Lil B Pays Rap Homage to Late Skateboarder
Lil B has a new rap with a video set at the Walnut Creek Skate Park, where Tucker Hacking was a regular. Hacking died Jan. 29 after a skateboard accident.
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The story of a 20-year-old Walnut Creek man who died last week in a skateboard accident touched the heart of rapper Lil B of Berkeley.
A new Lil B song means a national airing for the story of Tucker Hacking and the drive to rename the Walnut Creek Skate Park for him. The You Tube video of Lil B's "I Own Swag" is filmed at the skate park on Marchbanks Drive, adjacent to Heather Farm Park. (And warning to parents: You might want to prevent the little ones from listening to this rap because it's got plenty of obscenities.)
In the video, Lil B strolls the skate park in business attire with a patterned blue shirt and pink tie. He chats with some skateboarders at the park where Hacking was a regular known as THacks. The video shows a glimpse of a newspaper article about Hacking's death Jan. 29, two days after he fell from a skateboard on Juanita Drive on the border of Walnut Creek and Lafayette.
Lil B, 22, is known for solo work and recording with the group the Pack.
The organizers of a Facebook site, "Help Create Tucker Hacking Memorial Skate Park," have said they plan to present a petition to the Walnut Creek City Council on Tuesday, Feb. 21. The Facebook petition was climbing toward 1,500 signatures Monday.
Hacking's former employer, Play-Well TEKnologies (which teaches engineering to children), has announced a Tucker Hacking Scholarship Fund. Play-Well says it set up the Tucker Hacking Just Have Fun Scholarship Fund at his family's request.
There are some wonderful biographical details about Hacking on the Play-Well website. In a bio for job showing youngsters how to engineer things with Lego blocks, Hacking wrote: "My main goal in life is to be a surf instructor in the Mentawais Islands (Indonesia). Although this is a very distant goal, another one closer to reality would be for me to become an owner of a fortune 500 company or an 8th grade history teacher."
Thanks to Patch reader Jeffrey Nash for alerting us to the Lil B video.
obiwan
5:37 pm on Monday, February 6, 2012
And how is this demonstration of rhythmic mumbled obscenities supposed to rally support for renaming the park?
Lauren Brookhart
6:20 pm on Monday, February 6, 2012
This is merely an individual within the community showing his support rather than someone directly related to the cause of changing the skate park's name. The song is an outlet for the artist to express himself and in no relation does what he say in the song refer to Tucker Hacking.
obiwan
7:08 pm on Monday, February 6, 2012
Maybe I'm just overly sensitive, because I once had a posting deleted by the Patch editor for using language much less offensive than in this video. (Remember that Lance?) The article claims that this song will get "a national airing for the story of Tucker Hacking and the drive to rename the Walnut Creek Skate Park for him". I don't see how. If anything it seems to be Mr. Lil B's attempt to cash in on a tragedy for purposes of self-promotion. And I doubt if that "national airing" will be on any radio station licensed by the FCC.
PragmaticProgressive
7:26 pm on Monday, February 6, 2012
Lance edits another Berkeley site, not this one.
Lance Howland
7:36 pm on Monday, February 6, 2012
Darn it, Obiwan, I remember trying to talk you out of a blog post headline because the headline was about oranges and the post was about apples, but I caved in to your judgment because ultimately the blog is your expression, not mine. I didn't think it was about offensive language. But maybe my memory is selective. I'll put a disclaimer in the story for the naughty language of the rap. May the Force be with you!
obiwan
9:45 pm on Monday, February 6, 2012
Lance - You don't remember the reference to the doo-doo-list?
DubCeemom
11:34 pm on Monday, February 6, 2012
Exactly how does Patch know that "Lil B's "heart was touched" ? Methinks someone is taking too much artistic license with the facts. I don't know who the heck "Lil B" is, but I doubt his heart had anything to do with it. He's just being opportunistic, is all. His rap is the usual misogynistic, designed-to-be-offensive garbage. It has absolutely nothing to do with Tucker Hacking or the movement to rename the WC Skate Park. I'm not sure why Patch is even giving this Lil dude any press at all...
Lance Howland
12:25 pm on Tuesday, February 7, 2012
DubCeeMom OK, I'll plead guilty to excessive artist license with "heart was touched." Lil B, are you out there in the blogosphere? Jump in here and have my back -- was your heart touched?
Lance Howland, editor, Walnut Creek Patch
Julie Mendelsohn
6:56 am on Tuesday, February 7, 2012
If his rap has nothing to do with Tucker, then why the printout in the video? The rose?
BedHed
12:05 pm on Tuesday, February 7, 2012
@obiwan lol. Lil B is already famous and isnt about the money. This isnt a cash in. Saying that is disrespectful man. You dont even know what this guys about. Lil B is an artist not a rapper. Look up "think about it" by him. he cares about his community more than making money
BedHed
12:06 pm on Tuesday, February 7, 2012
@obiwan what you think about it
obiwan
4:35 pm on Tuesday, February 7, 2012
BedHed - I have no problem with the lyrics or sentiment in "think about it", but "I own Swag" is another matter. I even looked at the supposed "what the artist is saying" translation on rapgenius.com, but sorry, the lyrics are just a string of obscenities and the "translation" has something to do with someone named David Banner, not Tucker Hacking. I suppose it's just a generational thing but if the guy's such a famous artistic genius and so committed to the cause, why doesn't he write something ABOUT Tucker or the skate park?
swagswagswag
7:42 pm on Tuesday, February 7, 2012
LOL the comments here are pretty hilarious
swagswagswag
7:49 pm on Tuesday, February 7, 2012
But no seriously this is not newsworthy at all -- if anything it's a pretty subtle reference on Lil B's part that shouldn't mean anything except to local fans and Bay Area skateboarders (a group which Lil B belongs to)
Rachel Fields
7:52 pm on Tuesday, February 7, 2012
I am so disappointed with the Walnut Creek Patch. This video has nothing to do with Tucker and is totally disrespectful to Tucker's family. They must be completely overwhelmed by grief and to have this vulgar, opportunistic rap song associated with his memory is irresponsible. Shame on you Patch!
BedHed
11:18 am on Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Old people shouldn't be allowed to comment on stuff online -_-
DubCeemom
2:15 pm on Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Tee hee! BedHed, I sincerely hope you GET to be an "old" person someday!!!