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Co-sign if you agree and let's get this all the way to Wayne:
Dear Wayne,
It really is not right the way you let your label toy with us. We are real people, not just numbers; we have lives, relationships, obligations and, yes, a deep enjoyment of your music. But this shouldn't give you the right to jerk us around so badly. A push-back mere hours before the CV drop? Come on, even the shameless YM should know better than that. It is all of us who made you rich - and no one else; not your yes-men, not Drake, not Birdman, not your home town, not anyone. It is just us... and we did it because we love what you do. We stuck with you through many stormy times and we've appreciated all the free music you've given us, but as a fan-base we must know where to draw the line. Being a Lil Wayne fan in 2014 is exhausting. LET US EAT!
Sure, your album will still sell and your bank account will continue to grow and grow and grow, but there comes a point where good marketing and fan cruelty meet - and your people are pissing all over that line! - and all over us, for the last time! Was this 10/28 release date really just a ploy to promote the Minaj single? If so, that is a new low... please tell us it isn't so. We're going to miss your music once you're retired, Mr. Carter, but one thing we will not miss is this emotional roller coaster you put us through every time you drop an album or a mixtape or even a single... hell, even a release date! You never come honest and straight.. it's always about the games with YM. Feels like we're in a messed up relationship all the time.
As you read this (if it even reaches your eyes) please think about the following fact: many of your fans who were going to buy multiple copies now don't even want to buy one. Many of us are now starting to think, "You know what? Fuck this. I'm going to download this shit for free like everyone else. I wanted to give Wayne the sale, but this just isn't right anymore." Why mess around with us like that?
So we will continue to go about our lives. We will repeatedly check back on our phones and computers every few hours (minutes in some cases) to see what has transpired - knowing full well that the answer is NOTHING. Yet we still hold onto that hope. Many will stay up all night waiting for an empty promise to take shape, but it never does. It must be awesome to be such a huge star that people love your music THAT MUCH... that it has THAT KIND OF POWER over us. Take a page out of Kanye West's book - an artist in every sense of the word. When he sets a release date he busts his ass to make it happen, come hell or high water, and look at his proud body of work. His music has that urgency and that unity where the fans actually feel involved with the artist. We want to feel that with YOU again, for the first time in a long time.
I know you don't personally handle the business side of things, but maybe for your final victory lap here you should start. You're still the boss. Let us share something with you, Wayne: your album is going to sell millions one way or another. So your first week might not break a million, so what? You'll get it in the end. Wouldn't you rather have a solid, truly classic album that exceeds all the buzz than an over-hyped sellout album that gets slammed by everyone?! You say you gave Tha Carter V your all - so show us. Let us hear for ourselves and stop treating us like something you scraped off the bottom of your skateboard wheel. It's manipulative and it's shameless. We know it's "money over everything", but even your art? Even your passion? Please tell us that isn't true.
Do the right thing, Wayne. Drop your masterpiece today like you promised. Be a man of your word, not a marketing cliche.
Sincerely,
Your Loyal Fan Base
Dear Wayne,
It really is not right the way you let your label toy with us. We are real people, not just numbers; we have lives, relationships, obligations and, yes, a deep enjoyment of your music. But this shouldn't give you the right to jerk us around so badly. A push-back mere hours before the CV drop? Come on, even the shameless YM should know better than that. It is all of us who made you rich - and no one else; not your yes-men, not Drake, not Birdman, not your home town, not anyone. It is just us... and we did it because we love what you do. We stuck with you through many stormy times and we've appreciated all the free music you've given us, but as a fan-base we must know where to draw the line. Being a Lil Wayne fan in 2014 is exhausting. LET US EAT!
Sure, your album will still sell and your bank account will continue to grow and grow and grow, but there comes a point where good marketing and fan cruelty meet - and your people are pissing all over that line! - and all over us, for the last time! Was this 10/28 release date really just a ploy to promote the Minaj single? If so, that is a new low... please tell us it isn't so. We're going to miss your music once you're retired, Mr. Carter, but one thing we will not miss is this emotional roller coaster you put us through every time you drop an album or a mixtape or even a single... hell, even a release date! You never come honest and straight.. it's always about the games with YM. Feels like we're in a messed up relationship all the time.
As you read this (if it even reaches your eyes) please think about the following fact: many of your fans who were going to buy multiple copies now don't even want to buy one. Many of us are now starting to think, "You know what? Fuck this. I'm going to download this shit for free like everyone else. I wanted to give Wayne the sale, but this just isn't right anymore." Why mess around with us like that?
So we will continue to go about our lives. We will repeatedly check back on our phones and computers every few hours (minutes in some cases) to see what has transpired - knowing full well that the answer is NOTHING. Yet we still hold onto that hope. Many will stay up all night waiting for an empty promise to take shape, but it never does. It must be awesome to be such a huge star that people love your music THAT MUCH... that it has THAT KIND OF POWER over us. Take a page out of Kanye West's book - an artist in every sense of the word. When he sets a release date he busts his ass to make it happen, come hell or high water, and look at his proud body of work. His music has that urgency and that unity where the fans actually feel involved with the artist. We want to feel that with YOU again, for the first time in a long time.
I know you don't personally handle the business side of things, but maybe for your final victory lap here you should start. You're still the boss. Let us share something with you, Wayne: your album is going to sell millions one way or another. So your first week might not break a million, so what? You'll get it in the end. Wouldn't you rather have a solid, truly classic album that exceeds all the buzz than an over-hyped sellout album that gets slammed by everyone?! You say you gave Tha Carter V your all - so show us. Let us hear for ourselves and stop treating us like something you scraped off the bottom of your skateboard wheel. It's manipulative and it's shameless. We know it's "money over everything", but even your art? Even your passion? Please tell us that isn't true.
Do the right thing, Wayne. Drop your masterpiece today like you promised. Be a man of your word, not a marketing cliche.
Sincerely,
Your Loyal Fan Base
@ay_espo
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