It’s not unusual for rap giant Lil Wayne to flex his penchant for bizarre antics, but in a new “public service announcement” recently posted by the Young Money king, Wayne takes an interesting ride on the random and bizarre side as makes an inspired rant about the influence of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, his own drug use and his role as an innovator.
In the clip, Wayne talks about the impact of the loss of Jobs, saying he died too soon.
“We was reminiscing on the life of Steve Jobs,” began Wayne. “An .. .innovator of many things. A very influential man. … I don’t know a person that hasn’t been influenced in some sort of way by this man. We lost that man…I think a lot too soon. Obviously too soon because I’m quite sure that there’s a bunch of people who don’t know who I’m talking about. And that’s when you’ve lost someone too soon.”
Wayne then ponders the impact of his own hypothetical death and what millions of fans would remember him for.
“The old cliche: you never know what you had until it’s gone. So we were speaking on it. ‘Man, what if I skate off my roof and just end it all? Or what if … I Sean Kingston the f— out of myself? I wonder if [people] would … really remember me for the innovator I am.’ And I was thinking how saturated things get these days, and how easy it is to forget the greatness of something and someone. Today, I plan to take 10 minutes or 15 minutes out of your day and my day to elaborate on the subject.”
And for the next few minutes, Wayne discusses the potent narcotic drink “syrup,” a mix of prescription strength cough syrup containing promethazine and codeine typically mixed with a soft drink and Jolly Rancher candy, made popular in the South by artists like UGK. As Wayne explains, he doesn’t want to be known as the innovator of “syrup,” but simply as a member of the Southern hip-hop culture who the drink a standard within the community and scolds “adults” who simply want to copy him without knowing the culture.
“I wasn’t doing it to be cool. …I can’t blame the kids. I blame you adults. See, it’s OK for a kid to look at somebody and see something and want to be just like it. It’s only right; it’s only human nature. But for an adult to fabricate something for some dumb reason, it messes up our youth, and it messes up the future. So I ask you: what is your reason? Why are you drinking syrup? Why?” asked Weezy, who explains that he drank syrup for health reasons but maintains that he no longer partakes in the drug.
For the rest of the video, Wayne discusses being the “the first African American rapper with a Bugatti” and the dealership workers calling him the “Barack Obama of Bugatti,” his love for skateboard culture and tattoes and everything else that makes him a genuine innovator.
But just in case you forgot that he’s also a successful businessman, Wayne makes sure to cap his video with a plug of his new pre-paid Young Money Discover Card as well as upcoming albums from his Young Money artists Drake, Shanelle, Tyga and Lil Twist.
And what pray tell is the moral of the story? Wayne and Jobs are “real,” live your life as a genuine leader, not a follower, and buy Young Money products. Swag.
–nicholas robinson
