By snoadmin
Dwayne Carter, or Lil’ Wayne, received a sentence of 8-10 months in a New York City jail for gun possession, last October. His sentence began in March of this year and this past weekend he was released from Riker’s Island prison in NYC.
Young Money Record Label (Lil‘ Wayne‘s record label) President Mack Maine, expressing his feelings regarding Lil Wayne’s release, said, “Just treat him like a king, like the royalty that he is and make him feel like we really missed him and welcome him back to the family.”
Although Maine said this at the end of Lil Wayne’s sentence, it could be applied to the entire sentence, as well. Because while we don’t want to hate let’s face it: Celebrities get special treatment.
Lil Wayne’s popularity actually rose while he was in jail — instead of suffering like the majority of inmates do while they are separated from the world. The rapper’s brother maintained a blog and updated it with Lil Wayne’s day-to-day activities as well as responses to the fan’s comments. Now how many other inmates connect with their families or friends like that?
Lil’ Wayne celebrated his birthday in jail by releasing his album, “I Am Not a Human Being” on September 27. With the release of the album, he became the first artist in 15 years to reach the number one spot on the Billboard 200 chart while in jail.
Before his sentence, he recorded music videos that would be scheduled for release throughout the year. After all, he would need to remain a predominant figure in the rap music industry while in jail.
Lil Wayne, who usually spends days in the studio recording music, managed to create music from jail. Several websites feature songs he had recorded over the phone from jail.
Although he was locked up, he wanted to give his fans the feeling that he wasn’t really gone. They responded perfectly, writing him letters and constantly speaking about him over the Internet. The “Free Weezy” campaign was a hugely important to many, if not all, of his fans.
It seems as though the only hardship he faced in jail was when he was sentenced to solitary confinement during his last month. Jail officials found a charger and headphones for a digital music player in his jail cell.
Lil Wayne isn’t the only celebrity to benefit from jail time either. Likewise, Tupac Shakur’s 1995 hit “Me Against the World” reached number one on the charts all during Shakur’s imprisonment for a sexual assault conviction.
Now that Weezy is free, he plans to drop the album “Tha Carter IV. And like many celebrities who go through something ‘tough’ — he may even turn his journal from jail into a book.
It’s hard to believe that jail time would boost a person up like this.
Celebrities are people first; they shouldn’t be let out early or after a few days or hours like Paris Hilton and Lindsey Lohan. They should be treated like everyone else who breaks the law.
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