Monday, April 5, 2010

Music Monday: Lil Wayne

I love hip hop and I'm not sure how that happened. I'm a white girl who mostly grew up in redneck country, but from the time that hip hop started infiltrating my radio, I've been enamored. Though I wouldn't necessarily listen to it today, I think it started with the Will Smith songs that were played on pop radio when I was a teen, then Eminem blew up right around the same time we got MTV for the first time.

Over the past couple years, Lil Wayne has solidified himself as my favorite rapper. I won't claim to be in touch with the rap underground or to be a fan of gangsta rappers most people have never heard of. My tastes run to the mainstream stuff that gets played on top 40 radio, so my first exposure to Weezy was probably Lollipop, even though I vaguely remember him as part of the Cash Money crew from years ago.

Though I love his style, my affection for Lil Wayne is also about his personality. If you get the chance, check out his Behind the Music. The man is outrageously intelligent and loves his home city of New Orleans. He's in prison in New York right now and his people are posting letters from him at Weezythanxyou.com. The first letter is humble and poetic, so check it out if you're curious about him as a person.

Just a few songs on the playlist, but there's some good stuff in there. "A Milli" is probably the best rap song I've heard in the past 5 years, and "Forever" is a fantastic collaboration, as is "Swagga Like Us". Enjoy!

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