Lil Wayne Apologizes For Emmett Till Rap; Rapper Generated Outrage Over Disrespectful Rhyme About Civil Rights Icon

Lil Wayne has apologized for lyrics that many thought were disrespectful towards late civil right icon Emmett Till. The rapper contributed lyrics to the song "Karate Chop" by rapper Future and rhymed that he was, "Bout to put rims on my skateboard wheels / Beat that pu**y up like Emmett Till." The remix was quickly pulled after widespread protest and his label, Epic Records, issued a formal apology.

Till was a teenager who was brutally murdered and disfigured in the Jim Crow South in 1955, which became a pivotal moment in the burgeoning civil rights movement.

"To compare his murder and how beaten and how bullied, beatened, and tortured he was to the anatomy of a woman was really very disrespectful," said Airickca Gordon-Taylor, Till's cousin, in a video posted on RapRadar.com. "We found it dishonorable to his name and what his death has meant to us as a people and as a culture... Our family was very offended, very hurt."

Lil' Wayne released a statement apologizing for offending Emmett's family "I would like to take a moment to acknowledge your hurt, as well as the letter you sent to me via your attorneys," he wrote. "Moving forward, I will not use or reference Emmett Till or the Till family in my music. I have tremendous respect for those who paved the way for the liberty and opportunities that African-Americans currently enjoy."

The rapper said he also supported Epic's decision to not include his lyrics in the retail version of the song and will not include those lyrics when performing the song live.

Lil' Wayne was also released from the hospital that same day after suffering another seizure, but it seemed to unfortunately be par for the course for someone who suffers from epilepsy. "I'm fine. Thank u," he tweeted to his fans.

Last month, rapper Rick Ross was dropped from an endorsement deal with Reebok after rapping about drugging a woman's drink and taking her home for the night.