Last night, the legendary Lil Wayne took a moment to connect with Sovereign Brands CEO, Brett Berish (creator of Weezy's Bumbu Rum), and many interesting topics were discussed. One particularly telling moment arose when Berish inquired about the possibility of discovering another Drake or Nicki -- the cornerstones of his Young Money dynasty -- prompting a passionate response from Wayne.
Nicki Minaj">Johnny Nunez/WireImage/Getty Images
"There's no such thing," says Wayne, his face crinkling with incredulity. "I hate when people ask me that. There's no such thing as the next Drake or the next Nicki." When the interviewer clarifies his question, specifying that he essentially meant 'the next big thing,' Wayne takes a moment to ponder. "Back then, when I did discover Drake and Nicki, the game was different. Music was different. What I mean by that is they came in right before all the social media popped off. They came in when music had everybody's attention. It had everybody looking to see how is next, what is next."
"You had a choice. This is what's next? Do I like, yay or nay?" continues Wayne. "That's not what it is these days. Now it's a thousand new things a day." His feed goes full 56K mode and interrupts his thought, but the sentiment is clear as the connection picks back up. "Unfortunately, given that fact, you gotta be more than someone to become a Drake or a Nicki these days. Right when you think you Drake or you Nicki, they gon' post something of a little six-year-old saying something that's more popular than your songs. It don't even matter no more."
I am very proud of the fact that I came from when there was no such thing as putting an album out and seeing how many likes I got. No, you gotta get yourself off your ass on your couch and buy that shit. For me to be able to get a million people to do that the first week I dropped, thank God. That's way better than knowing that I got a million likes. All of a sudden you call that going platinum?
When asked whether or not he's thankful to have risen to prominence when he did, Weezy's facial expression speaks volumes. "Oh my God, bruh!" he declares. "I am beyond elated that I am part of that culture. That time, that era. Whatever you want to call it. I am very proud of the fact that I came from when there was no such thing as putting an album out and seeing how many likes I got. No, you gotta get yourself off your ass on your couch and buy that shit. For me to be able to get a million people to do that the first week I dropped, thank God. That's way better than knowing that I got a million likes. All of a sudden you call that going platinum? No! Stop!"
Check out the full Weezy interview below, and be sure to show some love to the Young Money dynasty -- even as surprising revelations emerge, prompting speculation on the ownership of Drake and Nicki's early musical masters. Do you think Wayne is correct in his assessment that the game will never see someone like Drizzy or Nicki again?