WEEK IN REVIEW — April 14, 2018
WORDS: Stu Gomez
This is your week in skateboarding, through the eyes of The Berrics…
This week, Lil Wayne released his epic skate part, “Sorry For The SK8.” The oddly apologetic title seems to foreshadow some expected hate on social media: “why the fuck you post Lil Wayne part?” “Bunch of young guns out here strugglin… my little sister can do this” “The Berrics is wack for posting this.” You know, typical fanmail.
Mainly, what appears to be the main point of contention is that our audience is used to seeing a hyper-curated version of skateboarding via our Instagram account; the best of the best for the best of the best (that’s you). So when you see Wayne doing two dozen rock n’ rolls on a quarterpipe, you’ll rightly be confused. There’s a certain clip lifestyle that you’ve become accustomed to, and the haters are gonna be mad until we give them that *fire emoji* (*crying face emoji*).
Well, we never said these were NBDs. But what may be the real NBD is that Wayne started skating well into adulthood, maintained his prolific musical ouput, and all of his… extracurricular activities (you know what I sayin?!), and is still progressing in skating.
And he’s still progressing in his rhymes. Wayne has been the undisputed king of the punchline with his clever wordplay for at least a decade. Just take this bit from “6 Foot 7 Foot,” for example:
“Word to my mama, I’m out of my lima bean/
Don’t wanna see what that drama mean, guess I’m Dramamine/
Llama scream, hotter than summer sun on a Ghana queen.”
Come on, that shit is brilliant!
Lil Wayne is also always finding new ways to shout out skateboarding (when appropriate). Remember “I be grinding on them hoes like a halfpipe”? Don’t get him started on lip tricks! Then, a couple of years ago when “Skate It Off” came out, the song name-checked Torey Pudwill, Nyjah Huston, and Chaz Ortiz, to name a few. He mentions boardsliding a “fucking handrail,” and then he raps, “I’m gonna make my skaters rich / we ain’t no cheapskates.” Rock n’ roll!
So, Wayne has been true, very true, to the game. And, here at The Berrics, we are pleased to let him skate the park at, like, 2 a.m., or whenever he wants. And if the haters are content to hate, then go right ahead… because it helps our engagement rate on Instagram. (That’s right mu’fuckas: we love haters and all the lovely boosts to our analytics.) Weezy’s in the heezy, and we’re going to keep on supporting the homie.
But, while we’re on the subject, I just want to highlight a personal all-time favorite skate reference in a rap song, via Planet Asia in 2013’s “Tender Greens”:
“Out of body, my Gottis will leave you lying snotty / Don’t try to hobby what I jolly like it’s ladi-dadi
You outta space, Lord. Whole shit lookin’ shoddy / You’re just a poser on a skateboard, tryin’ to ollie.”
Say what you want, but Li’l Wayne is definitely not a poser.
Here are this week’s Berrics videos presented in easily bingeable bites:
Trevor McClung’s raw Battle Commander clips
Nora keeps bringing the pastel pants.
Squints started his own board company, and this is its inaugural part.
Matt Fisher and Cody Subido shared this part for The Friend Ship.
Ninja Training: “Hi-ya!” “Shhhh.”
It must be nice to be Walker Ryan.
