamaria.
After a backhanded putdown of Lil Wayne’s claim to manhood (“I know you’re 20-something/Excuse me for the interruption/I guess that means that you’re a man…”), the track moves into more compelling questions. When Nya raps, “My daddy tells me I’m a queen/But you call women other things…”, it puts in simple but unavoidable terms the gauntlet the culture will force them to run as they mature into women. The heart just breaks…
She then draws a contrast to the way Lil’ Wayne describes women and the way he treats his own little girl. “I hear you got a little girl/Does she get the same referral?” Folks, these are hard-hitting questions for the power players behind hip-hop culture.
All is not lost, however, as Nia name drops KRS-One, Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu and India Arie – role models that rap and/or sing of more universal themes of dignity and self-respect.
Still, the inevitable question to ask, and one ill-suited for 9-or-10 year old girls to answer, is the sad reality that for Lil’ Wayne, sex and drugs sell. How would emulating KRS-One’s themes of positivity, for instance, help him rake in the cash? I don’t know what the answer is, but I do know that the uncle in me is hopeful the solution is on the hip hop horizon.
This song by Watoto From the Nile probably will never be a big radio hit, but it looks like it’s on its way to being a YouTube hit of some size. I’ll be very interested to hear how Lil Wayne responds to this. It’s your move now, Weezy!
While Lil Wayne contemplates his reply, here’s another video by Watoto From the Nile – a song titled “I Won’t Quit.”
