Rapper Lil Wayne Says He Doesn't Feel Connected to the Black Lives Matter Movement
"If it ain’t got nothing to do with me, I ain’t connected to it," he said.
— -- Before he left abruptly at the end of his interview with ABC News' "Nightline," rapper Lil Wayne said he doesn't feel connected to the Black Lives Matter movement.
"I don't feel connected to a damn thing that ain't got nothing to do with me," Lil Wayne told ABC News' Linsey Davis. "You feeling connected to something that ain't got nothing to do with you? If it ain't got nothing to do with me, I ain't connected to it."
But, he said he feels more connected to some symbols.
"I'm connected to my **** flag," Lil Wayne said. "I'm a gangbanger, man. I'm connected."
Prior to this interview, the rapper stirred controversy on Fox Sports, where he said he doesn't see racism because so many of his fans are white.
When asked if he would change his answer, the rapper said he wouldn't.
"I don't think I got to express this, but it's who you are. You get treated accordingly," Lil Wayne told "Nightline." "I don't know nothing about that, what they're talking about. I'm rich as ****. Man, don't get mad 'cause I'm rich and I don't see none of that."
He said the idea of Black Lives Matter "just sounds weird."
"I don't know, that you put a name on such a -- that's what it was. It's not a name; it's not whatever, whatever," Lil Wayne added. "It's somebody got shot by a policeman for a **** up reason. I am a young, black, rich ****. If that don't let you know that America understand black **** matter these days, I don't what it is.
"I don't know what you mean. Now, don't come at me with that," he said. "My life matters, especially to my ****."
Lil Wayne, born Dwayne Carter, has been making music for nearly 25 years. He was discovered at a young age by New Orleans rapper Birdman, who quickly signed him to his record label Cash Money.
His first taste of mainstream success came with his verse on Juvenile's song, "Back That Thang Up."
Wayne has had more appearances on the billboard hot 100 chart than Elvis Presley.
"I know how difficult it was for those people to watch us come up with our pants sagging and our shirts all big and bandanas on and rapping street things and talking about guns," he said. "I sold a million records in a heartbeat. It was about lyrics. It wasn't about what you were talking about. It was about how you was talking about it."
Though his music has been described by some critics as vulgar, misogynistic, offensive and degrading, Lil Wayne says those same lyrics brought him the success he has today.
"If that's what you categorize it under, then so be it," he said. "All those same lyrics made me who I am and I am a very successful man. So, if it takes me to be degrading, then, man, please keep looking out for more, 'cause it's coming, baby."
However, the rapper, who is also the father of four, said he would have an issue with anyone calling his daughter a "ho" or other profane words.
"By a certain person, if they're coming directly at her, yeah," Lil Wayne said. "If they're calling her a **** or a ho, I have a huge problem with that. Yeah, but I've never called a certain female that name unless I got a real big problem with her."
The self-described "gangsta" says he's often misunderstood.
"That'd be the biggest misconception -- that I'm some kind of rude ... I don't know," he said. "Then they meet me and they're like, 'Oh ****, you're so humble.'"
Lil Wayne credited the way he grew up.
"I'm from the south. I was raised by my mom, my grandma, so I have to be the way I am," he continued. "I have to be respectful because I have someone to answer to and that's my mom."
When it comes to marijuana, Lil Wayne was unapologetic about his use of the drug.
"There's God. There's my family. There's my kids. And there's music and weed," he said.
Music remains one of his greatest passions, he said, and he still enjoys performing to sold out crowds.
"Being on stage is everything I ever dreamed of," he said. "I'm always at home on stage. It's an element I can't even explain. It's outside of this world."
Lately, Lil Wayne has been making more headlines than music. Due to an ongoing legal battle, his completed Carter 5 album remains on the shelf, which is why he says he chose now to release his memoir.
"Gone 'Til November: A Journal of Rikers Island" is a diary that chronicles the eight months he spent at Rikers Island for an illegal weapon possession.
The rapper said he learned a lot about people while behind bars.
"Being in there, again, nobody's above nobody," he said. "You're all on the same level. You're all going through the same thing. Everybody wants to go home. I am equal with everybody."
Watch the full interview with Lil Wayne on ABC News' "Nightline" above.
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