Lil Wayne‘s music career hit an all time high this year with eight Grammy Award nominations, four of which he won. However, the rapper-turned-pop star has begun to attract a different set of eyes for a different reason. The rapper’s sense of style has often become a talking point of his fans and peers. There are times where it goes from Hip-Hop to grunge to skater to rock-influenced. As a fan or not, do you think he should also be known as an urban style icon, or is his fashion game wack?

He is rocking a Sergio Tacchini tracksuit in this image. The Italian brand, launched by a professional tennis player, has a wide array of supporters from hip hop artists to athletes.

More images of Weezy below:

So, is Lil Wayne a stylish dude?

 Folks thought that once Obama was

in office people of color would have no more excuses about the man or the

system being against them. There would be no more conspiracy theory left to

keep us down. If Obama can make it, there is no reason why we can’t.

Ask the children of Luzerne

County, Pennsylviana if they could

do and be who what they wanted to be. The answer up until a month ago would

have been, “No!”

Last month two juvenile court

judges, Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., 58 and Judge Michael T. Conahan, 56 plead

guilty “to a scheme that involved sending thousands of juveniles to two private

detention centers in exchange for $2.6 million in kickbacks,” reports the New

York Times.

The children of Luzerne

County, Pennsylviana would come

before Judge Ciaverella who wouldn’t inform them of their rights to an attorney

and would find them guilty in under ten minutes. He once told reporters, “It’s not

my job to spoon feed people,” when asked about the lack of attorneys for

children as young as 14 years old. When families approached attorneys to

represent them, they would decline stating there was no point. Innocence played

no factor, it was about the money.

Day after day parents would bring

their child to court and be forced to leave without them, unsure of what just

transpired.

“Kurt

offenders.”

Before the judges even began

their caseloads each day, court officers and the detention centers were already

aware of how many new prisoners to expect. They would be funneled to private detention

centers build by a friend of the two judges and was on contract with the juvenile

court system of Luzerne County.

For each child sentenced, the

dentition center received money and the judges got their cut.

The scheme, which had been running

since June 2000, unraveled—the judges bought yachts, Florida

condos, and expensive homes with the funds. If it had not been stopped the

racket would have produced thousands of Herman

Adkins.

In February, 70 children and

their families filed a class action suit against the courts. The judges will be

sentenced next month and will serve a minimum of seven years because of their

plea deal.  

How do you protect your children

from this? It’s no longer enough to be good, go to school, stay out of trouble

when in these courts you would have been sentenced for being present at a fight

or not paying a fine.

The real outrage is for the

thousands of children, guilty or not, who will be scared by the industrial prison

complex. Of the thousands of children sentenced, an estimated 2,500 will have

their records cleared. Still, that doesn’t erase the experience of being

treated like cattle—bought, sold and traded—from their impressionable minds.

As a parent, how do you protect

your child from “The System”?

We worry about gangs, pedophiles,

drugs, bullies. All these pale in comparison to the man in the black robe entrusted

to provide fair and balanced justice.

Let’s just hope these two will receive

the same treatment their victims did while they were locked up.

 For the last seven years, Chloé

A. Hilliard has been a culture/entertainment journalist,

writing for the Village Voice, Essence, Vibe, King, and The Source. In addition to writing The X Fact(her), a hip

weekly talk show, and aspires to be a vegan. Learn more about her on chloehilliard.com.

