music clip of the day

 jailhouse rock

Speaking of prison music, here—thanks to a tip from my (19-year-old) son Luke—is the indomitable Lil Wayne, phoning in a verse for a new Drake track from Rikers Island (New York City), where he’s serving a year after pleading guilty to a gun charge.

Lil Wayne, Rikers Island/Drake, “Light Up” (2010)

lagniappe

Even behind bars, Lil Wayne can’t catch a break. The incarcerated rapper has reportedly been caught with a contraband MP3 player inside Rikers Island prison.

Weezy’s secret jams were discovered during a routine search on Tuedsay morning, when officials found unauthorised headphones and the charger for an MP3 player hidden in his dustbin. “We found the items wrapped in an aluminum potato chip bag, in a garbage can,” an anonymous official told Fox News. Officers then scoured the “housing area” where Wayne is incarcerated, uncovering a matching MP3 player in the cell of another inmate.

While prisoners are permitted to purchase an AM/FM radio and basic headphones from the Rikers Island commissary, inmates are banned from using fancy headphones, MP3 players, or, even, chargers for MP3 players. Weezy and his fellow inmate will be charged with possession of contraband, and “some discipline can follow”, the official said.

Lil Wayne is serving a one-year prison sentence for weapons infractions, stemming from an incident in July 2007. Although sentencing was repeatedly postponed, he was eventually jailed in early February. A month before beginning his term, Weezy told Rolling stone that he was “looking forward to” prison. “I’ll have an iPod, and I’ll make sure they keep sending me beats,” he said.

Officials were quick to point out that the seized MP3 player is not, in fact, an iPod. We’re not sure what this means except, perhaps, that they may wish to check the other empty crisp packets … just in case.

—The Guardian, 5/13/10