Lil Wayne's Essence Festival Dance Moves Will Leave You Smiling: Watch

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2023 Essence Festival Of Culture
Lil Wayne performs during day 3 of the 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture™ at Caesars Superdome on July 02, 2023 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Josh Brasted/WireImage)
Weezy made a surprise appearance in his home state on the final night of Essence Fest.

Lil Wayne is a man of great confidence – he did say that he's his own only worthy Verzuz competitor, after all. From the stage to the studio, the Young Money leader has never shied away from speaking his truth and letting his bold personality shine through. Sometimes that finds Weezy ending live performances early due to a lacklustre response from his audience, and other times it shows him making surprise appearances and having a blast on stage.

The latter happened this past weekend at New Orleans' Essence Festival. Wayne wasn't on the lineup alongside headliners like Lauryn Hill and Megan Thee Stallion, however, locals were still happy to see Tha Carter himself in an all-pink Rick Owens outfit. In one video that's making rounds online, Wayne pulls out a Michael Jackson-esque dance routine for his audience, though it was definitely lacking the King of Pop's sharpness.

Lil Wayne Surprises Fans in New Orleans

"Michael Jackson on moon rocks 😂," one IG user joked in @2cool2bl0g's IG comments. "Old Wayne would’ve been dissin' new Wayne," someone else suggested. Thankfully there are still those who expressed their joy at seeing the "How to Love" hitmaker in good spirits. The smile that spreads across his face at the end of his dance break proves that Wayne was feeling himself, regardless of what any critics might have to say about him.

During his time on the Essence Festival stage, the Southern star rapped "A Milli" and other hits from his discography. While those in person at the event caught it live, people tuning in at home failed to witness Weezy's appearance as it wasn't included in the Hulu live stream. Outside the realm of hip-hop, Lil Wayne has also been connecting with Skip Bayless more frequently as of late. At the end of June, we received an update on their Undisputed project, which you can read all about at the link below. For more music/pop culture news updates, check back in with HNHH later.

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About The Author
Hayley Hynes is the former Weekend Managing Editor of HotNewHipHop, she stepped down after two years in 2024 to pursue other creative opportunities but remains on staff part-time to cover music, gossip, and pop culture news. Currently, she contributes similar content on Blavity and 21Ninety, as well as on her personal blog where she also offers tarot/astrology services. Hayley resides on the western side of Canada, previously spending a year in Vancouver to study Fashion Marketing at Blanche Macdonald Centre and Journalism at Mount Royal University in Calgary before that. She's passionate about helping others heal through storytelling, and shares much more about her life on Instagram @hayleyhynes.
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