Lil Wayne may have performed the most ironic song possible at Kamala Harris’ 50th anniversary of hip-hop celebration event.
The shindig, which took place this past Saturday, Sept. 8, at the vice president’s residence in Washington, D.C., was co-hosted by the Recording Academy’s Black Music Collective, and Live Nation Urban. The event has been one of many celebrations that have taken place across the country in honor of the birth of hip-hop, widely believed to have taken place at DJ Kool Herc‘s Back to School Jam on Aug. 11, 1973.
People like Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia, comedian Deion Cole, and CEO Harvey Mason Jr. were in attendance for the anniversary to watch and celebrate performers like rappers Fat Joe, Common, and MC Lyte.
At the event, Harris called hip-hop “the ultimate American art form,” as she did that auntie bop to Q-tip’s “Vivrant Thing.”
While Harris’ dance moves did make some noise, it was Lil Wayne’s performance that really got people talking. The Louisiana rapper performed his “Tha Carter III” classic “Mrs. Officer” in front of the Washington crowd.
The song, which talks about Wayne having a romantic experience with a female officer, was a very ironic choice to be performed in the presence of a woman who once called herself the “Top Cop.”
Fans saw the irony in the rap selection too, as they made jokes about Harris’ connection with law enforcement.
“Appropriate for the occasion.”
“This is funny on so many levels…”
“She Mrs. Officer alright smh.”
“Love that. I love her so much. Look at that smile. She’s fangirling so hard.”
“Lil Wayne rapping the lyrics to “Mrs. Officer” in honor of Kamala, a former chief law officer, and current “Mrs. VPOTUS,” is a surprising addition to my 2023 bingo card.”
That tee is insane pic.twitter.com/KmxUVKnMcc
— Himcent Van Gogh 🧩✍🏾🧩 (@DonKELSO) September 11, 2023
Harris’ “Top Cop” days may be behind her, but the impact she left on her community is still being felt to this day. The 49th vice president was born in 1964 in Oakland, California, just before the formation of the Black Panther Party.
The daughter of two immigrant professors ultimately did not adopt a radical ideology, opting instead to become a district attorney. Harris has stated she felt that being a prosecutor was an “extension to her mother’s activism.”
During her pre-presidential tenure, Harris was seen as a no-nonsense, law-and-order prosecutor in San Francisco. She was elected attorney general of California in 2010, and was re-elected to that position in 2014 before being elected to the U.S. Senate in November 2016. Reportedly, between the years of 2011 and 2016, over 1,500 people that Harris prosecuted on marijuana charges were sent to California state prisons.
Lil Wayne has his own conflicted history with law enforcement. Growing up in New Orleans, Wayne has said he had to deal with “Jump Out Boys,” a term he used in a Billboard interview to describe cops who ride around with their doors already open so they can “jump out” and arrest you quickly. He was also arrested in 2007 after police searched his tour bus for having a strong marijuana smell.
By 2020, the Grammy-winning artist had new legal troubles after he pleaded guilty to improper possession of a firearm in connection with a 2019 arrest when a gun was found on his private plane in South Florida. Wayne was facing as much as 10 years in federal prison before Donald Trump pardoned the rapper on the 45th president’s final day in office in January 2021.
But not all of his interactions with police have been negative, as Wayne credits a white policeman for saving his life when he shot himself at the age of 12. Sadly, the man he calls “Uncle Bob,” passed away in June of last year.
