Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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JANUARY 27 - FEBRUARY 2, 2016 UCW 21 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM The Crown Coliseum presents Grammy Award Winner and multi-platinum selling hip hop artist Lil' Wayne on his "Dedication Tour" on Wednesday, Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m. Driven and talented from an early age, Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., better known as Lil' Wayne, is a hip hop recording artist from New Orleans, Louisiana. As a teen, he joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label. In 1996, he formed the group, Hot Boys, with his label mates Juvenile, Young Turk, and Lil' Doogie. He is the chief executive officer of his own label imprint, Young Money Entertainment. Lil' Wayne was barely 17 when, in 1999, he launched his solo career with Tha Block Is Hot. It went double platinum. His next two albums were not as popular. The 2004 release of Tha Carter was a big hit, with the single "Go D.J." placing on the rap, hip-hop and pop charts. Tha Carter II was released in December of 2005, and it claimed the No. 2 spot on the Billboard pop charts when it debuted. Like Father Like Son, a collaborative effort with Bryan William and Dedication, Vol. 2 a team effort with DJ Dram both came out in 2006. Both were mixtape recordings and did well. He has sold over 100 million records worldwide, which includes selling more than 15 million albums and 37 million digital tracks in the United States. In 2009, Lil Wayne won four Grammy Awards for singles including "A Milli" and "Lollipop." Staying busy is not a problem for Lil Wayne. He released a new mixtape called No Ceilings 2, on Thanksgiving. It has 21-tracks tracks and has guest appearances from Future, Yo Gotti, Curren$y, Mannie Fresh, Jae Millz, Los, Gudda Gudda, Baby E, Young Money singer Shanell and Wayne's fellow Hot Boys member Turk. Wayne's "Dedication Tour" features 19 stops. Rae Sremmurd is the special guest on the tour. They are an American trap and hip hop duo that is composed of two brothers, Khalif "Swae Lee" Brown and Aaquil "Slim Jxmmi" Brown. They are based in Atlanta., and best known for their platinum singles "No Flex Zone" and "No Type." Their debut album, ScremmLife, was released in January 2015. Buy one get one free tickets are available on select seats for a limited time online. For more information call 438-4100 or visit www.crowncomplexnc. com. They are a waste of time, don't change anybody's mind, and have little or no impact on the outcome of elections or the support of a politician. Does this comment describe the impact of political yard signs on elections or the effectiveness of speeches, such as President Obama's State of the Union message last week? Or both? A study on yard signs in political campaigns, co-authored by High Point University professor Dr. Brandon Lenoir, "shows political lawn signs have little effect on votes in a political race and no effect on turnout," according to a university release. Professor Lenoir said, "Millions of dollars are spent each election cycle on political lawn signs. We wanted to see if the signs are worth the paper they are printed on. Turns out, the conventional belief that lawn signs win elections isn't supported." He continued, "If more than a couple percentage points separate the two candidates, lawn signs will have no effect on the outcome of the election. Bottom line, campaign dollars are better spent elsewhere." So, are the yard signs we see in our neighbors' yards each election season just a waste of the candidate's precious campaign funds? Some experienced campaigners might disagree, pointing out that widespread coverage of yard signs helps build the spirit and enthusiasm of campaign supporters, workers and the candidate. And a good yard sign campaign can have a negative and deflating impact on the opposition. As a one-time candidate, I can tell you how humiliating it feels to see an opponent's sign in the yard of a good friend, suddenly a former good friend. Before discarding yard signs, candidates and campaign managers should evaluate their usefulness in building the campaign organization, recruiting supporters, and spreading the impression and reality that the campaign is on the move. Even if the study really shows that yard signs themselves do not win elections, the energy and spirit they convey can move supporters and prospective supporters to do the things and provide the resources that fuel a winning campaign. What about President Obama's State of the Union message? Did it make a positive difference in the President's approval ratings or make a dent in congressional opposition to him and his programs? Not according to The Economist magazine, which said, "No doubt, it reminded many of his critics, who represent around half of Americans, why they abhor him." So was the State of the Union speech a wasted effort? No, the President needed to do for his followers what yard signs do for a candidate's team: Boost their spirits and renew their commitment to support his presidency and his programs. After months of daily sledgehammer attacks by a host of Republican presidential hopefuls, each trying to outdo the others in criticizing every aspect of his actions and character, the President's supporters needed a pep talk from him. They needed more than an emotional pulpit sermon. They needed a point-by-point rebuttal to the candidates' barrage of criticism. The President responded with a catalogue of accomplishments. The Economist summarized his effort, "America has not, Mr. Obama ventured to suggest, gone to the dogs. Its economy is the envy of the world. Its armed forces are unrivalled. So is its global leadership." The President noted many of his other achievements, including job creation, health-care reform, efforts to mitigate carbon emissions, and a list of others. Even though he made no converts, he gave his supporters good reasons to stay on his team, be proud of his accomplishments, and dismiss the Republican candidates as panderers to the Obama- hating wing of their party. In short he gave his supporters the same kind of boost they would get if they saw Obama yard signs in lawns all over town. DR. SHANESSA FENNER, Principal, WT Brown Elementary School, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomingweekly. com. 910.484.6200 Yard Signs and State of the Union Speeches: Wasted Efforts? by D.G. MARTIN D.G. MARTIN, Host of UNCs Book Watch, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910.484.6200 President Barack Obama Lil' Wayne Comes to the Crown by DR. SHANESSA FENNER Lil' Wayne is set to perform at the Crown on Feb. 3.