Lil Wayne's thoughts on being the "Best Rapper
Alive" have changed since he first made the proclamation back in 2005.
The YMCMB head honcho still believes in the strength
of his talent and has the record sales to back it up, but these days his focus
is directed towards cultivating the acts on his roster, he said, during a SXSW
edition of journalist Elliott Wilson's CRWN interview series last Friday (March
17).
When asked directly why he stopped singing his own
praises Weezy replied, "Because I have awesome artists, simple and plain.
I'm not trying to outshine them at all."
2005 is when he launched his YMCMB imprint, under
the umbrella of his label home, Cash Money, and he's since signed the likes of
Drake and Nicki Minaj. "At that time," he continued, "I didn't have
that [awesome artist to look out for]," he said. "So when I was
saying it like that, I was like 'I don't care who was on the mic.' Now I have
artists that I feel like 'I want you to be better than me.'"
YMCMB takes top priority, he reiterated. "I
want everybody to feel like they're the best at what they do. It's just like I
said, it ain't about that now, it's about them. It's about us."
Drizzy and Minaj have collectively sold more than 10
million records in only a handful of years. Gambling on two unknown artists
paid off, yet Wayne wasn't concerned with the return. He was drawn to Drizzy
because of two main reasons, he said. "His talent, obviously that's what I
look for. Not to mention he's a wonderful person, but this is music, this is
what we do. All the other stuff come with the other stuff, but as you can see,
I don't be worrying about stuff like that. I'm just an artist. I just want you
to enjoy my music and nothing else. I'm not expecting you to enjoy my
lifestyle. I'm not expecting you to enjoy what I do off the mic or off
stage."
In signing Minaj, Wayne noted that he wasn't
attracted to her because she was a female rapper. "She was being Nicki,
that's who I met," recalled the New Orleans native. "That was without
the glitz and the glamour. When I first heard the first two and four bars, it
wasn't about 'she's rapping better than any female rapper;' she's rapping
better than the rappers. Period."
Weezy said he wouldn't even come at Kendrick Lamar,
whom he called a rap "beast." "I am not about to be jumping out
here talking about 'I'm the best.' I don't need nobody coming at my neck,"
he promised.
Elsewhere in the interview, he maintained that Drake
and Lamar don't actually have any actual beef and let out another jewel about
being a "triple O.G." in the game. "I know what I've done,"
he said. "I know what I did, I know what I can do... And they do
too."
Wayne's next album, Tha Carter V, will be his last
as a solo artist, he's said. The LP is slated for release May 5.
By Latifah Muhammad
BET.com
