SPECIAL FEATURE: Lil Wayne: "I'm No Longer the Best Rapper Alive"

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

 

SONG PREMIERE: MARIO - FATAL DISTRACTION

Still on his comeback trail, Mario releases the second single from his upcoming album, tentatively titled ‘Restoration.’ TheDrop.fm has an exclusive first listen of the yearning ballad, ‘Fatal Distraction,’ which features the singer and his feathery falsetto.

Over a mid-tempo beat and eerie production, Mario has his eye on his best friend’s girlfriend, but fears his love for her will lead to disastrous consequences.

“Visions of making love to you all in my head / Don’t want to wait / Can’t concentrate,” he sings. “All I can think of this here is you screaming my name / It’s gonna be out of body.”

Realizing that an affair would cause a fatal distraction, he croons, “I’m telling you how bad I want you / I’m telling you the bad I won’t do / It’s bad that I don’t have you, like I want to.”

Mario says the song was inspired by a real life situation in which he was dating his manager’s ex-girlfriend. “It just talks about the distractions and temptations and the infatuation that can have on a man when it comes to a woman,” he says.

The Baltimore native is almost finished with his new project, which is set to arrive in September.

“If I had to pick a word, I would definitely say refined,” he says of the album. “Creatively, sonically. All around the board.”

Check out the smooth stylings of ‘Fatal Distraction’ below.

Show Mario some love on Twitter @MarioSoulTruth and let him know your thoughts about the new single by tweeting with hashtag #FatalDistraction!

Also listen to SOMEBODY ELSE the first single from the forthcoming new Mario album.

DOWNLOAD HERE

When Mario and Nicki Minaj gave us a sneak peek of their new video, ‘Somebody Else,’ the clips didn’t really show the true storyline. However, the two have just released the official visual.

The video opens with a shot of a city skyline with sirens blaring in the background. Then the visual fades to a shot of Mario lying “dead” on a car.

Although he’s portrayed coming back to life to sing the song, the video follows the aftermath of an argument between Mario and Minaj about their on-screen relationship. The lyrics seem to go so well with the temptation, infidelity and ultimate breakup that occurs in the song.

While viewers wonder why Mario is on top of the car, we are later alluded to the fact that Minaj, who is wearing an all-black dominatrix-esque outfit, gets her revenge and probably pushed him out the window. While this is all speculation, it does fit with the angry storyline that’s embedded in this unhappy ending.