It appears as though Lil Wayne may not be in the studio ‘rapping’ for a while. On Monday he appeared in a Manhattan criminal court to officially be sentenced for having a loaded gun on his tour bus. The incident happened in the summer of 2007.
Luckily for him, his one year sentence will be of a more elegant nature – apart from the rest of the prison population. If good behavior prevails, he may see parole after eight months.
Ironically this criminal sentence dawns on his rising career as rap icon, and recently ‘actor.’ The last year (2009) has proven quite lucrative for him with his tours grossing almost $42 million, supporting a wide variety of artists along the way. In addition, according to Billboard, in 2008, he earned $57.44 million personally.
As one of the ‘richest’ and most well known rappers and music artists in the world, this incarceration could cause not only a financial stress to him, but also groups that cover on tours and even the few that collaborate on albums. Lil Wayne is a catalyst and a transformational figure in the music industry; with him out expect some sort of ripple effect to follow.
We know he’ll be back, better than ever – expect ‘Tha Carter’ to be developing some new material in these next few months. However, what will the affect be on the entertainment and music industry while he’s away?