Names and faces

— Stevie Wonder chastised Lil Wayne on Thursday over the rapper’s vulgar lyrics that reference Emmett Till, a black 14-year-old who was killed in 1955, purportedly for whistling at a white woman. Till’s violent murder ultimately helped change the national conversation on race. Wonder said Lil Wayne’s disturbing verse should not have made it beyond the recording studio. “You can’t equate that to Emmett Till,” Wonder said. “You just cannot do that.” On a remix to rapper Future’s song “Karate Chop,” Lil Wayne raps “Beat that p++++ up like Emmett Till.” Till’s family has asked the rapper for an apology, and Epic Records, Future’s label, said the official song will not feature the vulgar words. Wonder, who said he is a fan and friend of Lil Wayne, made the comments in an interview Thursday. “Sometimes people have to put themselves in the place of people who they are talking about,” Wonder said. “Have some discernment before we say certain things. That goes for me or any other [song]writer.”

Rapper 2 Chainz has been arrested on drug charges in Maryland, where he was performing at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Maryland State Police spokesman Sgt. Marc Black said troopers stopped a van Thursday night about 9:15 p.m. for speeding near Easton, Md., and smelled a strong odor of burnt marijuana in the van. A backpack had a marijuana grinder and trace amounts of marijuana, police said. The rapper, whose real name is Tauheed Epps, was arrested, cited for having drug paraphernalia and marijuana and was released. Agents representing Epps did not respond to requests for comment.

Front Section, Pages 2 on 02/16/2013

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