Ok, So I Was WRONG…

We all know the expression “you can’t judge a book by its cover.” Well… *SIGH* I was wrong. I spend a lot of time telling the child and her friends that they are in danger of losing IQ points; mostly for watching stupid stuff like Maury, Rob & Big, and listening to rappers like Li’l Wayne. Well, I still think day time talk shows will kill off brain cells as fast as weed with considerably less pleasure, but I have to admit I was wrong about Rob & Big. They are an excellent substitute for weed and I am sorry Rob left the show. I intend to catch up on reruns.

As for Li’l Wayne… I was waaay wrong a lot.

Recently, due to a very bad upper respiratory infection that sent my asthma into a tailspin I spent 4 days in the hospital. No, I have not been smoking weed. Let’s just say my office and the mold living there was bound to do me in eventually. But that is a different post that will occur after OSHA has finished its investigation. Anyhow, back to Li’l Wayne.

 

While hooked up to IV fluids and with little else to do but take breathing treatments, eat hospital fruit salad, beg my friends to smuggle in cookies (Thanks Wan!) and watch TV – I decided to watch the VH1 Behind the music featuring Li’l Wayne. The truth be told I was looking for more ammo so I could spout off more “Li’l Wayne is of the Devil” rhetoric. Why, you may ask, would I want to do that? Well, mostly because it’s my job as a parent to hate my child’s music. We all do it so I was taking that responsibility seriously. What kind of parent would I be if I didn’t pick a few rappers and swear up and down they were causing severe brain damage to the children? To be fair I never really thought his music sucked. I just picked him because he looks like an evil, satan-cultivated, troll.

(These Pics were “borrowed” from Nikki over @ Infinite Ink)

What good parent wouldn’t rebel against him? Anyhow, so I watching the Behind the Music and I find out he was an Honor student who dropped out of school to become a rapper because his stepdad (who was more of a father than his married abuser of a biological father) was killed.

 

After his stepdad’s death, Wayne assumed the role of man of the house and stated quite plainly that it was his place to become his mother’s husband. Not in a freaky incest-y way like Mackenzie Phillips, but because his mother wasn’t woman enough to nurture her son into manhood and instead allowed her child to take care of her. Now, normally this type of upbringing will force the young man into the world of drugs and crime. Fortunately for Wayne, he was smart, had the ability to play on words, and make folks want to listen. Li’l Wayne began rapping in his early teens and hasn’t slowed down.

Four things gave me a new level of respect for the man.

 

 #1 On education he was very honest. He said he was a good student because he never thought school was hard. He stated “The teachers took the lessons from the books and gave you the answers. All I did was do my work.” That scored more points with me than he will ever know. I allowed my child to be held back last year. Not because she didn’t understand her lessons, but because she decided to be a lazy ass and she obstinately refused to do any work. Now, I have Li’l Wayne to back me up when she starts playing lazy. Yep, I know that makes me a slightly hypocritical opportunist. The same man I condemned as satan’s spawn I now use to shame the child when she procrastinates. I’m such a good mother .

 #2 His work ethic is wicked (in a good way). Hell, anyone who works that hard has truly earned every dime. Period. I love to see people who love what they do and do it full out. That does it for me. He does a full concert, grabs a bite to eat and goes to work in the studio that’s on his tour bus. He may not settle in until 3am, but even while touring he is working on the next project. He said he was the greatest rapper alive. I don’t know if I’m on that trip, but if the work he puts in is any indication – he has definitely earned a space in the top 5.

 #3 Despite or maybe because his mother was so stereotypically ghetto – he is a real man. How do I define that? He puts in work, loves his kids AND takes excellent care of them, he still cares for his now ex-wife, he is a damn good son to his mother, and he looks out for all those around him that depend on him.  He is loyal to those who came up with him.  Loyalty is the one thing that gets me everytime.  Loyalty doesn’t come easy and it is even more rare than real trust. 

He moved from New Orleans, but he never turned his back. He said that while watching the coverage of Katrina he didn’t realize until several days later that people he knew were victims. He said he began getting phone calls saying so & so died. That this one drowned in front of his family. That one lost everything. In his shock he couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that Katrina had killed or harmed “people I knew.” Fame tends to isolate, but rather than stay isolated he QUIETLY went to work helping the people in New Orleans. He goes on to say that many celebrities jump on the “save the world” bandwagon. That’s cool, but he said for him it wasn’t the world it was family. Much respect due simply for being a man.

 Lastly, and this is a little warped, but I can still respect him. Mainly because this is how I feel about it too. He began talking about his arrest in NY. Wayne is a prolific weed smoker and is notorious for drinking Syrup (or Purple Drank). Now for those who don’t know what Syrup is — it is a drink made from Rx cough syrup. You know the good kind with codeine that not only kills the cough but knocks you on your ass.

For the record I think as a parent it is my responsibility to condemn all drug use. “It’s bad for you” doesn’t even begin to describe what drugs can do to a person. I don’t use drugs. I don’t allow my daughter in environments where drugs are used or condoned, and I think that anything that alters your reality is probably not a good idea. I’m a bit of a control freak. That’s why, even though some days I wish I had a nickel bag and a nice bottle of Muscat, I settle for the wine and don’t call the weed man. HOWEVER, I believe in a person’s right to be grown. Sho nuff grown.

 That said when he told the interviewer he didn’t care if it was heroin in his cup it was HIS cup and therefore, nobody’s damn business what he was drinking — I have to admit I had to vigorously nod my head in the amen corner.

Should he drink syrup? Probably not as it is known for causing heart problems and is a nefarious killer of young black men by way of heart failure. I firmly believe in not only personal responsibility but also personal freedom. Sure, prescription drug use is what killed Mike and a slew of other celebrities, but I am hard pressed to blame anyone but the celebrity as they all know the risks of the drugs they take. Grown folks are funny like that. We eat that second slice of cake knowing we have no intention of working out. We drink that 4^th glass of wine knowing we are going to have a helluva headache in the morning. We ride around town without our seatbelts, and a host of other things that are not good for us.  We do it because we are grown and feel the positives outweigh the risks.  I may not have his vice, but I have several of my own and I am grown enough not only to do what I do, but also to take responisbility for all my actions.  He strikes as a man who feels the same. 

When asked about his trial he said its not on his radar.  Time will take care of that and he’ll deal with those consequences when they come.  Untill then he keeps on working.  Yep, a man after my own heart.    

Maybe I’d feel differently if he was giving it to children, but at last check he was just imbibing on his own with other grown ass folks. That said I am a proponent of personal freedom and I see no reason to regulate what’s in his Styrofoam cup. The part time environmentalist in me wishes he drink from something recyclable, but hey you can’t have everything.

 So here I am removing Li’l Wayne from my satan spawn list. Don’t worry folks after the VMA’s I have just the person to take his place. Lady Gaga I now have a seat for you. Take a load off I’m pretty sure you’ll be here for a while.