Fetty Wap’s past crimes don’t define him, but they still matter

Call me a party pooper, but I’ll say what we should all be thinking: The Undergraduate Student Government Social Committee’s selection of Fetty Wap to headline Spring Lawnparties is inappropriate. I don’t suggest that Fetty Wap shouldn’t perform. But without acknowledging his past drug trafficking conviction in any substantive way, USG is shirking its responsibility to moral clarity.

As reported by The Daily Princetonian, Fetty Wap served “more than half of a six-year sentence for his part in a drug trafficking conspiracy involving over 100 kilograms of fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin.” Perhaps I am an old soul, but I think that drug trafficking is objectively wrong, and the University and USG should be playing a role in shaping the great minds of our generation to agree. Inviting Fetty Wap sends the opposite message; USG, through its silence, signals its indifference to his criminal background.

Let me be clear: People who have served their due time do not deserve to be blacklisted by society. In fact, I am disturbed by the laws across the nation (but not in New Jersey!) that prohibit felons who are paroled or who complete their sentences from voting, and I believe that earnest efforts to help former criminals reintegrate into society are deeply important. Furthermore, the University’s expanding work in exoneration efforts is commendable. 

But Fetty Wap is not an exoneree, and the Lawnparties stage is not a voting booth or a site for reintegration. The University has an interest in cultivating an understanding — although not necessarily an acceptance — of moral and legal norms. 

The lack of any qualification or disclaimer accompanying Fetty Wap’s invitation flies in the face of that imperative. It disregards the severity of drug trafficking, suggesting that Fetty Wap’s is a crime that does not rise to the level of the University’s scrutiny. Yet it is unimaginable that the University would invite, say, P. Diddy — whose prison sentence is actually shorter than Fetty Wap’s was — to perform. Thus the invitation suggests that drug trafficking is a crime that we can overlook and that it’s not a big deal. Is that the message USG wishes to send?

That said, an invitation does not equal an endorsement, nor should my criticism herein be misconstrued to advocate for the suppression of free expression on campus. Indeed, if USG were to host Fetty Wap for a conversation about the decriminalization of drug trafficking, his time in prison, or how his career was affected by his conviction, I would be the first in line, excited to learn. It is the responsibility of the University to expose its students to startling ideas and allow students to shape their thinking based on that exposure. 

But instead, Fetty Wap will be on a stage, most likely singing some of his most popular songs that glorify drug trafficking in front of throngs of intoxicated students, some of whom are not aware of the real impact of his words. That environment is not conducive to a productive conversation about the problem that our country currently faces. I’m not calling for the cancellation of Fetty Wap as the headliner. But I am attempting to point out the danger of a casual promotion of his work, which seems inseparable from his crimes.

By inviting Fetty Wap to perform at Lawnparties with no acknowledgement of the reality of his recent past, USG is not supporting the reintegration of a falsely accused victim of gross miscarriage of justice, creating new opportunities to rehabilitate a formerly incarcerated person, nor exposing Princetonians to great or startling ideas. Rather, it is suggesting that the real impacts of the opioid epidemic can be at least temporarily overlooked in favor of the entertainment of students at an elite university.

It is worth acknowledging that Fetty Wap is, at least nominally, a different person than he was before his incarceration. He was released early from his six year sentence, and he shared his commitment to “moving forward with purpose and making a meaningful impact where it matters most” upon his release. Everyone, including drug traffickers, should have the chance to continue to lead fulfilling lives after serving their sentence.

Moreover, Fetty Wap isn’t singular in his performance at Princeton after a criminal case. In Fall 2024, NLE Choppa, who had previously been placed on probation for burglary, carrying a concealed firearm, and drug possession, headlined Lawnparties. NLE Choppa’s charge and the levied consequences were notably less severe than Fetty Wap’s. 

Regardless, given the real harms of drug use among college-aged people, USG has a responsibility to make wise decisions about the aesthetics and experiences that it promotes — or at least those that it accepts through indifference. Fetty Wap’s visit to campus is not the same as the invitation of a controversial academic speaker; his performance serves no intellectual good and it normalizes willful ignorance of very real national crises.

In 2021 in New York and New Jersey, where Fetty Wap trafficked drugs in 2019 and 2020, over 8,000 people — a disproportionate number of whom were Black or Latino — died from drug overdoses. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18–45 is fentanyl overdose. Of course, Fetty Wap’s actions did not result in all of these deaths, but he is morally complicit in a crisis that kills hundreds of thousands of Americans — including some of our friends, families, and neighbors — every year.

Luckily for USG, there’s a chance to prove that Princeton is not morally bankrupt without placing Fetty Wap on a blacklist. They must clearly acknowledge Fetty Wap’s crimes: Every student who attends Fetty Wap’s show should learn about the impacts of the crimes committed by the man they’ll be cheering for. 

At the very least, USG should do some soul searching. While Fetty Wap may have been the most requested artist by Princetonians this year, sometimes it is up to University leaders to stand up for what is right rather than what is popular. It is not too late for USG to acknowledge its role in shaping campus culture — it owes us that much.

Ian Rosenzweig is an assistant Opinion editor from Bryn Mawr, Pa. You can reach him at ir2411[at]princeton.edu.