Feud Alert! Lil Wayne Bashes New York, Senator Demands Apology

Malcolm A. Smith of Queens takes issue with "I don't like New York" comment rapper made to MTV

By Josh Grossberg Aug 23, 2012 9:24 PMTags
Lil WayneFrank Micelotta/Getty Images

There's at least one New Yorker who didn't appreciate Lil Wayne telling the Big Apple to go suck it.

New York State Senator Malcolm A. Smith was so incensed that the rapper told MTV on Monday, "I don't like New York," Smith actually called a press conference in Times Square to demand the hip-hop star apologize.

"I take strong exception to the words 'I don't like New York,'" the democrat told reporters yesterday, adding that he was "shocked" when he first heard it.

Smith went on to suggest that if Weezy hates New York, "you don't have to come to New York."

"You don't have to sell your products here. And perhaps we won't come to your concerts," he noted.

He might have difficulty selling some members of his own family on the idea however considering he admitted his 19-year-old daughter, Amanda, is a Lil Wayne fan.

And to be fair, the hitmaker hasn't had an easy time in the five boroughs considering that in 2007, he was busted on illegal weapons possession charges and following a guilty plea spent eight months locked up in Rikers Island in 2010. He also wasn't thrilled this June when a New York City DJ dissed of his protégé Nicki Minaj, prompting him to pull his Young Money acts out of the Hot 97 summer jam.

Still, given his neighborhood is famous for being the place that birthed such hip-hop icons as Run-D.M.C., rap mogul Russell Simmons, Ja Rule and Young MC among others, Smith wasn't taking Lil Wayne's insult lying down.

In a separate statement issued Wednesday and obtained by E! News, Smith noted: "Millions of New Yorkers listen to his music every day. His comments outraged his local fans and residents. The group today will be demanding an apology of the hip-hop star. Lil Wayne has had misfortune in New York with recent gun charges and a jail sentence."

To that end, Smith offered to meet with Lil Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Carter, at a time and place of his choosing to discuss "how to stop gun violence in cities" and allow the New Orleans native an opportunity to seek forgiveness.

"We're prepared to forgive Lil Wayne if in fact he makes a sincere apology," he said.

A publicist for Lil Wayne could not be reached for comment.