Lil Wayne is one of, if not the most, prolific Hip-Hop artists of the 21st century. As with many rappers, his success has come with various feuds stemming from several reasons. Many of these feuds have been highly publicized. However, Wayne has refrained from dropping too many diss tracks and instead sends subliminals. Let’s look at some of Wayne’s biggest feuds over his career.
Gillie Da Kid
One of Wayne’s earliest feuds was brought about because of his affiliations with Cash Money Records. In 2003, artist Gillie Da Kid left Cash Money over a disagreement regarding finances with the label’s founder Birdman. After this, Wayne dropped a diss track on Gillie Da Kid titled “Problem Solver” on his 2006 mixtape, The Carter 2, Part 2: Like Father Like Son. After the release of the “Problem Solver,” Gillie appeared on a few street DVD’s exposing how “fake” Wayne and Birdman were. Gillie claimed that he was a ghostwriter for Wayne’s album Tha Carter. Gillie said Weezy needed to slow down on his drug use. He also claimed Wayne borrowed his jewelry for a music video.
When Wayne was asked about Gillie during a video shoot, he jokingly remarked, “Who?” Gillie responded with a diss track in late 2006 over the “Cannon” instrumental, in which he dissed Wayne and Birdman. Wayne responded with a few bars on his Da Drought 3 mixtape in 2007. Gillie’s last diss track on Wayne was over the instrumental of “Stuntin’ Like My Daddy,” which Gillie titled “Frontin’ Like My Daddy.”
In 2010, Wayne was arrested and incarcerated for gun possession. Later, Gillie dropped a video stating that he did not want to see anyone in jail. This video ended the feud, as it seemed that both men dropped the beef at this point.
50 Cent
Wayne and 50 Cent’s feud began in 2007 after 50 called Wayne a “whore” for working with so many artists. Fif then dissed Wayne and Birdman in his song “Part Time Lover.” He also reportedly publicly questioned MTV’s decision to rank Weezy as the No. 1 hottest MC in the game. Wayne replied to 50 Cent’s remarks in an interview, in which he complimented his peer. Wayne further said the New York rapper was a “trillionaire” and was at the place Wayne wanted to go. However, in 2008, a song by Wayne titled “Louisianimal” leaked online, and the rap icon began his verse by sending shots at 50. Wayne also sent a subliminal shot at 50 on his verse on Pimp C’s song “Let’s Talk Money.”
50 Cent then replied to these jabs in his songs “Play This on the Radio” and “Office Ricky (Go Head, Try Me)” in 2009. Fif rapped about Wayne’s decision to call his friend Eminem out. He also mocked Wayne in a video as he strummed a guitar. This came after Wayne announced the release of his rock album Rebirth.
Wayne then teased 50 Cent in 2010 with his music video for “Money on My Mind.” He can be seen picking up 50’s book, From Pieces to Weight, and laughing in the visual. 50 brought back the beef a year later with more bars on his track “Love, Hate, Love.” In 2012 and 2013, the beef seemed to have been squashed. 50 Cent wished Wayne well after suffering a seizure in 2012. The two were pictured together at a Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight.
Pusha T
Wayne and Pusha T’s beef began in 2006 after Wayne was on the cover of Vibe wearing Japanese clothing brand A Bathing Ape’ Wayne also wore BAPE clothes in his music video for “Hustler Musik.” Pusha T and his brother Malice, along with their long-time friend, Pharrell, were some of the first rappers to wear BAPE, so they believed Wayne was biting their style. Because of this, the duo known as Clipse dropped a song titled “Mr. Me Too,” where they dissed Wayne.
When asked about these allegations in a Complex interview, Wayne said, “Talk to me like you’re talking to the best. I don’t see no fuckin’ Clipse. Come on, man. Weezy, man. They had to do a song with us to get hot, B.” Wayne also stated that Clipse and Pharrell wore BAPE, and fans thought it was “weird.” However, after he wore it, they thought it was “hot.”
Pusha T again dissed Wayne on Clipse’s track “Re-Up Gang Intro” and again on “Open Your Eyes.” The beef appeared over after Wayne was incarcerated in 2010. Pusha T publicly voiced his support for Wayne. However, Pusha returned with more bars for Wayne in 2012 when he dropped a single titled “Exodus 23:1.” On the song, he sent many shots at Wayne and Drake. After the song’s release, Wayne tweeted, “Fuk pusha t and anybody that love em.” He dropped a diss track the same day of the tweet titled “Goulish.” Pusha by calling it “weak.”
Birdman
Perhaps Wayne’s most heated and publicized feud of Lil Wayne’s career has been with Birdman. Birdman is the CEO of Cash Money Records and took Lil Wayne under his wing as a teenager. Wayne has often referred to Birdman as his “father,” however, in 2014, things took a turn. Wayne aired out his public grievances toward Birdman and Cash Money due to the pushback of his album Tha Carter V.
In December of 2014, less than a week after Tha Carter V’s intended release, Wayne took to Twitter to voice his frustrations. He wrote, “I want off this label and nothing to do with these people but unfortunately it ain’t that easy.” Weezy also tweeted, “I am a prisoner and so is my creativity.” Things heated up in January of 2015, as Wayne filed a $51 million lawsuit against Birdman and Cash Money. He cited that Birdman violated the terms of his contract by refusing to release Tha Carter V.
Wayne signed a streaming deal with Jay Z’s platform Tidal and also attempted to remove Birdman from Young Money Records legally. An indictment in July 2015 claimed that Birdman and Young Thug conspired to kill Wayne after shots were fired at his tour bus. However, neither man was charged with any crime. A day after the shooting, Birdman sued Tidal for $50 million after they released Wayne’s mixtape Free Weezy.
In 2016, the two attempted to reconcile. Both appeared on-stage together and were also pictured in the studio. However, Wayne proceeded to diss Birdman on his verse on Chance the Rapper’s “No Problems” and again yelled “Fuck Cash Money” at a live performance. Wayne then filed a $40 million lawsuit against Universal Music Group. In September 2016, judges sided with Wayne in his lawsuit against Birdman. Yet in November, Birdman called off negotiations regarding the lawsuit. The beef seems to be over, but only time will tell.