Lil Wayne Pens Apologetic Letter To Emmett Till's Family [UPDATE]

By Samantha Abernethy in Arts & Entertainment on May 1, 2013 10:15PM

Rapper Lil Wayne has apologized to the Till family for using the name of Emmett Till in an "inappropriate" lyric in his guest verse on rapper Future's song "Karate Chop." Lil Wayne wrote a letter saying, "I would like to take a moment to acknowledge your hurt."

Till, a Chicago teen, was savagely beaten to death, shot in the head and his body dumped in a river in Mississippi in 1955 by a group of white men for allegedly whistling at a white woman.

Lil Wayne's "inappropriate" lyric was, "Beat that pussy up like Emmett Till." In his letter, Lil Wayne writes:

Moving forward, I will not use or reference Emmett Till or the Till family in my music, especially in an inappropriate manner. I fully support Epic Record’s decision to take down the unauthorized version of the song and to not include the reference in the version that went to retail. I will not be performing the lyrics that contain that reference live and have removed them from my catalogue.

In February, Epic Records pulled the song after facing pressure from the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and members of Till's family. At the time, Epic Records released a statement saying, "Out of respect for the legacy of Emmett Till and his family and the support of the Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. ... we are going through great efforts to take down the unauthorized version."

Reports indicate Lil Wayne was hospitalized Tuesday after suffering another seizure. He has suffered several in recent months, and he says he has epilepsy.

UPDATE 6 p.m.: According to TMZ, the Till family says Lil Wayne's letter isn't actually apologetic because he never explicitly says he is sorry.

"While it’s commendable that he has vowed to respect the legacy of Emmett Till and his memory to ‘not use or reference Emmett Till or the Till family in his music,' this statement falls short of an apology, as none is mentioned."