Jon Pareles from the New York Times provides an exposing review of the popular New Orleans rapper, Lil Wayne. Pareles expresses the notion that this artist does allegedly practice criminal acts such as drug use and weapon possession. In fact, Lil Wayne was arrested immediately after his performance at the Beacon Theater in New York City for possession of a .40 caliber handgun and also due to apparent drug abuse. Despite the rapper's unhealthy habits, Pareles goes out of his way to state his claim that Lil Wayne is "in some ways...a prototypical Southern rapper." For instance, he and another Southern rap group called Cash Money Millionaires coined the term "bling" in the South by displaying themselves with a superfluous amount of diamonds placed onto their bodies.
Pareles supports his claim by examining exactly how Lil Wayne presents himself as a type of prototype for Southern rap music. One example he uses is Lil Wayne's uniquely hoarse voice which allegedly "gives his songs a texture that’s both weathered and slyly amused, for a glimmer of New Orleans R&B." Also, Pareles explains how Lil Wayne alters the typical Southern rap image by borrowing from "Jamaican dancehall inflections or landing syllables on unlikely offbeats." The author provides this image of Lil Wayne during his performance at Beacon Theater:
The artist is portrayed as a cool and hip singer with fashionable clothing and a noticeable chain hanging from his color worn jeans.
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