Never let it be said that Lil’ Wayne doesn’t know how to apologize – well, at least when he’s backed to the wall. And actually, was that even an apology at all? The family of Emmett Till – a black teenager, whose gruesome murder in the 1950s became a rallying point for the civil rights movement – doesn’t agree.

The full text of Lil’ Wayne’s open letter to the Till family can be read here, but some of the more telling excerpts include lines like: “I would like to take a moment to acknowledge your hurt” and “my ultimate intention is to uplift rather than degrade our community.” That’s all well and good, but a lot of people have noted that nowhere in the “open letter” does Weezy openly apologize. Regardless, the apology will do for Lil Wayne’s corporate sponsors, so it’ll have to do for the Till family as well.

The whole issue came about after the song “Karate Chop” was released. Lil Wayne guest stars on the track and one point spits out some lyrics, which could only fall in the category of “How on earth did you decide that was ok?”

“Pop a lot of pain pills / Bout to put rims on my skateboard wheels / Beat that p**sy up like Emmett Till,” raps Lil Wayne on the original track, but you’ll never get to hear it, because the leaked version has been tracked and taken down by Epic Records and, of course, the verse has been edited out of the final version going on sale. Big labels tend to be good at damage control like that. So is this the last we’ve heard of the Lil’ Wayne/Till family story? Probably, but it might not be as easily forgettable as Weezy's other shenanigans. 

Lil Wayne, Staples Center
Weezy's letter might shpw that his heart's in the right place. Or that he is in desperate need of some good PR.