Lil Wayne Reloads the Classics: Da Drought & Dedication Mixtapes Hit Apple Music
Lil Wayne's iconic Da Drought and Dedication mixtape series are now available on Apple Music, giving fans access to classic tracks featuring Nicki Minaj, Juelz Santana, Curren$y, and more. We discuss it here!
Lil Wayne Performing on stage at OneMusic Festival on October 10, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Photo cred: Franklin Sheard Jr
By: Joshua Martin
Mixtape Wayne fans are in for a summer treat. The New Orleans rapper's catalogue on Apple Music was recently updated with fan favorite throwbacks that include the Da Drought and Dedication mixtape series’.
Da Drought 3 mixtape cover
Da Drought series kicked off in 2003 and was followed up by two successful installments. The second released in 2004 and the third in 2007, with Weezy thoroughly entrenched in his lyrical prime. Artists featured on the latest installment included Young Money label mate Nicki Manaj, Juelz Santana and long time friend Curren$y.
Dedication 2 mixtape cover
The Dedication mixtape series was a collaboration between DJ Drama and Weezy F. Baby under the umbrella Gangsta Grillz. The first installment was released in 2005 with the 6th version releasing in 2017. Nicki Manaj, Gudda Gudda, Chance The Rapper, Jae Millz, Mack Maine, J. Cole, B.G., Curren$y and more are all featured throughout the collection.
As of now, these classics are only available on Apple Music.
Earlier this year, Lil Wayne released his anticipated Carter VI album. The 19 track album included features from Big Sean, 2 Chainz, Kodak Black, Wyclef Jean, Jelly Roll, Mannie Fresh, BigXthaPlug and others. Before the release, Weezy teased a new era of Young Money with a handful of new signees.
Lil Wayne Introduces the New Generation of Young Money | Young Money Radio
“You got to think like how people study Bach and Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis and Shakespeare. He’s going to be regarded as one of the greatest renaissance wordsmith composers of our generation.”
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Lil Wayne announces ‘Tha Carter VI’ tour
Lil Wayne announces a 34-city U.S. tour in celebration of Tha Carter VI, with special guests Tyga and Belly Gang Kushington, kicking off June 6th at Madison Square Garden and wrapping October 2nd in West Palm Beach. We discuss it here!
Lil Wayne Performing on stage at OneMusic Festival on October 10, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Photo cred: Franklin Sheard Jr
By: Joshua Martin
In celebration of his forthcoming album, Tha Carter 6, Lil Wayne is officially heading back on the road. The 34 city tour will double as a victory lap, shining the spotlight on his legendary ‘Tha Carter’ album series. Wayne’s latest project will release Friday June 6th and is currently available for preorder.
Kicking off the tour will be the New Orleans native’s first headlining show at the iconic Madison Square Garden Friday, June 6th. The ‘No Ceilings’ rapper will give fans an exclusive first live performance of the new project at the New York City venue. Wayne will be performing in nearly every major city across the country including Atlantic City, Toronto, Los Angeles, Virginia Beach and more before the tour’s final stop in West Palm Beach on October 2nd. Joining him will be special guests Tyga and Belly Gang Kushington with No Cap appearing on select dates.
Lil Wayne Tha Carter VI tour dates.
Tickets will be available Wednesday June 4th starting with artist presale. Additional pre sales will run throughout the week ahead of general sales beginning Friday June 6th at 10 am local time on Ticketmaster.com and LiveNation.com.
VIP packages will be available for fans looking to enhance their concert experience. Select packages include limited edition posters, specially designed gifts, early entry into the venue and more. Fore more info, please visit https://granted.co/
Lil Wayne’s last entry into ‘Tha Carter’ series was back in 2018 with ‘Tha Carter V’, with a deluxe edition releasing in 2020. The highly anticipated album featured Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Manaj, Travis Scott and Snoop Dogg, his daughter Reginae and others. Since he has given his fans a joint project with Rich The Kid entitled ‘Trust Fund Babies’. He also dropped ‘Tha Fix Before Tha VI’ in 2023, which served as the official appetizer for his latest album.
