Interview: Lil Wayne's 2006 Cover Story Uncut

I’m sure you’ve heard The Clipse are coming back right now. And one of the things they’ve been saying is like ‘Yo, all these dudes, now they do the BAPE and coke rap… But before, that was us. We were the ones who started that.’ How do you feel about that?

I don’t rap about no coke. He ain’t talking about me. I don’t rap about no coke. I’ve been rich since I was 14 years old—off of selling records. I do not rap about no damn coke. If I say anything about coke, I speak the truth about it. I don’t go talking about I got none.

I ain’t got no bricks or I’m cooking up—for what? Why is you rapping then? If you cooking up coke what the fuck are you rapping for? Or why if you rapping, what the fuck are you cooking up coke for? Make some sense out of this shit.

I guess because…

Stop talking bout ‘I guess.’ Stop tryin’ to make sense out of shit that don’t make sense, dog. Stop trying to make sense out of shit that don’t make sense. Why are you…Does that make you real for talking about coke, my nigga?

Nah, I’m not saying it makes you real…

No. I talk about the money I’ve made since I was 14 years old. I put out a fucking platinum album and reaped every dollar from it. Holla fucking back. A platinum album makes couple $15 million. Holla at ya boy. They gotta give me some of that 15 million, ya dig?

I feel you.

I was 14 when it happened, my nigga.

Okay.

Ya dig? I did it four times again after that, just on the charts. I ain’t gotta talk about no coke nor no fucking BAPEs. I got my own shoe out nigga, that OG collection Reebok nigga. I got my own jeans out nigga, W. Two Us, I’ve got my name—the W is gonna be on your bitch ass. Aight?

Okay.

Alright. Stop coming at me about that bullshit man. That’s how you get beef started man.

Well you know XXL has the….

I don’t see niggas like that. You talking to the best. Talk to me like you’re talking to the best. I don’t see no fuckin’ Clipse. Come on man. Weezy, man. They had to do a song with us to get hot, B. “What Happened To That Boy?” C’mon B. Don’t do that, dog. This is a fucking legend you’re talking to right here. 14 years, B. How many years them niggas been around?

2000…

Who the fuck is Pharrell? Do you really respect him? That nigga wore BAPEs and y’all thought he was weird. I wore it and y’all thought it was hot. C’mon man. C’mon now. The nigga walked around with niggas that looked like you, y’all thought he was crazy. If I did it, y’all gonna think these niggas are killers.

[Laughs.] Okay…

C’mon man. Keep shit real man.

I feel you. But you know XXL has you as part of the feature on cocaine rap? They have you as part of that.

I keep it real when I rap about cocaine. You can put me in because I keep it real. I’m gonna tell you what it’s about, what I know. I wouldn’t tell you nothing that’s fake. That’s probably why they’ve got me in there. I ain’t about to be in that bitch talkin’ about “I’m in the kitchen.” For what? For what?

On one of your songs, “Don’t Die,” you talk about being banned from Wet Willies. What’s the story behind that? Are you really banned from Wet Willies?

Yeah, those stupid motherfuckers banned me.

[Laughs.] Why’d they ban you from Wet Willies?

That’s the new thing, ban Lil’ Wayne but that’s just…

They really banned you from Wet Willies?

Because they were quick to do something to do…you know what I mean? That’s why they did it, just something to make a thing about.

There’s no reason? They just banned you?

Oh yeag, they had a little reason. Yeah, I was tripping but…

[Laughs.] You said you were tripping?

I really wasn’t. I was smoking a cigar—not weed, a cigar. And they was like, you know, “No smoking in here.” But I was smoking on the balcony, my nigga—outside. I’m like, “Believe that.” One thing he’s talking about, “Don’t come in here smoking.” I’m like, okay. So when they come back or whatever, he’s like ‘I said no smoking in here.’ I was like, ‘And what?’ And I’m like ‘Who are you?’ And he was like, ‘I own this place.’ So I dropped the cigar in his drink. I had to get out of there after that.

[Laughs.] So they banned you for putting a cigar in his drink?

He did end up happening to own the place. That was really the owner.

[Laughs.] Wow.

I shitted on the owner.

I was reading a Rides piece where you were like, “Yo, I don’t like dudes knowing what kind of cars I drive because I be fucking a lot of dudes bitches in the car.”

That was a joke. Man, I’ve got a girl. I can’t…

Oh no, I’m talking about obviously before your girl.

I’ve just got to keep it…I’m a real dude. I really drive those cars. Why in the hell would I wanna ride around the city with a car that I’m on a video with? They’d be like, "Yo, that’s that nigga’s car right there! Follow that nigga!"

[Laughs.]

That shit ain’t a game man. I keep it real. That’s why I don’t put my cars out there. None of that. “Stuntin’ Like My Daddy,” the black Lamborghini Gallardos, those was ours. That was like his gift to me on that set that day, like, “Voila—this is yours.” I ain’t drove that shit since. Real talk.

But you’ve never gotten caught up with a dude finding you in your car—like, that wasn’t from experience or nothing?

Nah, you know, it was just a joke.