‘s Funeral has arrived, and with it comes an extensive new episode of REVOLT’s DRINK CHAMPS. We’ve already highlighted a few moments for your enjoyment — — but given the runtime and sheer amount of content packed into the episode, there’s still plenty of gems to unpack.
Around the seventeen minute mark, N.O.R.E pulls out an exclusive quote from Jay-Z, admitting that Wayne’s “Show Me What U Got” freestyle left him reevaluating his own position in the game. “When he rapped on ‘Show Me What U Got,’ I had to take a long walk and look at myself in the mirror, and I said ‘are you sure you still got this?'” reads Wayne laughs, clearly honored by the praise. “Did he ever tell you this?” asks N.O.R.E. Wayne nods, confirming that Jay did in fact praise the freestyle. “He let me know ‘you comin’ for me boy!’ It’s just a privilege, I can’t get on that and play with it, man.” His giddiness emerges in the following moments. “You don’t understand, I’ma about to walk out of here like the Packers won!” he laughs.
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“I’ve never been paid for none of my mixtapes,” confesses Wayne. “I refuse. It’s always been an outlet for me to get an outlet for the music I wanted. Being in Hot Boys was perfect, but I looked at it like school. That’s a test, I’ma go pass the test when I get to that studio. My verse gon’ be the hardest. And with Baby, it was always about who he wanted to go first…That always let us know he liked your verse the most. Now go back and listen to how I start off on all them songs.” He laughs, his competitive spirit alive and well.
He also opens up about working with , and Nore points out that Weezy is among the few that Em didn’t body. “I did a few joints with Em, that’s my man,” says Wayne. “I can humbly say I expected that. When you get on that joint its like a championship game, and you win it, and they ask you how does it feel. I came in with my game plan and I expected my game plan to work. When you send a song to Em you attack it like that, like naaah you not going to do me like this. Either we gon’ be right here with it, and we’re going to make a beautiful great song, but you ain’t gon’ do me that…I just made sure that he didn’t body me, cause that boy is a monster.”
Despite having gone through a few rocky moments in recent years, it’s clear that Lil Wayne still owes a lot to the teachings of . After N.O.R.E and EFN praise Weezy’s ability to put ego aside and let his artists thrive, Wayne explains that it wouldn’t have been possible without Birdman’s influence. “I let them know how much confidence I have in [them],” he says. “You don’t none of my credentials, none of my accolades, ya’ll just need ya’ll. That instills so much confidence in them, and they are where they are today because of it…People I set in the room and said to they face, you a muthafucka and once you come out they gon’ understand that you are who you are. You’re gone from there and I’ll watch you fly.”
“I would have to say that I learned a lot of that from Baby,” admits Wayne. “We from the streets, and we were looking at the same person with the accolades of his street. We knew who Baby was, and he was a millionaire from the streets. In New Orleans, way before rap, before Cash Money, that name held weight…He would strip himself of all that, and be like you n***as. I believe in ya’ll.”
Check out the full episode of Drink Champs TIDAL, with the full YouTube release hitting shortly.