Check out the official dates below:
Fri Jun 06 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden^
Wed Jul 30 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
Fri Aug 01 – Virginia Beach, VA – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach#
Sat Aug 02 – Atlantic City, NJ – Boardwalk Hall
Sun Aug 03 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
Tue Aug 05 – Hartford, CT – Xfinity Theatre
Wed Aug 06 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
Fri Aug 08 – Syracuse, NY – Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview
Sat Aug 09 – Buffalo, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater
Mon Aug 11 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
Thu Aug 14 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center
Sat Aug 16 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
Sun Aug 17 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
Wed Aug 20 – Minneapolis, MN – Target Center
Fri Aug 22 – Milwaukee, WI – American Family Insurance Amphitheater
Sat Aug 23 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
Sun Aug 24 – Tinley Park, IL – Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
Tue Aug 26 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center
Fri Aug 29 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
Mon Sep 01 – Ridgefield, WA – Cascades Amphitheater
Wed Sep 03 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
Fri Sep 05 – Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre
Sat Sep 06 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center
Wed Sep 10 – Chula Vista, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
Fri Sep 12 – Los Angeles, CA – Crypto.com Arena
Sun Sep 14 – Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater
Tue Sep 16 – Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater
Wed Sep 17 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion
Thu Sep 18 – The Woodlands, TX – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion Presented by Huntsman#
Mon Sep 22 – Oklahoma City, OK – Paycom Center^%
Wed Sep 24 – Huntsville, AL – The Orion Amphitheater
Thu Sep 25 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
Mon Sep 29 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena#
Wed Oct 01 – Orlando, FL – Kia Center#
Thu Oct 02 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre#
^ Already On-Sale
# with NoCap
% Lil Wayne with Special Guests Hot Boys
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Lil Wayne's Surprise: Pre-Carter VI Project Is Unveiled as 'Tha Fix Before Tha VI'
Today the world’s favorite rapper Lil Wayne announced that Tha Fix Before Tha VI will be released soon. We discuss it here!
On July 27, 2013, Lil Wayne took the stage in Raleigh, NC, for a performance during his 2013 America's Most Wanted Tour.
Credit: Steve Sykes/Shutterstock
It’s a great day in music, especially if you’re a Wayniac. If you were ready and waiting for another Lil Wayne project the wait may be over soon. Today the world’s favorite rapper announced that ‘Tha Fix Before Tha VI’ will be released soon. With no date or further details than a pre-save link, you can rest assured that Lil Wayne fans all over the world are ready to hear this! Although we haven’t gotten a solo project from Weezy since Trust Fund Babies dropped in 2021, he has maintained his reputation of getting on anybody’s track and hitting it with that ‘Wayne Train’.
Continuing to satisfy our desire for more music with phenomenal features, you can catch the Grammy-Award winning artist on some of the hottest tracks like Mario’s Main One, NLE Choppa’s Aint Gone Answer, and Metro Boomin’s Annihalate that landed on Spiderman: Across The Spiderverse soundtrack. Back in February, the A Milli rapper dropped a fire track produced by Swiss Beatz that featured a DMX sample leaving fans wondering if a new masterpiece is in the works. On September 1st he dropped another single called ‘Kat Food’ continuing to raise speculations of another project in the works.
Mario, Lil Wayne - Main One (Official Music Video) ft. Tyga
As we continue to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop the original Hot Boy has been given his flowers on multiple occasions this year. He received the BMI Icon Award at the 2023 R&B/Hip-Hop Awards and was honored at the 2023 Billboards Power Players event for being inducted into the Billboards Hip-Hop Hall of Fame. He was also honored with the Global Impact Award at the Pre-Grammy’s Black Music Collective. After a three-year wait for a solo project, Weezy F is ready to give us a taste of what is to come on the ‘Carter VI’. Be sure to pre-save the link to ‘Tha Fix Before Tha VI' so you can get the heat first when it drops on all streaming platforms!
Hip Hop 50th Anniversary Tribute feat. Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, LL Cool J & More | 2023 VMAs
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Lil Wayne & Nas Inducted Into The Billboard's R&B & Hip Hop Hall Of Fame
Lil Wayne and Nas graced the red carpet with their daughters at the Billboard R&B & Hip Hop Hall of Fame induction, celebrating 50 years of hip hop, while reflecting on their influential careers and enduring impact on the music industry. We discuss it!
