Lil Wayne Is Banned From the U.K. and Social Media Users Are Not Pleased
Published June 16 2022, 11:31 a.m. ET
Most hip-hop fans would agree that Lil Wayne — born Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. — is one of the greatest rappers of the genre. The 39-year-old not only has incredible projects that showcase his sick metaphors and cadence, Lil Wayne (aka Lil Tunechi) is also responsible for introducing the world to the likes of Drake and Nicki Minaj via the label Young Money. As a result, Lil Wayne’s career has skyrocketed and he has established his legacy in hip-hop.
Even though Lil Wayne has had some legal issues on the label front, the rapper has been able to release 13 studio albums to date. Of course, it has left fans anticipating the NOLA native to hit the tour stage. However, with recent news of Lil Wayne being banned from entering the U.K., fans have various questions. So, what gives? Here’s the 4-1-1.
Lil Wayne is banned from entering the U.K. and performing at the Strawberries & Cream festival due to his criminal past.
It appears that Lil Wayne fans in the U.K. are out of luck. According to a June 15, 2022 post on the Strawberries & Cream Festival Twitter page, the 39-year-old will not be performing at the festival due since “Lil Wayne has been refused entry to the U.K. directly by the home office in a last minute decision.”
The team also shared that these “extreme circumstances” were not in their control and that they received “minimal notice.”
The Guardian reports that Lil Wayne’s visa application was denied due to the country’s law about convicted felons.
“Any individual who has been sentenced to a custodial sentence of 12 months or more must have their application refused,” the U.K. Home Office said in a statement, via the outlet.
In case you’ve been out of the loop, Lil Wayne was convicted in October 2009 for possession of a firearm charge in New York City. Not to mention, the 39-year-old was also charged with possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon in December 2020. However, Donald Trump pardoned the MC just before leaving office in 2021. Keep in mind, Lil Wayne was facing 10 years in prison for the charge.
In a statement to Pitchfork, Lil Wayne’s rep shared the rapper’s disappointment about not hitting the S&C festival stage.
“Due to circumstances out of his control, Lil Wayne won’t be able to perform at the Strawberries & Creem Festival this year,” the rep shared. “Wayne is very disappointed as it’s been over a decade since he last performed in the U.K., and he was excited to be reconnecting with his U.K. fans. He is looking forward to performing in the U.K. at a later date.”
Ludacris has taken Lil Wayne’s place at the Strawberries & Cream festival.
Losing out on Lil Wayne is a tough blow for any festival. However, the S&C team decided to add Ludacris to the bill at the last minute.
In the official Twitter statement, the team shared that Ludacris will have an “exclusive set.” The S&C team also apologized to fans that were looking forward to seeing the 39-year-old perform.
“In absence of any statement from Lil Wayne, we would like to apologize to everyone who was coming to see him perform at S&C,” the team shared before the rapper's statement. “We look forward to welcoming the iconic Ludacris to the stage instead.”
The S&C team also attempted to compensate disappointed fans with discounts for next year’s festival or free tickets for the Sunday, June 19, 2022 show.