An Interview With Lil Wayne

By Brolin Winning
December 26, 2005 at 01:00:00 AM After racking up platinum hits with the Hot Boys, New Orleans superstar Lil' Wayne became a hugely successful solo artist. Now the President of Cash Money Records, Weezy just dropped Tha Carter II which debuted at #2 on the Billboard charts.

Brolin: Hey Wayne how are you doing man?

Wayne: Chillin what's happening?

Brolin: Not much man, how's things?

Wayne: Great man.

Brolin: Right on. So I just want to talk about the new album. This is your fifth solo album. How does it differ from the previous joints?

Wayne: I worked harder because it's more of my responsibility this time. I know when people got the album they're going to be – whatever they got from it is how they view me, instead of how they view the company. They don't look at it like, you know my last album you may have thought "okay well this is with Baby and them put out," now this is more of this is what I'm putting out. So the work was harder and the results were better.

Brolin: It's more like sort of on your shoulders this time around?

Wayne: Exactly. I like it that way.

Brolin: Yeah no doubt man and it seems like it worked out for you too. I was very impressed with the new record.

Wayne: Thanks.

Brolin: One thing about your records, especially this one, compared to most new rap records that come out they've got, 20 million guests and cameos and this and that on it and you have very few. It kind of let's you shine more as a solo artist. Was that a conscious decision on your part or is it just the way you do it or what?

Wayne: Yeah it's just the way I do it. You could go back to my first album and see that we never really do too many features. It's because I feel your album is a reflection of you, and why would you put everybody on your album if it's not an album for everybody.

Brolin: Now it also seems on this one, Mannie Fresh isn't doing beats for you any more and you've got more versatile production. You've got the reggae vibe on ''Mo Fire'' and the heavy guitars on "Best Rapper Alive," and “Grown Man” is more like an R&B sound. Was it difficult at first not working with Mannie since you guys have been together for like 10 years?

Wayne: I mean, a true competitor makes anything difficult easy. And I am a competitor, I'm a champion. So, I really didn't get into the studio like anything is harder, I was like let's just move and that's what we did. So honestly I guess it was easier.

Brolin: Okay right on. The reason that he left the label was that on bad terms or was it just sort of a mutual split or what?

Wayne: I would say a mutual split.

Brolin: It also seems like you're really – you know lyrically you're stepping your game up to where you know it's sort of better than it's ever been before. Is it true that you never write down any of your rhymes?

Wayne: Reality, it's factual. I only write rhymes for [other] people, not for me.

Brolin: How does it feel to be the President of Cash Money?

Wayne: It's great but you know, I've got to make moves and then I'll tell you how I feel.

Brolin: Now you're also doing the Young Money label as well.

Wayne: Exactly.

Brolin: Do you have artists that you've signed already?

Wayne: Yeah I got one artist Currency the Hot Spitter, a few more artists on there, a girl Nikki. They're both on my album.

Brolin: And they're doing solo records or what?

Wayne: Yeah, Currency's album actually comes out at the beginning, maybe like March of next year.

Brolin: Right on. And are you going to be up on the album as well?

Wayne: Of course. The album, the single – yeah I'm going to help them get it the way it's supposed to be.

Brolin: Nice. Is it difficult to balance, you know, being an artist with also being now like a CEO businessman or does it just sort of come naturally because you've been doing it for so long?

Wayne: Exactly, it's almost naturally because when you're an artist you know what you want. And then if you're able to mentally turn that into being a CEO, now you know what the artist wants. That's kinda how I did it.

Brolin: Now you've been touring with T.I. and Jeezy on the Georgia Power Tour.

Wayne: Yeah.

Brolin: How's that been going?

Wayne: That was great. It's actually over now but that was great. We had a great turnout in every city. Good response.

Brolin: And are you back in New Orleans now or are you in Houston or where are you staying at these days?

Wayne: Houston, Miami, wherever.

Brolin: Are you still going to school in Houston?

Wayne: Yes.

Brolin: How's that going?

Wayne: I just passed with a 2.6

Brolin: Now I know that you guys – I mean Cash Money has a long record of doing charity work in the community and doing stuff that – you know, the turkey dinners on Thanksgiving and now with Katrina hitting the city, I know you guys are doing a lot of stuff. What do you have planned in terms of helping out to rebuild New Orleans?

Wayne: Baby and Slim they already done a gang of things already but as far as, I mean the main thing everybody need to do is move on.

Brolin: Do you think that the city will be better than before when they get it back together?

Wayne: Better physically, spiritually no.

Brolin: Do you plan to go back there?

Wayne: Yeah I'm going to get me one of them Trump Towers.

Brolin: Now it's been this year in particular I mean the South's been kind of blowing up for a while now but this year in particular you had Houston was really doing their thing with all those cats coming out of there. Are you tight with other artists that are coming up or is it more of a competition type thing or how does that work?

Wayne: No there's no competition, I'm cool with everybody.

Brolin: Right on. There's also – there's been a lot of talk about you and Trina being together and you guys did that song “Don't Trip” a while back. Do you have any plans to record together again? Like a “Crazy in Love” type of jam or anything like that?

Wayne: I don't know. We record all the time.

Brolin: Now there was also some rumors about you joining Boyz-N-Da-Hood…

Wayne: Yeah.

Brolin: Is that legit or are you working with them but just as a collaborator or what's up with that?

Wayne: Working with them, but things are kind of at a pause right now because of course my album is out and a whole lotta other things, but yeah we did do a few songs and they're on a couple of mix tapes right now. I don't know what the, you know, Puff and Block are the boss of that situation so I don't know. Whatever they do it's their choice.

Brolin: Okay right on. Now you've got your second single the “Grown Man” you did a video for that. Do you have any plans for a third single off of the album?

Wayne: We're looking at either “Shooter” or “Best Rapper Alive.”

Brolin: Yeah I wanted to talk about on “Shooter,” you hooked up with Robin Thicke for on the beat and singing and stuff on it. How did you guys link up?

Wayne: He's on Motown and I'm on Universal so I was there doing press and I guess he was there doing something and we met at the office and I told him I loved the song, he told me he'd f*** with me on the rap tip. So there it is. I did like three songs for him already too.

Brolin: Yeah I thought that song came out great man.

Wayne: Thank you.

Brolin: Now I know there was some talk earlier about you possibly, you know Jay-Z was trying to get you to come over to Def Jam and you decided to stay at Cash Money. You did stuff with Destiny's Child, have you talked to him at all about maybe working on some other sort of outside project together, are you guys tight or what's the status with that?

Wayne: Yeah we cool but I haven't spoke to him about no future business together. Of course I would love to but I know the homie busy just like I am, but whenever we do get together I'm quite sure it would be gangsta.

Brolin: No doubt. Now a lot of cats are arguing back and forth about who's the King of the South or who's the King of New York…

Wayne: T.I. King of the South.

Brolin: Well you just come right out and just say you're the best rapper alive, you did it on the last album and on this one.

Wayne: I mean the South, the North, the East, the West.

Brolin: Well it seems like people are always beefing about who's this King of the South or who's the King in New York and you just come right out and say I'm just the best rapper alive straight up. Do you feel like there's anybody out there that's even close to touching you or anybody that you feel is worthy enough to work with?

Wayne: Oh they got people very close. They got people better than me, it's just that they're not heard. And then they got some people out there that's heard and just don't have a good vision.

Brolin: Right.

Wayne: You know what I mean, it's like you see a person on a basketball team and the basketball team is 0 and 28 but this dude score like 50 points every game.

Brolin: Right.

Wayne: I mean like they've got those type of people but me, right now I'm just – I'm Peyton Manning. I'm on a good team and I'm the greatest player on my good team.

Brolin: No doubt. Now I know you've talked about in the past about wanting to work with Eminem before.

Wayne: Yeeeah!

Brolin: Is that still a possibility assuming that he's still rhyming?

Wayne: Yeah that's a possibility, if he stopped trippin. Definitely man, I'd do it. We need to do a song and I'm going to do me on there.

