Lil Wayne Sounded Too Much Like Jay-Z, Birdman Allegedly Thought

BYGabriel Bras Nevares5.1K Views
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Lil Wayne Too Much Like Jay-Z Birdman
Scott Legato/Getty Images, Kevin Winter/BET/Getty Images & Craig Barritt/Getty Images
It's quite hard to see these days, isn't it?

The greatest artists in the world can be as inspired by their favorite artists as the rest of us mortals, especially early into their careers. While things have changed a lot for him since then, that was once the case for Lil Wayne- or, at least, Birdman thought so. Moreover, Weezy recently revealed to Rolling Stone that Stunna once chastised him for sounding too much like Jay-Z, a weird comparison with today's context in mind. Still, as two of the greatest rappers still walking across the planet today, maybe it shouldn't be so surprising. Furthermore, the New Orleans legend told the publication the story when asked whether he listens to any hip-hop these days.

"When it comes to rap, I don’t listen to no one," Lil Wayne revealed. "I just don’t have time to, because I’m trying to get better every day. I tell my own artist that, too. When you find a favorite artist, you’re going to start sounding like them. It took Birdman and them to pull my a** aside and be like, 'Bro, I’m tired of every song you doing sounding like damn Jay-Z. You’re not Jay-Z.'"

Lil Wayne & Jay-Z Perform In Brooklyn

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 20: Lil Wayne and Jay Z perform during Tidal X: 1020 at Barclays Center on October 20, 2015 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Taylor Hill/FilmMagic/Getty Images)

Then, the interviewer asked Tunechi how that made him feel in the moment. "Yeah, I was glad it was working," he responded with a laugh. "That’s like, 'Oh, good, it’s working.'" And it worked all the way to one of the most legendary, acclaimed, and commercially successful careers in the genre. Elsewhere during their conversation, Lil Wayne shared a lot of gems, interesting takes, and surprising revelations. For example, he explained not really being able to tell Tha Carters apart.

"I’m going to be so honest with you: I don’t know Tha Carter IIITha Carter IITha Carter One from Tha Carter IV. And that’s just my God’s honest truth. You could lie, you could ask me [about] such and such song, I wouldn’t even know what we talking about. So it holds no significance to me at all. I don’t even know if [2008 is] when Tha Carter III came out. That’s how much I don’t know, I work every day, bro- every single day. I always look at it as the curse part of the gift and the curse. I believe that [God] blessed me with this amazing mind, but would not give [me] an amazing memory to remember this amazing s**t." For the latest news and updates on Lil Wayne, come back to HNHH.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a music and pop culture news writer for HotNewHipHop. He started in 2022 as a weekend writer and, since joining the team full-time, has developed a strong knowledge in hip-hop news and releases. Whether it’s regular coverage or occasional interviews and album reviews, he continues to search for the most relevant news for his audience and find the best new releases in the genre. What excites him the most is finding pop culture stories of interest, as well as a deeper passion for the art form of hip-hop and its contemporary output. Specifically, Gabriel enjoys the fringes of rap music: the experimental, boundary-pushing, and raw alternatives to the mainstream sound. As a proud native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, he also stays up-to-date with the archipelago’s local scene and its biggest musical exponents in reggaetón, salsa, indie, and beyond. Before working at HotNewHipHop, Gabriel produced multiple short documentaries, artist interviews, venue spotlights, and audio podcasts on a variety of genres and musical figures. Hardcore punk and Go-go music defined much of his coverage during his time at the George Washington University in D.C. His favorite hip-hop artists working today are Tyler, The Creator, Boldy James, JPEGMAFIA, and Earl Sweatshirt.