Professor And Author Declares Lil Wayne A Literary Genius

Lil Wayne is one of the biggest hip hop acts there is at the moment, and his lengthy career, numerous hits, and accomplishments make him one of the biggest of all time. Where does he fit in amongst hip hop and rap’s all time greats?

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Well that is the stuff of barber shop debates. Some find his lyrics, connection between terms and imagery to be poetic and genius, others think there is a repetitive formula to his rhymes which has made him the subject of some ridicule on Vine.

University of Virginia professor and author Kreston Kent is of the group that thinks Lil Wayne is a genius. Kent even authored a short book on Weezy titled, “The Literary Genius of Lil Wayne.” The book’s purpose is to prove that the rapper should be listed among famous writers William Shakespeare and Bob Dylan for their iconic lyrical contributions.

“We expect literary merit to be reserved for venerated forms of expression, not mixtapes and radio waves,” he writes.

He specifically cites Lil Wayne’s “language puzzles,” via the Daily Californian:

"“I still got the vision like a line between two dots,” where “the vision” is pronounced “da vision” — meaning division, or ÷. It is this kind of layered loveliness that Kent dissects in order to prove the genius of Lil Wayne."

His language puzzles have long been one of many reasons Lil Wayne fans love his songs and lyrics.

“Great art is great art whether it is consciously constructed or subconsciously produced.”

The book is currently available on Amazon.