Nas and Lil Wayne both pose at the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Live held at The Novo on August 8, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photocred: Billboard/Brandon Todd)
By: Gentel Sharrie
Lil Wayne and Nas both walked the red carpet with their daughters Reginae Carter and Destiny Jones at Billboard’s official R&B & Hip Hop Hall of Fame induction at the Novo in Downtown Los Angeles. The induction was in honor to celebrate 50 incredible years of hip hop.
Lil Wayne started his rapping career at the age of 12. He was signed by Birdman and joined Cash Money Records, becoming the youngest member at the label. Lil Wayne has released numerous successful albums and mixtapes throughout his career, including the ‘Carter’ albums. Lil Wayne has 5 Grammy awards, 4 Billboard awards, 2 MTV Video Music awards, 11 BET awards, 16 BET Hip Hop awards, 1 American Music awards, and 4 Soul Train awards.
The great, Nas started his rapping career in 1991. He rose to prominence in the 1990s with his debut album ‘Illmatic’ which is known to be one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time. Nas is also known for his introspective lyrics, storytelling ability, and social commentary, He has released several critically acclaimed albums throughout his career and won 1 Grammy award, and 2 BET Hip Hop Awards.
Nas (Billboard)
When Lil Wayne received his induction into the R&B/Hip Hop Hall of Fame he stated, “You already know I gotta give thanks to the man up above. Also those that we lost, those that we wish were here, we thank you as well… And to my fans, I think I worded it the best way when I said I ain’t shit without you. This is for y’all, y’all as in my fans, those in the crowd, my supporters, those that work for me, those that work with me, those that work around me, those that work like me. This is for us.” Lil Wayne then went on to say, “I’m not stopping.”
Nas and Lil Wayne have been part of the music history and business for over two decades and they continue to be a part of history and create new history for the world to see.
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Lil Wayne, Dr. Dre, and Missy Elliott received the Recording Academy’s Global Impact Award
Lil Wayne, Dr. Dre and Missy Elliott received the Recording Academy’s Global Impact Award at the 2023 Black Music Collective’s BMC Honors. We discuss it here!
SACRAMENTO, CA - AUGUST 28: Rapper Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. aka Lil Wayne performs in concert as part of America's Most Wanted Tour at Sleep Train Arena on August 28, 2013 in Sacramento, California.
Credit: Randy Miramontez via Shutterstock
By: Joshua Martin
Black Music icons took center stage at the annual Recording Academy Honors hosted by the Recording Academy’s Black Music Collective in celebration of this year’s Grammy Awards at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. Spearheaded by CEO Harvey Mason Jr, The Black Music Collective was formed in 2020 by prominent industry leaders to promote Black representation and inclusion.
Hip Hop legend Lil Wayne took home the Recording Academy’s Global Impact Award, which was affectionately renamed the ‘Dr. Dre Impact Global Award’ in honor of the West Coast music legend.
During his acceptance speech, Wayne reflected on his career in the music industry and the adversity he faced becoming a success hailing from Louisiana.
“I don’t get honored. Where I’m from, New Orleans, you’re not supposed to do this.”
Preceded by emotional video tributes by Drake and the new Colorado head football coach Deion Sanders, the night of celebrations continued for Wayne as his peers, 2Chainz and Tyga, performed some of Wayne’s greatest hits on a night where the past, present and future of Black music were being honored.
Followed by a lively performance by West Coast legend Snoop Dogg, Ty Dolla Sign, and Kurupt. During his speech, Dr Dre. spoke about his hip hop origins and how music changed his life.
“The birth of hip-hop completely changed the course of my life. Just imagine where a lot of Black men, including myself, would be without hip-hop. I was in junior high school when I had ever heard hip-hop for the first time. I heard mixing and scratching, I couldn’t get enough of that sound. And once I got my hands on the turntables, I knew I had found my wings and I was determined to know how to fly.”
Before being introduced by longtime manager Mona Scott-Young and Ciara, Elliott was praised by super producer Timbaland and fellow singer, rapper Lizzo with heartfelt video tributes. Emotionally herself, Missy exclaimed how important this award means to her.
