Well, it looks as if Wiz Khalifa’s visit to Colombia did not turn out all that well. The rapper sparked outrage after seemingly paying tribute to Pablo Escobar in the drug lord’s home town of Medellín.
Khalifa, who was apparently in the city to perform at a festival, posted several pictures to his Instagram account that did not go over well. In one photo, Escobar’s flower-laden grave headstone was the focus. The only caption under the photo was a gift box. That photo has since been removed, from the look of his Instagram feed.
In a series of other photos, the rapper, whose real name is Cameron Thomaz, appears to be smoking weed near Escobar’s grave.
In an interview with local media, Medellín Mayor Federico Gutierrez slammed the rapper’s actions as disrespectful.
“That scoundrel, instead of bringing flowers to Pablo Escobar, he should have brought flowers to the victims of violence in this city,” Gutierrez said in an interview with local media. “He must offer an apology to the city.”
Gutierrez added, “It shows that this guy never had to suffer from the violence inflicted by these drug traffickers” and that the rapper was “not welcomed” back.
Escobar, who died in a shootout with authorities in 1993, was responsible (along with his cartel) for the deaths of some 4,000 people during his reign of terror in the 1980s and 1990s.
Some on social media shared the mayor’s opinion.
DISCUSSION
Rappers have always had this...what is it called, disconnect? They can make a career off drug culture worship while at the same time bemoaning the stereotypes that restrict them because of it. I often think about Biggie’s intro in “Juicy,”
“Fuck all you hoes! Get a grip, motherfucker!
Yeah, this album is dedicated
To all the teachers that told me I’d never amount to nothin’
To all the people that lived above the buildings that I was hustlin’ in front of
Called the police on me when I was just tryin’ to make some money to feed my daughter”
They called the police because you were selling drugs, making their community less safe and poisoning it.
I say all that to say, I’m not surprised at this. A cursory glance at a wikipedia page can tell you all you need to know about Pablo Escobar.