Lil Wayne has helped foster new talent throughout his career, but few artists he's introduced have become as successful as Drake and Nicki Minaj. In a new interview with Sovereign Brands CEO Brett Berish, Weezy has suggested that neither of these two will get a successor, because they're simply impossibly to replicate.
"Ain’t no such thing as the next Nicki or the next Drake," said Wayne at around the 27:00 point of his extensive interview with Brett Berish, HipHop-N-More pointed out. "Back then music was different, they came in before social media when they had everybody’s attention. You’ve got to be more than someone to be a Drake or a Nicki." As Wayne suggested, even if an artist does replicate what either Drake or Nicki have done, it wouldn't be a guaranteed success because it's impossible to predict who will blow up in the days of social media.
Elsewhere in the interview, he talked about how it feels to see so many younger artists take influence from him. At the 16:00 point, he said that he's flattered when artists pay homage to him, but he's not quite as big a fan of when someone might outright "copy" him. Although, he also suggested it's not possible to copy him. "None of them trying to be like me... they don't sound nothing like me," he said, noting how his influence has been seen outside the music itself often. For instance, rappers naming themselves "lil" something, or putting "baby" at the end of their alias.
He also revealed that he's been working on plenty of new music recently, including a collaboration with ASAP Ferg and another I Am Not a Human Being project. Weezy briefly touched upon the time when he couldn't release music during the days of his label issues with Birdman, calling the situation "frustrating." He kept recording throughout that time, and was even working with other artists who knew the songs "weren't never coming out."
Wayne also talked about his love of skateboarding during the interview and explained that he's undergone four surgeries as a result of the sport.
Watch Wayne's full interview with Brett Berish above.