I was hoping that Run grabbed the microphone and proclaimed, “We have a whole lot of superstars appearing on this stage tonight, but I want yall to know one thing, this is my motherf**kin’ house!” It didn’t quite go down like that. I just returned from Cleveland and thanks to my wife, I had the privilege of witnessing Run DMC get inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (her 10 year wedding anniversary gift to me).  Since 1983, I’ve been a fan of Run, D and Jay.  My favorite song of theirs begins with DMC saying, “Hey yo man, can we see those mics?”  Then they begin to rap, “It’s together forever, forever together Run-DMC and we’re tougher than leather!”  Consider this, today’s hottest rapper who happens to appear on the cover of the current Rolling Stone magazine, rapped that he was “tougher than Nigerian hair.”  What the f###?  Disregarding the racial overtone in his comment, though I’ve never picked Nigerian hair, I think it would be fair for me to assume that leather is tougher.  Over twenty five years later, Score!… Another one for the Kings from Queens. They did not adorn any Adi Dassler attire.  Run has since traded his adidas track suits in for a preachers collar, though he stills sports the fedora. While DMC sported jeans and a Harley Davidson tee during the induction ceremony.  But that’s alright, I held it down for them the whole entire weekend (see caption above).  Appearing on stage with the group were  family members.  First, Run spoke and humorously shared with the audience how screwdrivers and marijuana usage helped influence Russell’s creativity and decisions in guiding the group as their manager and producer.  Next, DMC took the podium and told the crowd that he’s a prime example of what loving a child can do.  He talked about how his biological mother gave him away, so that his real mother could find him.  DMC won an Emmy for a documentary that he produced about being a foster child titled, DMC: My Adoption, My Journey, in September 2007. The two emcee’s both gave exceptional speeches, but the most moving speech of the evening was given by Mrs. Mizell, the mother of the late Jam Master Jay. Mrs. Mizell talked about how the boys would rehearse in her living room while she was either at work or school.  She mentioned the number of turntables that JMJ broke trying to hone his skills.  She talked about Run, D and Jay’s first limousine chauffeured trip to North Carolina.  However, for me, it was when she invoked the Lord in her speech when referencing the murder of her child.  As Mrs. Mizell implied, receiving that telephone call from her son Marvin, whom she asked, “What did you do now,” tested her faith, still she remained faithful.  I kid you not; her speech was so moving and powerful that I heard many of the predominantly white, heavy metal Metallica fans chiming in with shouts of “Amen.”  Last to take the podium to give thanks was JMJ’s widow, Mrs. Terri Mizell and their sons who acknowledged that the music itself would have been nothing without the disc jockey.   There were many people thanked that evening, but one person noticeably missing from everyone’s “thank you” list was Rick Rubin.  I don’t know how that went unnoticed.  Still the evening was intoxicating.  The only thing that could have made me go into an induced seizure would have been a performance to accompany their acceptance speeches.  If you can’t tell, I am a fan of Run DMC, a true fanatic.  I grew up on their music, literally.  Often times, you’ll hear someone born prior to 1980 saying that they’re an eighties baby.  Then of course, someone will foolishly remind them that they weren’t born in the eighties.  They’re not referencing the decade they were born, they’re referencing the decade they came of age.  Though I was born in the seventies, I came of age in the eighties.  Before the turn of the decade, the only music I could reference was the music my parents listened to and the only fashion I was aware of was whatever my mother dressed me in.  However, during the eighties, I became who I am, I came of age.  And it was D and Run’s music that laid the groundwork.  Some of my fondest memories include the influence of Run DMC.  I remember my older cousin, who has since been murdered, allowing me to hang out with him and his homeboys in 1985 when we went to see the movie Krush Groove.  I remember the first outfit I wore to middle school consisted of a pair of gray Lees, a black and white adidas trifold tee and the fresh new white with the black stripes adidas.  I remember asking for a puff leather like Run, though my parents bought me a “poof” leather.  The spring of ’85 everybody I knew had on adidas tracksuits.  ‘Til this day, me and my man Rob talk about how he killed the game when he wore the exact red, white and blue tracksuit that Run wore in the movie to school after spring break.  Oh My God!  I remember the music played loudly at house parties.  I remember recording the music off of the radio, play, record, pause, simultaneously.  Lees in all colors, silk bvd’s, Britishers, not British Knights, there’s a big difference, trust me.  Rope chains, Cazal’s, NBA Starter jackets and the music that defined the era.  And who was in the forefront? You guessed it, Run DMC. The accolades are too many to name, like DMC said during an interview on FUSE leading up to the induction ceremony, “We were the first to do everything!”  During the same interview, DMC also stated that they lived a rock-n-roll lifestyle, but didn’t put it in their music because they recognized their influence on the public.  Talk about being responsible artists.  The event itself was a black tie gala, the first time that the induction ceremony was opened to the public.  Only the second time in twenty-four years that Cleveland, the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum, hosted the ceremony.  And I had the privilege of being there to see the precedent of hip hop groups receive what they claimed years ago when DMC so powerfully voiced the words, “I’m The King of Rock!”  Not, “I’m The King of Rap” because the almighty Kurtis Blow said that he was the “King of Rap,” so Run DMC gave him that.  (I say that facetiously because he earned it.)  Run, D and Jay epitomized what it meant to be cool.  To define them, the word swaggerific would be too simplistic.  Now remember, they were potent during a time when rappers intentionally differentiated themselves in style.  They looked nor sounded like any other emcees and their influence on the culture is still unprecedented. “It’s about time for a brand new group, Run DMC to put you up on the scoop.  We make the fly girls scream in ecstasy; We rock the freshest rhymes at a party.  We put all the fellas in a daze.  It’s everyone that we amaze.  And we got the master of a disco scratch.  It’s not a break that he can’t catch.  Jam Master Jay that is his name and all wild deejay’s he will tame.  Behind the turntables is where he stands.  And there is the movement of his hands.  So when asked whose best yall should say Run-DMC and Jam Master Jay!”   Congratulations to Run DMC and Jam Master Jay from Cornell Dews.

