White House officials made announcements Wednesday, that President Donald Trump has granted a pardon to rapper Lil Wayne and a commutation to rapper Kodak Black, two of the rafts of pardons and commutations on his final day of office.
“President Trump granted a full pardon to Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., also known as Lil Wayne,” the statement comes from the White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. “Mr. Carter pled guilty to possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, owing to a conviction over 10 years ago. Brett Berish of Sovereign Brands, who supports a pardon for Mr. Carter, describes him as ‘trustworthy, kind-hearted, and generous.’”
This decision marks another example of Trump rewarding someone he believes to be loyal. Trump, who has been largely lambasted by Hollywood during his tenure in office, has relished praise from celebrities and rewarding the rapper, also known as Dwayne Carter, who expressed support for his campaign in the final days of the 2020 campaign.
Lil Wayne, a multi-platinum artist and record label owner has won a total of five Grammys. He pleaded guilty to illegal gun possession on Dec 11, 2020, and after a Dec 2019 arrest, Carter was facing up to 10 years in federal prison as he braced for his sentence later this month.
Wayne pleaded guilty just weeks after meeting with Trump in Miami, to discuss Trump’s “platinum plan” aimed at courting African American voters’ days before the election.
Kodak Back, who changed his real name to Bill Kapri, was sentenced upwards of three years in the penitentiary on weapons charges in Nov. 2019. He pleaded guilty in Aug. 2019 to ‘knowingly’ making false written statements when trying to acquire firearms from a federally licensed firearms dealer. US District Judge Federico Moreno in Miami sentenced Kodak to 46 months in prison, following three years on supervised release.
Back in April of 2019, he was arrested on a separate gun and drug charge near Niagara Falls, NY upon trying to enter the US from Canada. Kodak faced allegations of criminal possession of a weapon, which is a second-degree felony, and unlawful possession of marijuana.
Kodak has also been indicted on charges by a grand jury in South Carolina in 2016, for accusations of first-degree criminal sexual conduct.
“Kodak Black has served nearly half of his sentence. Prior to his conviction and after reaching success as a recording artist, Kodak became deeply involved in numerous philanthropic efforts. In fact, he has committed to supporting a variety of charitable efforts, such as providing education resources to students and families of fallen law enforcement officers and underprivileged children during Christmas. Most recently while still incarcerated, Kodak Black donated 50,000 to David Portnoy’s Barstool Fund. Kodak Black’s only request was that his donation go toward restaurants in his hometown,” stated McEnany.