“People don’t understand that this is a Global Impact Award. It’s not just neighborhood, it’s global. So it hits different when you stand up here, knowing that when you get something like this, you gotta know that you’ve been through a lot.”
She also gave a powerful tribute to fellow winner, Epic Records CEO Sylvia Rhone. Later, Swiss Beatz commanded a packed house to give “Sylvia Rhone the Great” a standing ovation before presenting her with the Global Impact award.
“It’s been a lot of years for me in hip-hop, and it’s even more special to me amongst this elite group of artists with Dr. Dre, Missy Elliott, Lil Wayne, each of whom I’ve had the privilege of working with throughout my career.”
Additional musical acts included Chloe Bailey, Busta Rhymes, and Tweet.
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Dr. Dre Nearing a Deal To Sell His Music Worth Up To $200 Million
Dr. Dre is close to reaching an agreement to finalize a deal that’s worth $200M! He is also receiving honors during Grammy week. We discuss it here!
Dr. Dre | Credit: Joe Seer / Shutterstock.com
By: Adonis Armstrong
Dr. Dre is close to reaching an agreement in finalizing a deal that’s worth $200M, according to Billboard. He’s selling a packaged deal to Universal Music Group and Shamrock Holdings that includes owned music assets and music income streams. The assets are worth up to $10 million per year, which will be separated by percentages between the to companies. Shamrock will receive 75 percent to 90 percent of the revenue and and the remaining 10 to 25 percent will go to Universal Music Group.
The assets included in the deal are his royalties share of N.W.A., his two solo studio albums, producer royalties, and some of the writer’s share of his song catalog where Dre doesn’t own the publishing rights. This could include some songs from, The Chronic.
Dr. Dre | The Chronic
Dre’s ownership stake in Aftermath is not included in any of the packages. UMG will receive some of Kendrick Lamar’s projects when he was signed to Top Dawg label and possibly some other assets. Universal’s deal will include the masters of The Chronic, which will rerelease to return this August on Dre from Death Row Entertainment. Other successful artists who have sold their catalogs are The-Dream, Tina Turner, Future, and Lil Wayne.
The Recording Academy announced yesterday they will honor Dre at their second annual Black Music Collective event during Grammy week in February. Along side the Hip Hop mogul, the academy will also recognize rap legends Missy Elliott and Lil Wayne.
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Tory Lanez Urges Other Entertainers To Speak Out And Protest
Tory Lanez took to social media to call out other entertainers to use their platforms to speak out on social injustices and to aid in protests.
By: Omar Cook
The murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police has sent people around the country and the world into an uproar. Protests have broken out all over the country and more and more people are beginning to speak out on social injustices. What’s been interesting is that at a time like this where an incident affects the entire country, you are starting to see people’s true colors about how they feel and what they truly think.
Everyday you log into social media, you see a new entertainer or celebrity being “canceled” for something they have said.
List of people cancelled:
— The Queen (@WorldofJayona) June 1, 2020
Doja Cat
Desi Banks
B. Simone
T.I- on probation for that Wakanda comment
Who else?
Tory Lanez took to instagram live to call out entertainers to disagree with how some of them have voiced their opinions against the protests. He also encouraged them to get out and walk in the protests themselves to see it first hand as he was seen protesting in Miami as well.
A lot of people have disagreed with how the protests have turned from peaceful to violent, and have included vandalism and looting. The counter argument has been that Black people have been degraded for so long that, the vandalism is warranted at this point and that this is the way to gather people’s attention. A good amount of the looting and destruction has also been done by people who aren’t Black and are using this as an opportunity to push their own agenda. People are hurting, that is the bottom line behind all of this.
Lil Wayne made a very controversial statement recently saying “if we want to place the blame on anybody, it should be ourselves for not doing more than what we think we’re doing.” Crazy. Tory Lanez took to twitter to address this very statement.
