Hip-Hop star Lil Wayne helped ease the grief of the family of one of his biggest fans on Saturday (October 18), during a benefit event.
According to Albany New York’s Times-Union newspaper, 16-year-old Ryan Slingerland was killed was killed last month when his car skied off a dusty road crashed into a tree.
Slingerland’s death was listed in the newspaper and mentioned his love of Lil Wayne’s music.
An Albany reader named Kathleen Busch read the article and was familiar with Lil Wayne as well, as he and Bryan “Baby” Williams own an apartment next door to her in Sunny Isles, Florida.
She wrote a note to Lil Wayne and Baby and explained to them: “A few words from someone meaningful to Ryan would mean more than any amount of counseling or antidepressants. People on the outside see your fur and jewelry and wealth but we’re all the same. This is your opportunity to do something.”
Busch sent the letter in a package to her mother-in-law, who walked it down to the rappers’ apartment and told the story to a bouncer, who allowed her to enter and present the package to Lil Wayne and Birdman.
During the benefit concert on Saturday, which was held to help raise money to pay for Slingerland’s funeral, his parents Mike and Lindy were surprised by a special package sent personally from Lil Wayne and Baby.
The pair sent two autographed magazines and a sympathy card bearing the words “Stay Hy” to the cheers of family members and friends, who had come to pay their respects to Ryan.
That same day, during the BET Awards, Lil Wayne revealed he was expecting a son of his own, his second child.
