Emmett Till

Earlier this year Lil Wayne (real name Dwayne Carter) caused controversy when he appeared on the remix of Atlanta artist Future’s unreleased single ‘Karate Chop’ and rapped the line, “beat the p*ssy up like Emmett Till.”

For those of you who don’t know who Emmett Till is, Till was a 14 year old African-American boy who was brutally murdered in Mississippi in 1955, after he reportedly whistled and flirted with Carolyn Bryant, a 21 year old Caucasian woman.

Till was from Chicago, Illinois, visiting his relatives in Money, Mississippi, in the Mississippi Delta region, when he spoke to 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant, the married proprietor of a small grocery store there. Several nights later, Bryant’s husband Roy and his half-brother J. W. Milam arrived at Till’s great-uncle’s house where they took Till, transported him to a barn, beat him and gouged out one of his eyes, before shooting him through the head and disposing of his body in the Tallahatchie River, weighting it with a 70-pound (32 kg) cotton gin fan tied around his neck with barbed wire. His body was discovered and retrieved from the river three days later.

Till was returned to Chicago and his mother, who had raised him mostly by herself, insisted on a public funeral service with an open casket to show the world the brutality of the killing. Tens of thousands attended his funeral or viewed his casket and images of his mutilated body were published in black magazines and newspapers, rallying popular black support and white sympathy across the U.S. Intense scrutiny was brought to bear on the condition of black civil rights in Mississippi, with newspapers around the country critical of the state. Although initially local newspapers and law enforcement officials decried the violence against Till and called for justice, they soon began responding to national criticism by defending Mississippians, which eventually transformed into support for the killers.

The trial attracted a vast amount of press attention. Bryant and Milam were acquitted of Till’s kidnapping and murder, but only months later, in a magazine interview, protected against double jeopardy, they admitted to killing him. Till’s murder is noted as a pivotal event motivating the African-American Civil Rights Movement.

CLICK HERE to watch the documentary ‘The Untold Story Of Emmett Till’.

Many including Stevie Wonder and Till’s family demanded an apology from the rapper but to date still have not received a DIRECT apology from the arrogant little fool. He has refused to acknowledge the Till family.

Instead Epic Records did the apologising for him and issued the following statement:

“We regret the unauthorized remix version of Future’s ‘Karate Chop,’ which was leaked online and contained hurtful lyrics. Out of respect for the legacy of Emmett Till and his family and the support of the Reverend Jesse L. Jackson Sr. … we are going through great efforts to take down the unauthorized version.”

Lil Wayne

But the Till family refuse to let this situation slide  and have told Allhiphop.com that they intend to put pressure on Lil Wayne’s sponsors, namely Mountain Dew, a product of PepsiCo.

Thanks to women’s group UltraViolet who successfully shut down Rick Ross’ lucrative endorsement deal with Reebok, the Till family has now realised that if they want to get the apology that they so rightfully deserve, then they will have to hit Wayne where it hurts him the most. In his fat pockets.

Lil Wayne is a bloody disgrace. This man is over 30, born and raised in America’s deep south and knows all about Emmett Till’s brutal and tragic fate at the hands of evil racists. Why would he think it appropriate to rap lyrics that compare Till’s torture and death to a sex act? And why didn’t those who stick to him like flies stick to sh*t take him aside and say ‘look you have gone too far here. This is wrong?’.

The fact that Wayne couldn’t even bring himself to acknowledge the family’s simple request for an apology speaks volumes. I hope the disrespectful little reprobate loses all his endorsement deals. If there is an online petition available I will sign it one hundred times.

Hopefully taking action in this fashion will perhaps force some of these idiot rappers to think twice in future before stepping into the recording booth to rap damn right foolishness.

Rest In Peace Emmett Till.