MTV.com--Lil Wayne attempted to mend fences between him and Emmett Till's family on Wednesday, but it appears his efforts weren't enough.
Just hours after Weezy issued a letter which acknowledged the Till family's hurt, due to an offensive lyric he delivered, a rep for the family said they didn't view the gesture as a formal apology.
"While it's commendable that he has vowed to respect the legacy of Emmett Till and his memory to 'not use or reference Emmett Till or the Till family in his music,' this statement falls short of an apology, as none is mentioned," Airicka Gordon-Taylor, a Till family representative told TMZ Wednesday.
In Wayne's letter, which first appeared on MissInfo.TV, the rapper pledged to never perform the lyric from Future's "Karate Chop" remix where he said he'd "Beat the p---y up like Emmett Till." Weezy also recognized the importance of Emmett Till, who became an important civil rights figure after he was brutally beaten and murdered for whistling at a white woman back in 1955. "I have tremendous respect for those who paved the way for the liberty and opportunities that African-Americans enjoy," he wrote.
Despite what seemed to be Wayne's good intent, nowhere in the letter did the Young Money boss write the word "sorry" or offer a clear-cut apology.
Prior to the delivery of the letter, the Till representatives said in a YouTube video that unless Wayne apologized, they aim to put pressure on corporate sponsors that back him, particularly Mountain Dew which currently has a DEWeezy campaign with the rap star. It is unclear whether the family will continue with those plans.
Posted By: Siebra Muhammad
Thursday, May 2nd 2013 at 1:08PM
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