Sha'Nautica B.

Gardner
Ms. Walters Advisory

Lil Wayne "Tie My Hands"

Hurricane Katrina was the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest
hurricanes, in the history of the United States.Lil Wayne was affected by Hurricane Katrina,
since he is from New Orleans. He has done something to give something back to the
community and help rebuild. Lil Wayne "Tie My Hands" is a masterpiece because it retains
lines of communication with the immediate past of disaster from Hurricane Katrina, uses the
language of the day that refers to the destruction of the the storm and flood, and it moves
the audience to have a sense of hope.
"Tie My Hands" retains lines of communication with the immediate past of the disaster from
a Hurricane Katrina. According to DoSomething.org,"Hurricane Katrina was one of the
deadliest hurricanes ever to hit the United States with an estimated 1,836 of people that
died in the hurricane"(DoSomething.org). Everyone in New Orleans went through a difficult
time.They either had to pick up things that they could quickly grab since they didn't have
enough time and leave everything or stay there and hope for the best. ...And if you come
from under that water then there's fresh air/ Just breathe baby God's got a blessing to
spare.../ 'Cause I came from the projects straight to success and you're next/ So try they
can't steal your pride it's inside..."(Lil Wayne, lines 56-57,60-61). Lil Wayne was referring
back to how some people died during the flood and everyone there help each other out to
make it through because there was no one there from the government that really came to
save them so they just had to depend on one another.
"Tie My Hands" relates to the Kenneth Clark criteria because it retains lines of
communication with the immediate past of the disaster from a Hurricane Katrina. The storm
itself did a great deal of damage, but its aftermath was catastrophic. "My, shoulders are
strong I prove 'em wrong/ I ain't doing nothing but moving on/ Let the truth be known/ But
they talked that freedom at us/ And didn't even leave a ladder, damn" (Lil Wayne, lines 1216). When the hurricane first occurred, nobody immediately came to help. The world just
watched the people of New Orleans suffer. Officials, even including President George W.
Bush, seemed unaware of just how bad things were in New Orleans and elsewhere: how
many people were stranded or missing; how many homes and businesses had been
damaged; how much food, water and aid was needed. Katrina had left in her wake what
one reporter called a total disaster zone where people were getting absolutely desperate"
(History.com).
Lil Wayne uses the language of the day that refers to the destruction of the the storm and
flood. "The region is still recovering, and government officials have sought to learn from the
tragedy and implement better communications and evacuation policies...There are still
neighborhoods just a short ride from the city where the effects of Katrina can still be seen"
(LiveScience, Kim Ann Zimmermann). There's yet so much work that still needs to be done
even though many years have passed. "Yeah, Born right here in the USA/ But, due to
tragedy looked on by the whole world as a refugee/ So accept my emotion/ Do not take it as
an offensive gesture/ It's just the epitome of my soul/ And I must be me/ We got spirit y'all,

we got spirit" (Lil Wayne, lines 71-77). Lil Wayne lyrics shows how the people in New
Orleans had to basically help themselves to make it through because no one else would've.
Lil Wayne uses the language of the day that refers to the destruction of the the storm and
flood. A clip from "History Uncut" provides aerial video of New Orleans, taken from a news
helicopter, shortly after Hurricane Katrina. It provides a unique perspective of the
devastation that Katrina wreaked on the city. "We are at war with the universe, the sky is
falling/ And the only thing that can save us now/ Is sensitivity and compassion" (Lil Wayne
1-3). When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, it seemed as if the world was coming to an
end but somehow the people of New Orleans pushed each other to get through it all.
Lil Wayne lyrics moves the audience to have a sense of hope. "...And if you come from
under that water then there's fresh air/ Just breathe baby God's got a blessing to spare.../
'Cause I came from the projects straight to success and you're next/ So try they can't steal
your pride it's inside..."(Lil Wayne, lines 56-57,60-61). Wayne means that if the people of
New Orleans made through all that destruction and even lost everything that they had, they
could still pick themselves up and make something of their life because there's always a
way and theres always hope. Conducted in a survey that Ive created, I asked a series of
question about how the song made people feel and what does the song mean to them.
Seeing from the results, more than half of the people that took the survey agree/strongly
agree that the song made them feel a sense of hope, loss, concerned for the people of New
Orleans, and inspired them to want to take action for the people there in need. For the most
part, they believe that the song gave the people of New Orleans the chance to be hopeful of
a better tomorrow. Furthermore, this song is a representation of the voice of New Orleans
and moves the people affected by Hurricane Katrina and even the audience to have a
sense of hope.

Work Cited
Bulletin of the World Health Organization. Public Health, 11 Dec. 2006. Web. 5 May 2015.
<http://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?pid=S0042-96862006001200008&script=sci_arttext>.
Dupriest, Benjamin M. "Complicating The Complex Lil Wayne & Identity Construct In
Southern Hip Hop." (n.d.): n. pag. The University of Georgia, 2007. Web. 5 May 2015.
<https://getd.libs.uga.edu/pdfs/dupriest_benjamin_m_201305_ma.pdf>.
"11 Facts About Hurricane Katrina." 11 Facts About Hurricane Katrina. N.p., n.d. Web. 05
May 2015. <https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-hurricane-katrina>.
History.com Staff. "Hurricane Katrina." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web.
05 May 2015. <http://www.history.com/topics/hurricane-katrina>.
Schmidt, Topanga. "Hurricane Katrina." Hurricanes Affect on Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 05
May 2015. <http://hurricanesaffectonsociety.weebly.com/hurricane-katrina.html>.
Zimmermann, By Kim Ann. "Hurricane Katrina: Facts, Damage & Aftermath." LiveScience.
TechMedia Network, 20 Aug. 2012. Web. 05 May 2015. <http://www.livescience.com/22522hurricane-katrina-facts.html>.