He was instrumental and helping Nicki Minaj and Drake turn into superstars, and Lil Wayne is sharing his blueprint on breaking rising stars. Those Young Money Cash Money golden years are untouchable and fans remember when you couldn’t go anywhere without being confronted with yet another YMCMB hit. Weezy recently sat down with the I Am Athlete podcast and spoke at end about his love of music and why it’s important for Rap veterans to welcome new talent with open arms.
“You can’t be the person that’s saying, I don’t like the new music. You gotta love it,” he said. “Learn it, like it, and love it, because you better understand, that’s music. That’s not a certain type of music, that’s music. You got to Apple Music and Top 100s and [it’s] them folks right there.”
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“Then you got a Drake. He’s music. My goal now, if you want to be the ultimate artist, that’s what I want to be,” Wayne added before giving insight into why he decided to add Nicki and Drake’s talents to his roster.
“It was just about…I seen potential. That’s when I saw way more than just potential. When Drake’s music was brought to me from the homie [Jas Prince], it was about Rap,” he said. “I was like, ‘This dude sound different.’ What I loved about him, he was sounding just as dope as we were. When I say we, I’m talking about the streets and what we came from.”
Weezy said he told Drake that he could make anything sound “dope,” but Wayne was even more impressed when he heard Drake belting out a hook.
“One day, I heard, ‘[him singing].’ Like, ‘What the f*ck was that?’” he added. “You gotta be the ultimate artist. My homie could do two nights when he hits your city.” Watch Lil Wayne on I Am Athlete below.