Lil Wayne as Misunderstood

 Popular artist Lil' Wayne was signed at the age of __ and, since then, has established a legendary name for himself in the world of music but what is he really about?  On his newest album, Carter IV, that was recently released this September 2011 the song "How to Love" had raised many questions about the person is.  With this song Mr. Carter has shown sensitivity and sophistication that many of his former songs lack.  With the former popular songs Lil' Wayne has, more often than not, chosen to show a more vulgar, and materialistic side.  The song "Lollipop" talks about a woman giving oral sex and "lick[ing] the rapper" as Wayne refers to himself and the "shawty" in a degrading manner.  Another hit of his called "A Milli" he praises himself for the money he has and the things the money gets him as he sings, "Got the Maserati dancin' on the bridge pussy poppin'."  The messages of these songs don't slightly compare to this new song "How to Love."  

In the music video for this movie, instead of dancing women dressed like strippers, an interesting story is created and the song itself aims to teach a message, most likely to the young women of today.  The music video first shows a woman who is about to get an abortion and ends up running away from it, against the decision.  After going home to the baby-daddy, a while later, a shot is shown in which the mother is being beaten as the child is just a baby.  As a toddler, the father is in jail and his daughter comes to visit him with her mother.  The father begins to argue with the mother and she storms away in pain.  The preceding scene implies that the daughter is now a young teen living with her mother and her mother's boyfriend.  As her mother sleeps on the couch she is being sexually abused by this man and forced to keep it a secret.  In response to the harsh world that this young woman grew up in she has spiraled out of control.  As an older teen in high school she dresses like a bad ass and gets a job at a strip club.  She drinks glasses of hard liquor and sleeps with sleazy guys for money.  She is desperately lost and caught up in the worst choices.  The final scene of this streak shows her at the doctor where she has been positively diagnosed with HIV.  Lil Wayne tells an extremely tragic story in order to open peoples' eyes.

With only a minute and a half left the video rewinds to the beginning when the main character is a baby again.  At this point the mother runs away to a family member's house after being beaten and marries a nice man in a church in the girl's toddler years.  This version of the story shows the girl as a young teenager in the classroom learning and as she grows into a woman she is modest and smart, a focused person that graduates from high school and studies hair to make something of herself.  In the end of the video the woman is in a doctor's office again with her mother, only this time she is notified that she is pregnant, and she is happy about it.  This happy ending is the ending Lil' Wayne wants for every woman and throughout the song he gives women a lot more independence and power than you would expect.  Though it is men who have a negative influence on this woman's life in the first portion of the video, she is responsible for her own actions the whole video through.  She decides her future with the choices she makes.  With this song and its accompanying video Lil' Wayne inspires young women to make smart choices in life and to settle for nothing but the best.  Every action has its consequence.  Ladies, respect yourself and never put yourself down.  Learn to love yourselves.  Brownie points for you Weezy, hopefully your songs will continue to embody the meaning that "How to Love" has as a single.  Consistency is key.