Stevie Wonder Slams Lil' Wayne Emmett Till Lyric in 'Karate Chop' Song
Stevie Wonder said during an interview on Thursday that he was bothered by Lil' Wayne's lyrics in his new song Karate Chop, according to The Huffington Post.
Some of the rapper's lyrics on in the song mention Emmett Till, a black 14-year-old who in 1955 was brutally beaten and murdered for supposedly whistling at a white woman. The R&B legend said that the rapper's verse should not have been recorded at all for the world to listen.
"You can't equate that to Emmett Till," Wonder said. "You just cannot do that...I think you got to have someone around you that - even if they are the same age or older - is wiser to say, 'Yo, that's not happening. Don't do that.' "
As both a friend and fan of Lil' Wayne's, Wonder, 62, said that he made these comments when asked about his thoughts on the rapper's disturbing lyrics.
The hip-hop group Future taped a remix of Karate Chop in which Lil' Wayne made the comparison between a rough sexual act to the brutal death of the young Till in Mississippi. Till's death was an incident that helped bring national attention to racism in America. After mentioning the sex act, Lil' Wayne sang that he wanted to cause as much harm as had been done to Till.
Epic Records, Future's label, said that the official song will no longer feature the vulgar words and is pushing for "great efforts" to pull it down, according to the news report.
Additionally, Till's family asked the rapper for an apology.
Wayne, a 30-year-old Grammy winner, should not only use more caution with his lyrics on his future songs but also understand the Till family's viewpoint on this matter, Wonder said.
"Sometimes people have to put themselves in the place of people who they are talking about," Wonder said. "Imagine if that happened to your mother, brother, daughter or your son. How would you feel? Have some discernment before we say certain things. That goes for me or any other (song)writer."
