RAP IS SOMETHING LEARNED

Examining the hip-hop 50 celebration, Lil Wayne, and why it shows how dynamic hip-hop is.

Lil Wayne has a few famous tattoos inked onto his small frame, but there’s been one in particular that exemplifies his maniacal rap fandom, and his startling respect for the emcees before him. On the left side of his neck, are the words “lucky me”, in cursive, placed onto him in celebration of the In My Lifetime, Vol 1 deep cut. The song — Jay-Z’s ruminations on his newfound fame and the fear of losing said fame because of nefarious and unnamed enemies — also has a famous stanza, tattooed on Wayne’s leg. In his intrepidly patient flow, Jay-Z spits: “Swear to everything, when I leave this earth, it’s gon’ be on both feet, never knees in the dirt/And you can try me fucker, but when I squeeze, it hurt/Fine, we’ll lose two lives, yours and mine.” It’s an example of how menacing but clear-eyed Jay-Z could be, why he was so absorbingly fawned over; the equivalent of a Brooklyn hustler who could maintain his cool one second, but also let you know how bonafide his street activities were the next second. It’s not surprising that Wayne — who was a teenager in the rap group Hot Boys when that song came out — was moved by that track. It’s an aspect of the freedom within his persona and the gleeful self-expression that made Wayne who he was. Being a fan was Wayne’s first talent; and he, not afraid to give credit to peers, is still a fan.