Lil Wayne's "Cannon" Was Meant For Trick Daddy

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DJ Cannon details the history behind Lil Wayne's "Cannon."

Wayne will forever be a GOAT, regardless of his political affiliation. Weezy's contributions to the game are second-to-none. He brought us Drake and Nicki Minaj but even before cementing the Young Money empire, the groundwork he put in is what we all fell in love with in the first place. His mixtape run, specifically, holds a special place in the hearts of rap fans who witnessed his reign in a pre-social media era.

Weezy can outrap the best of 'em, and there's no better example of this than the damage he did on "Cannon." The rapper's Dedication 2 cut has remained one of the many showcasing of Weezy's lyrical depth but the beat wasn't actually made for him. During a recent interview with Bootleg Kev, Don Cannon revealed that the beat was actually meant for Miami legend Trick Daddy who was apparently not interested because he had Madonna on his line.

"When I did 'Go Crazy,' an A&R from Atlantic -- I forgot his name -- at the time but he was like, 'I want you to go work with Trick Daddy,'" he said. "I went to Miami and I went to Circle House and I was busting my brain on what I can make Trick Daddy to feel like me and Miami at the same time." 

"At the time, 'C'mon N' Ride This Train' was a Southern bass record and I was like, 'I'm gonna East Coast the shit out.' How I wind up flipping it, Trick Daddy ain't really like it. You know, he was working on a Madonna record at the time," he continued. Though he hoped to impress Trick Daddy would one of his beats, it didn't end up happening. However, leaving some of the beats he made at the studio proved fruitful. No Limit's Fiend ultimately gave Cannon his praise and did the hook for what we know now as "Cannon."

The beat went through several people before landing in Wayne's lap. Apparently, Busta Rhymes was the first to have the record before sliding it over to Weezy.

"He winded up giving it to Wayne and Wayne just went stupid," he said. "The crazy thing is Wayne rapped the whole beat. Wayne rapped three minutes long. We had to make the verses because he wouldn't stop... He rapped the whole thing straight. I still got that version, too.

Check the clip out below. 


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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