Fetty Wap released visuals for his single “Wake Up” last week and they’re causing controversy and some trouble.
The video takes place in the setting of the hit movie Lean On Me and Wap’s high school alma mater, Eastside High School in Paterson, New Jersey.
Following the release of the hit video—which has accumulated over 3.2 million views since—the principal of operations at the school, Zatiti Moody has been placed on administrative leave for apparently allowing the rapper to film a music video inside the school, according to reports from News 12 New Jersey.
Officials are now investigating the music video.
The song’s message and its video setting really do seem to be somewhat of an oxymoron, as lyrics to the song include: “Sh*t, I ain’t really trippin’ over school, let’s get Wiz Khalifa high,” seemingly suggesting blowing off school to smoke marijuana.
The video also begins with a message from the rapper that states: “I went back to my old high school to shoot this video. A nobody, high school dropout now known worldwide as Fetty Wap. Celebrate every day, roll something up and define your own path,” which even further drives home the message conveyed through the song.
Multiple parents and board members spoke out against the matter, and a lot of them were disapproving of it. Complex reports the District Parent Coordinator at Paterson Public Schools, Mark Fischer, left a comment on the school’s Facebook page that read: “I REALLY CAN’T BELIEVE THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOL DR. EVANS AND PRINCIPAL OF EASTSIDE MR. MOODY APPROVED THIS… SAY IT AIN’T SO JOE.”
However, Fetty Wap explains a deeper meaning of the song than what the lyrics outright suggest and what those in opposition perceive. In a message released with the single “Wake Up,” he shares his purpose for the song and the message he wants to convey, which certainly isn’t encouraging kids to drop out of school—unless of course that’s the path they choose for themselves.
Via Twitter:
