Hip-hop heads heralded Lil Wayne in 2007 as one of the all-time greats. Da Drought 3 is arguably his crowning achievement out of his many fantastic mixtapes. Moreover, it was hard to listen to any song without a feature verse from the New Orleans legend. It’s that prolific, hard-working edge that made 50 Cent call him an “industry wh*re” at the time.
However, in a 2007 interview with XXL, Wayne simply shrugged it off. At the end of the day, he wouldn’t do any of those features if he wasn’t recouping enough. “Hell no. Whores get paid. I don’t care. It’s music, let’s make it,” Lil Wayne said. “I’ll only turn you down if you ain’t got the price. I’ll turn you down and away.”
The interviewer argued that too many features might turn fans off. After all, how could they grow to miss you if you’re always around? However, the way Wayne saw it, more people should try to mirror his work ethic. That way, they could achieve the riches and status that he wasn’t afraid to brag about in the interview.
Lil Wayne Tells Other Rappers To ‘Get Like Me’ When Talking About His Many Guest Verses
“Darling, I don’t care what nobody think. Talk to me like you talking to Martin Luther King or Malcolm X. You’re not about to ask him about what he think about what somebody said about him. You ’bout to ask him about his greatness, and his greatness only. I don’t care what nobody think,” Lil Wayne stressed. “If I did, you wouldn’t be sitting on my muthaf***in’ million-dollar bus in my 15th year at the same muthaf***in’ company and business. I’m a role model. You should get like me. Get like you? No. Get like me.”
Lil Wayne continued by noting the difference between a flash in the pan and someone who has left a significant legacy behind. Even then, he didn’t know anyone dead or retired that could match his pedigree. Consequently, he felt like he set the bar for other rappers in the game.
“I’m not hot. Hot dies out. Baby, I’m me. Who the f**k done this? Nobody,” Lil Wayne said. “Compare me to people that’s not even living, baby. And they didn’t even do it—what they comparing me to. No disrespect to them. You found songs on those people after they died. I’m still living.”
The post Lil Wayne Explains Why He Had So Many Feature Verses Back in 2007: ‘Talk to Me Like You Talking to Martin Luther King or Malcolm X’ appeared first on VICE.