Patience is not without its

consequences. Following his close July 2007 loss to Bernard Hopkins, Winky

Wright was still considered one of the Top 5 Pound for Pound fighters in the

sport. Then suddenly Wright stopped fighting, claiming both lack of suitable

opponents and financial compensation for a fighter of his caliber. Now 21

months after his last fight, the former undisputed junior middleweight has

finally found a foil in the similarly avoided Paul “The Punisher” Williams. But

at 37 years old, will time finally run out this Saturday (April 11, HBO Sports)

on the elite former champ?

AllHipHop.com: Thank you for making time out of your training

schedule. First question is the one that everyone has for you. After the

Hopkins fight you were still considered a Top 5 Pound for Pound fighter. What

reasons kept you out of the ring for so long?

Winky Wright: No problem, my brother. Well, nobody wanted to

fight. It was just that simple. And it wasn’t that I didn’t want to fight or anything…

I just couldn’t get anyone to fight. So I just had to wait until somebody

wanted it. [Editors Note: During the last

Forrest all failed to move forward] AllHipHop.com: The one person that has come in is Paul

Williams. He’s had a history already in his young career of being avoided by

marquee fighters. Was he the only fighter that stepped up, or did you have

other fighters in mind before you made your final decision?

Wright: It was pretty much [just] him. HBO gave us some names. All the

fighters they wanted, didn’t want to fight. Paul was the only one that would

accept that fight. That’s how it came about.

AllHipHop.com: In your last few fights, you’ve been opening up

more offensively, and it’s caused your fights to be a lot more exciting. Are you

going to continue that trend against Williams, or try to be more

defensive-minded?

Wright: I’m going to do whatever I have to do. I’m gonna go in there and

be Winky Wright. We’re going to adapt inside the ring [to Paul] and use

whatever works for us.

AllHipHop.com: How has your body been responding to training

since you’re coming off a long layoff and moving back down from 170 to 160

pounds?

Wright: We definitely had to work to get in shape. Like you said, it’s a

different weight class and being out for so long, we had to work hard [Editors Note: During the layoff, Wright was

reported to have weighed as much as 193 pounds]. We’re ready. I’m looking

forward to the opportunity to show the fans what they’ve been missing.

AllHipHop.com: Looking at your career, most people point to

your wins over Shane Mosley and Felix Trinidad as your most dominating

performances. If you had to select one fight for a fight fan that’s never seen

you perform, which bout would it be that epitomizes what Winky Wright is

about in the ring?

Wright: Hmmm. I like my [Julio Cesar] Vasquez fight. A lot of people

didn’t get to see that. It was the first time I fought for a world

championship. [Editors Note: 1994 WBA

junior middleweight title bout]. I fought overseas in France. I had some

shoes that were slippery and really couldn’t keep my balance. And I was still

boxing the light out of him, but every time I would slip and fall they would

call it a knockdown. But it showed the heart and determination I had to keep

fighting and keep digging down to try and win the fight. I thought it was a

great fight for me.