Brolin: Nice, that sounds good. So now that the tour is wrapped up and the album is out, what's next on your agenda? For Lil' Wayne, but also for Cash Money as a whole?

Wayne: We actually about to set up my own tour I'd like to go out for myself but I don't know what we're going to call the tour yet. Me, most likely Three 6 Mafia, trying to get Trina on there and a whole gang of other people, trying to get Juelz. But speaking of Juelz, I also got a mix tape I'm doing with him called I Can't Feel My Face . And a mix tape I'm doing for Drama called The Dedication 2 and I'm featured a whole lot of other people's music. Like I say I'm going on my own tour and then after all that's said and done me and Baby are going to do – probably for the end of the year we're going to set up this big project we got called Like Father Like Son and we're going to try to go as far as we can with that. Album, maybe tour, maybe movie, maybe clothing line, maybe whatever. We'll just try to go as far as we can go with that. That's further, fourth quarter. Right now we're just focused on Tha Carter II and it's the number two album in the country.

Brolin: Yeah I wanted to ask you, speaking on that, seeing as, you know, a lot of cats are doing their own clothing lines and putting out movies and doing TV shows that's something that you guys are looking to get into in the future?

Wayne: I just signed a deal with Reebok so hopefully I'll be having my own shoe coming sometime. And as far as clothing lines, I'm speaking with a real popular clothing line right now, two of them actually, and both of them are speaking about giving me my own clothing line within theirs.

Brolin: That sounds good. Now, you know people out there want to know is there any communication between you and BG or Juvenile or Turk? Any chance of you guys getting along again or is that pretty much, are you just moving forward past that?

Wayne: Yeah me and Turk we all good. As far as Geezy and Juvie we don't really be seeing each other or really speaking so, you know, I really couldn't tell you.

Brolin: Is Turk still trying to work out his legal stuff?

Wayne: Yeah of course. He ain't going to never stop, n**** will never stop till he get out.

Brolin: So, you've been in the game for like 10 years now.

Wayne: Thirteen.

Brolin: Thirteen years, okay. You went from doing guest shots, to doing the group albums, to doing solo albums to having the number two record in the country. Did you ever think that when you first – when you first got into it did you think that you'd be going so strong for so long?

Wayne: Yeah because I kind of thought, you know, me being so young I kind of felt like I was never in it yet.

Brolin: Right.

Wayne: I mean all of those albums are definitely accounted for because the record sales speak for themselves.

Brolin: Sure.

Wayne: But it's just like I always felt like, you know, I'm still not here yet you know what I mean.

Brolin: Where would you like to see yourself five years down the line? What do you see yourself doing?

Wayne: Something positive, something successful, and something financially supportive to my career and my life.

Brolin: Okay right on. Do you have any interest in getting into – I know Jay-Zs doing – he's got his nightclubs and he's got the basketball and stuff like that. Do you have any thoughts about diversifying into that kind of stuff?

Wayne: I have a real good financial team and they get me into a lot of investing. Because my quote is, “nothing is better than making money without working for it,” trust me.

Brolin: All right so I'm going to wrap it up here. With – you know so many kids out there want to be rappers, or producers or, you know, run a label today. What advice would you give to all the youngsters that are trying – you know trying to get into the game for the first time?

Wayne: First, stay away from me.

Brolin: Right.

Wayne: Second, don't diss me. If you're really serious about it man do it, go 100 percent at it. And please, don't just “do you.” Because trust me you haven't created you until you drop an album and the world love it or a great population of people love it and they know you and you start seeing other people doing what you do. Then you can start saying “I do me.” See they got people that write one good rap, and the hood love it, the whole hood love it. Now they try to go get a deal thinking they already a superstar. No brother, you're still no one. And you're still no one until your album drops and those first weeks roll in, you know what I mean?

Wayne: N***s don't know that and that's very important. You are nobody until somebody signs you.

Brolin: So you got any – you got any last words for the fans out there?

Wayne: Carter II in stores now, cop it.