And to any of my black peers in this entertainment industry .... if your opinion on this matter at hand is ANYTHING along the lines of “ we need to blame ourselves ... and it’s not the cops fault “ or “u gotta look at both sides” .. personally from me to u ... FUCK OUTTA HERE
— Tory Lanez (@torylanez) May 31, 2020
With emotions running extremely high around the country, it is imperative that people with major platforms are using their voices to influence this world for change. Silence is also a major statement in itself as being silent accomplishes nothing for us and lets us know that you are complacent in the way the world is going. It’s time for major changes.
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Lil Wayne Talks About Childhood Suicide Attempt And Owning Young Money
Lil Wayne talks about owning Young Money and discusses a suicide attempt at 12 which he hopes will help people going through a similar situation get through it!
“Just being an adult, reaching a level of maturity and comfort where it’s like, ‘I want to talk about this because I know a lot of people out here might be going through that.’”
By: Omar Cook
Rapper Lil Wayne was only 12 years old when he shot himself in the chest with a handgun he got from his mother’s purse. He has always gone on record for saying it was an accident but in his recent interview with Billboard, he revealed that this was a suicide attempt. "In the past, he has called this an accident. But on the new verse he plays, Wayne admits this was a suicide attempt, undertaken after his mother told him he would no longer be allowed to rap," Billboard reports.
Young Money label president Mack Maine explained why Wayne came forward to speak about it after all this time. “He just told me one day that he was ready to address it now,” Maine said. “Just being an adult, reaching a level of maturity and comfort where it’s like, ‘I want to talk about this because I know a lot of people out here might be going through that.’”
On his album Free Weezy, he subliminally addressed the situation on the track “London Roads”: “Ms. Cita, I remember goin’ in your gun drawer/Puttin’ it to my chest and missin’ my heart by centimeters, oh Lord.” What’s crazy is that after he recovered from his injuries, his mother allowed him to join Cash Money with the agreement that he wouldn’t curse on his records. The result was his 1999 solo debut, Tha Block Is Hot which featured no curse words!
Wayne coming forward with this testimony speaks to the passion that he knew he had for rapping at an early age. It also tells us that people can hide hurtful truths about themselves and secretly go through things without anyone knowing. Wayne is one of the biggest artists in the world, and the world had no idea that it was a near death experience that propelled him into a rap career. His testimony also says that sometimes on the other side of pain, is glory and you just have to get through to receive what’s yours, no matter who’s in the way. Wayne’s maturity and growth on the situation should let people know that they too can get through what looks like the worst possible situation and come out on top.
Lil Wayne Opens Up About Childhood Suicide Attempt (CREDIT: Instagram.com/evanhernandez)
In the interview with Billboard, Wayne also addressed how he got through his long legal battles with Birdman and Cash Money Records saying, “Just the confidence in knowing that there’s always a tomorrow and I’m going to make sure that tomorrow is bright. Some people can’t go on [like] that, like, ‘OK, tomorrow will be better.’ They need it to be better right now. And thank God I didn’t, and I never did.”
Lil Wayne announced the production of his highly anticipated album, Tha Carter V, in late 2012 and was scheduled to release it on December 9, 2014. Just a few days before the scheduled release, Wayne took to twitter to express the issues he was dealing with regarding Birdman and Cash Money discussing how they refused to release the album. What followed was a $51 million lawsuit against Birdman and Cash Money, alleging breach of contract, failure to pay royalties and withholding advances, and requesting an audit of Cash Money’s books. Since then the album has been on halt.
The lawsuit has since been settled and Wayne has retained ownership of his label Young Money and recently announced that Tha Carter V would be released this fall. FINALLY. It’s about time because if you’re reading this i’m assuming you’re a Wayne fan and this is what we been waiting on. Since settling the lawsuit, Wayne and Birdman have repaired their relationship but he also revealed that it caused him to have some trust issues.
“Not even just with him, but my relationships with a lot of people have become different, just because of how different I work now,” he says. “I’m submerged in everything about myself, trying to be better at who I am. It’s something where you have to cut some things off.”
Sometimes you have to withstand a storm to receive the ultimate blessings. And sometimes you have to remove yourself from certain relationships to ultimately become who you need to be. Wayne opening up about his trials and tribulations should be a message to anyone going through something, that they can get through it and still come out on top.
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Meet Joshua Martin, Senior Video Editor for 247 Live Culture!
Email: Joshua@247LCTV.com