The Avant Guardian posts a strange but intriguing article (or should I say ‘essay’) that quotes directly from The Carter in multiple sections and uses Lil Wayne as an example of Guy Debord’s “The Society of the Spectacle” at work in 2010.

Here are some interesting quotes from the essay/philosophical rambling:

Today we will consider the possibility of being lost in our experiences as the process of the commodification of memory develops in the newest stage of advanced capitalism, what Guy Debord called spectaclism.

The commodification of memory, as George Markus so succinctly put it, “reconciles the individual-as-consumer with this world, offering a seeming re-assertion of his or her unique personality – by making choices among mass produced commodities the affirmation of one’s taste.” This process only occurs if a complex mimicry industry is developed – the hype machine and superstars. These exist simply as models for others to emulate. In Lil’ Wayne’s words, “We’re creating it to where that’s the artist you have to be period. To where a motherfucker just gotta like YOU. That’s a superstar. […] I believe I am here for nothing else but this, what I’m doing. Not to rap, but to do what I’m doing.”

I actually referenced this exact quote in a post from last week about Ann Powers’ excellent Seattle Times article.

I think this is one of the most fascinating quotes from The Carter and really proves that there is (and always has been) more to Lil Wayne than anyone gives him credit for.

On the subject of Wayne living in a bubble of fame and existing entirely for the creation of art -

and consider Pierre Klossowski thoughts on the matter, “My drawings, like my texts, are of a dramaturgical order…. For me, the most authentic vision of what I do is in what I show.” Maybe it is more productive to read Lil’ Wayne’s “Fear God” tattoo as aligned with the pursuit of the sacred in the profane…

And…

The amalgam of tattoos across Lil’ Wayne’s body, resonate with Kandinsky’s call for a new form of art and of life. A call for the harmonization of those things that don’t necessarily follow one from the next, a fortuitous collection of forms on a canvas, “Their external lack of cohesion is their internal harmony.”

Wayne’s entire life is a harmonization of the random shit that bounces around in his brain.

It’s good to see people beginning to examine his life & art on a deeper level and I’m happy to have somewhat helped jump-start that.