Two hip hop stars can breathe a sigh of relief as their legal troubles are ending, thanks to outgoing President Donald Trump. According to a statement obtained by MTO News, the White House press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany said, “President Trump granted a full pardon to Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., also known as ‘Lil Wayne, Mr. Carter pled guilty to possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, owing to a conviction over 10 years ago. Brett Berish of Sovereign Brands, who supports a pardon for Mr. Carter, describes him as ‘trustworthy, kind-hearted and generous.'”
Lil Wayne had not been sentenced, but he had faced a possibility of spending 10 years behind bars.
The statement addressed Kodak Black whose sentence was commuted:
Facebook/Kodak Black
“Kodak Black is a prominent artist and community leader. He has served nearly half of his sentence. Before his conviction and after reaching success as a recording artist, Kodak Black became deeply involved in numerous philanthropic efforts. In fact, he has committed to supporting a variety of charitable efforts, such as providing educational resources to students and families of fallen law enforcement officers and the underprivileged. In addition to these efforts, he has paid for the notebooks of school children, provided funding and supplies to daycare centers, provided food for the hungry, and annually provides for underprivileged children during Christmas. Most recently while still incarcerated, Kodak Black donated $50,000 to David Portnoy’s Barstool Fund, which provides funds to small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Kodak Black’s only request was that his donation go toward restaurants in his hometown.”
Kodak Black, whose legal name is Bill Kapri, is a hip hop artist who was sentenced to 46 months in prison for making a false statement on a federal document when trying to procure firearms from a federally licensed firearms dealer.
Editor’s Note: How these hip hop artists will be viewed by their peers and fans remains to be seen.
