New Orleans native Lil Wayne is adding his name to the growing list of public figures sharing their thoughts and memories on the 10 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
On Tuesday, the rapper chatted with sports reporter Michael Smith on his ESPN Radio podcast “His & Hers” to reflect on the storm’s devastating impact.
The Grammy Award-winner — who will return to New Orleans on Friday for the first annual Lil Weezyana Fest – said he has “mixed emotions” about the progress of recovery efforts over the past 10 years.
“It’s no change, it’s just what they — and when I say ‘they’ that’s a quote, unquote. Meaning I don’t know who ‘they ‘ are — but, it’s what they wanted,” he explained. “That’s what I see. ‘Move who we don’t want out, and bring what we want in.’”
Weezy recalled an earlier interview where he expressed the same thoughts on the city becoming more gentrified since the hurricane took place. “The [interviewer] was like ‘who did they want in?’ I said, ‘Oh no, it wasn’t a who, it’s what they want in — money.’ And we — as in quote, unquote ‘me and my people’ — we scare that money away, that’s what they figure. ‘So wash them out.’”
The rapper’s latest comments also reflect lyrics from his 2006 mixtape, “Dedication 2”, which included a track titled, “Georgia… Bush.” The song blasted the Bush Administration’s delayed response to the storm, which killed more than 1,800 people and displaced over 1 million.
Reflecting back to the devastating day, Wayne recalled that he was in Houston working during the storm. He admitted that the aftermath of the hurricane affected him personally through the years.
“Obviously I’ve been gone. I’ve been living in Miami. I’ve been out of New Orleans. But with that said, for the way it touched me is to thank God that I am the bread winner of my family,” he said.
“That’s when you start seeing how you have to provide, and how much you have to provide, and who you have to provide for. Like, ‘wow, they lost stuff too?’ And that’s when you start realizing, wait everybody lost something.”
Check out more of Lil Wayne’s conversation with Michael Smith in the clip above.
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