"The Joe Budden Podcast" Passionately Debates If Lil Wayne Can Return To Peak Form

BY Zachary Horvath 577 Views
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Name you know: Lil Wayne Birth name: Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. © Zach Boyden-Holmes / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Lil Wayne will always be one of the most undoubted hip-hop legends, but the Joe Budden panel can't see eye to eye on what he can accomplish.

At this point in Lil Wayne's indelible career, there really isn't much more too debate. He's already cemented himself among the all-time greats to ever pick up a pen. The only real question that you can ask now is where exactly does he rank? Is he top five? 10? 15? 20? That may never be truly answered. However, The Joe Budden Podcast is stirring up some conversation right now about what sort of heights Weezy F. Baby can reach in the twilight of his career. This spirited chat got underway when Joe and the crew got to talking about how Jay-Z was always able to evolve by talking about his life in his music. 4:44, his last studio album does exactly that.

While the panel was getting into over that, Joe Budden interjected and stated firmly, "The answer to your question is yes Wayne has peaked." He then went on to claim that "I don't think y'all even have a foundation to lay this argument on. Wayne, we can safely say, we have seen the absolute best of. I don't give a f*ck is his rhyming improves for the next five and 10 years. That moment in time where he's doing what's in sync with what the people backing him are doing... with what the fans are receiving him... with making his best music... that has happened already."

Is Lil Wayne Dropping An Album In 2025?

One of Joe Budden's co-hosts misunderstood his point a little bit, thinking he was claiming that Lil Wayne can't rap at a high level anymore. However, what Joe is getting at here is that Wayne can't hit his early to mid 2000s level of dominance. That obviously contains projects like Tha Carter III, Tha Carter II, etc. Some on Budden's set disagreed with him, but he feels that just because he can still spit with the best of them is just one part of being a top-tier artist. Overall, Budden thinks the conversation around Lil Wayne now is whether or not "he's still got it."

That's especially taking into account his health issues that he's had over the years, or at least the ones that have been reported. That debate could come up again in just a few short months. Lil Wayne is scheduled to be dropping the sixth installment in the Carter series on June 6. He made the announcement amid the heated conversations surrounding his snub from the Super Bowl Halftime Show. "Do not disturb 'til 06-06-25," a sign said at the end of the short trailer. It will be his first solo album since 2020's Funeral and will arrive seven years after Tha Carter V.

About The Author
Zachary Horvath is one of the Music Freelance News Writers at HotNewHipHop and has held that title since August 2023. Prior to this position, he held another freelance gig covering local high school football, girls and boys varsity basketball, in addition to recapping Cleveland Cavaliers games remotely. He's taken the previous experience and used it to become a jack of all trades at HotNewHipHop. Zach has thoroughly enjoyed tackling some of the trending topics in sports, with a larger focus on hip-hop and pop culture. Some of those include Bronny James's draft stock, a multitude of angles swirling around the Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef, as well as Diddy's arrest and lawsuits. Separate from the headlines that everyone wants to hear about, he was fortunate enough to help spread Zaytoven's current thoughts at the time around mid-December in 2023. Even though being able to give his expertise on these stories is fulfilling, being able to share his passion for releases trumps that ever so slightly. Having the chance to express his excitement indirectly about what he thinks our readers should be checking out/revisiting grows his passion for writing that much more.