Lil Wayne is a rapper's rapper, one who understands the importance of proper craftsmanship -- it's part of the reason why he remains such a viable "best rapper alive" contender to this day. In reality, Weezy's impressive skillset is the direct result of decades of experience, the culmination of a journey that originally began in his teenage years. During an interview with Lil Baby for Rolling Stone's Musicians On Musicians series, Weezy actually opened up about some of the albums that shaped him into the emcee he is today.
Jay-Z Album That Changed The Game">Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
"Jay-Z, Life and Times of Shawn Carter, plain and simple," reflects Weezy, when asked about the first album that impacted him. "It was the first album where I actually [got] the car that the rapper was talking about. That was my album. Also, Jay talked so crazy. He went bananas on that album. I got lyrics from the album tattooed on me and shit. I have songs that are remakes of spinoffs of songs from that album, you know?"
The third volume of Jay-Z's iconic series, Life & Times boasts classic cuts like "Big Pimpin," "Dope Man," "Watch Me," "So Ghetto" and more. Originally released in December of 1999, Lil Wayne would have been around seventeen years old upon its release. At that point, he had recently dropped his own debut album The Block Is Hot, not to mention various works with the Hot Boys and the Big Tymers. It's interesting to hear that the Jigga Man's Vol 3 had such a profound impact on a young Weezy, making their eventual collaborations like "Hello Brooklyn" and the stacked "Swagga Like Us" all the more historic.
For more from Lil Wayne and Lil Baby, be sure to check the entire Rolling Stone interview right here. For those familiar with Life & Times Of Sean Carter, can you trace the influence it ultimately had on Lil Wayne's own music?