AllHipHop.com: You’ve had some highly disputed decisions that

have gone against you….

Wright: Yes! From Vargas, to Hopkins, to Taylor…a lot of bad decisions!

[laughs]

AllHipHop.com: [laughs] Which one would you say was the worst

and bothers you the most to this day?

Wright: Hmmmm. I would have to say [Fernando] Vargas because of the

timing. I was just coming on the scene and that was a fight that I definitely

won.

AllHipHop.com: Outside of the ring, you have Pound 4 Pound

Records. How are you approaching that endeavor since the music industry is

changing its model of distributing music and artists?

Wright: When I first started my label I, was just trying to get into the

R&B and Rap side. But like you said, it’s so tough out there. I’ve moved my

vision outward. I have this rock band that’s trying to do their thing called

Radio Reset. That’s who we’re backing right now, trying to crossover and get

into that side of the [music] industry.

AllHipHop.com: Your face has been seen in a lot of Hip-Hop

videos over the last 4-5 years. You’ve worked with 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, Jamie

Foxx, J Prince, and others. When developing your business plan for the label,

did you seek out any of their advice, or was everything done on your own?

Wright: I pretty much did everything by myself. I got good friends in

them guys like you said. They would let me know if I was going in the wrong

direction. I got with Chris Lighty management-wise, so when I need to know something

I can ask him and find the best way of doing it.

AllHipHop.com: A lot of people weren’t aware that you had an

intriguing web-series starring Jadakiss, Jamie Hector, Egypt, and Shyheim

called Winky’s Spot (www.winkysspot.com).

What’s the status of that and the soundtrack you were working on?

Wright: That was a nice little thing that came at the wrong time. The

money ain’t flying around for a lot of new ideas anymore. Winky’s Spot was a

good look, we were trying to do something different. The timing was just bad

with the recession and everything going on.

AllHipHop.com: Speaking of the recession, what is your opinion

on the way boxing has been moving since you’ve been away from the ring?

Wright: The money hasn’t been really hurting boxing. What’s hurting

boxing is not putting the best fighters in with each other. You have certain

individuals, networks, and managements that are working together. They’re

getting advantages over other people that deserve to get fights. These

relationships are getting in the middle of it and preventing the best fights.

That’s why a lot of people are watching MMA and UFC, because they’re just

throwing those guys in there. You want to fight each other? Boom, then fight.

And people pay for what they want to see. But when you put a fighter in with

someone you know he’ll beat, why would you watch it? You know who’s gonna

win.

AllHipHop.com: You’ve been calling out Oscar De La Hoya since

about 1999. Was there ever a point where he actually approached you about a

fight, or has he always brushed you off?

Wright: There was sometimes where he said “he’s looking forward to the

fight.” But it’s never happened yet. He pretty much just dances around the

question. That’s why I mean when you talked about the best fighters out there

[not fighting]. I’m talking about legends that don’t want to fight me. That’s

what causes problems [for boxing].

AllHipHop.com: You have numerous endeavors outside the ring,

along with various legends on your resume. What is driving Winky Wright to

still continue to box at age 37?

Wright: For myself. There’s about two more fighters out here that I

really want to fight. I don’t want to call no names right now. I’ll handle my

business on April 11, and hopefully we’ll get these fighters. And like you’ve

said I’ve accomplished a lot in the boxing game, and then I’ll move on to other

things.

AllHipHop.com: Is boxing promotion a possibility for you?

Wright: Oh yeah. I been had Winky Promotions with my partner Chris

Lighty. The networks are like the rap game. If you don’t know or are not down

with that certain person, it’s going to be hard for you to get into the

limelight. Boxing promotion is the same thing. The networks have been giving

the push to the same old people they’ve always been giving it to. And that keep

things down.

AllHipHop.com: Who do you enjoy watching perform in the ring?

Wright: I like Cotto, little [Andre] Berto. I also like watching [Juan

Manuel] Marquez, those kinds of fighters.

AllHipHop.com: Any closing thoughts?

Wright: I got to run and do this physical [for the fight]. But thank you

man for this.