Lil Wayne's 'God Bless Amerika' Video Seems Timely

Lil Wayne released the video for "God Bless Amerika" on Monday night, a clip full of images of Wayne's native Hollygrove, New Orleans. The community, still devastated by 2005's Hurricane Katrina, serves as a poignant reminder of the failures of America's government to rehabilitate impoverished communities that were damaged by the monstrous storm.
The video suggests that it's not all that hard to draw a line from Kanye West's criticism at the time ("George Bush doesn't care about black people") to the continued travesty that is the reality of life on the ground in Hollygrove.
The "God Bless Amerika" video made waves when it was being filmed because Wayne appeared to be stomping on an American flag. Though such an act wouldn't necessarily have been out of line with the thematic elements of the song, it turns out that rapper was honest when he said the fallen flag wouldn't be depicted in the final product.
It's likely that Wayne, who recently re-apologized for using Emmett Till's name in a sexual lyric, knew his video would have an added impact in the wake of George Zimmerman's acquittal in the Trayvon Martin murder case. That said, the video itself quickly drew some criticism of its own:

@noz
noz

way to work plugs for your clothing line and vodka sponsorship into your video about american poverty lil wayne

July 16, 2013 12:05 am via web Reply Retweet Favorite

Eif Rivera directed the shot. Take a look above and let us know what you think in the comments.

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Grammy Awards 2013

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