I’ve been living in New York for a few months now. I can’t help but notice the widespread adoration for Dwayne Michael Carter, aka Lil Wayne. This does not just include preppy kids in average nightclubs, but intelligent, self-conscious connoisseurs of culture, such as my flatmate Greg, who prides himself on an encyclopaedic knowledge of all things, from the smell of children to lox bagels, roofies to Ryan Phillipe.

But when we bring up Lil Wayne, formerly of ‘Hot Boys’, he seems to melt like a knob of butter on Beyonce’s inner thigh. Why, I ask, do you worship this guy who raps with an irritating screech and has an unhealthy obsession with sounds that I have not heard since my circa 1988 portable Yamaha keyboard. Those synthesised claps and lightweight, tinny beats make me feel quite sick. Where is the soul, the bass, the funky Jazz-infused rawness?

“Kid, you’re missing the point” Greg would scoff, “Lil Wayne is the bomb, the next generation of hip hop – you just aren’t ready for his sound!”

He is probably right – I am after all a scruffy, blonde-haired English public schoolboy who is way more interested in our very own Red Devil, the not so little Wayne.

Maybe Lil will find a context at some stage, but I can’t help but think that he is being championed due to a) P Diddy & Jay Z’s financial interests and b) there is a genuine dearth of new talent out there at the moment.

What are your thoughts?

I do like this song by him though (ignore the rubbish video):