Lil’ Wayne has never appeared too interested in running Hip-Hop like several of his contemporaries. But, the New Orleans artist has some special soles on his shoes that reflect show some serious wear and tear. AllHipHop’s correspondent Henca Maduro recently unearthed this unpublished Lil Wayne interview, which took place shortly after Tha Carter III was released, during an Amsterdam tour stop. Tha Carter III, released in the summer of 2008, shattered all expectations and pushed a million units in just one week. The interview is a clear indication that Wayne knew what the future held for him in some regards and the unpredictability of destiny in other ways. One aspect of Wayne is transparent and that is what he holds dear and that there is a lot of ice-breaking that takes place in order to delve deep into Wayne’s world. AllHipHop.com: How are you doing?Lil Wayne: I’m great.AllHipHop.com: Do you get to sleep on the plane, because you do a lot of traveling? How do you make sure you stay fit?Lil Wayne: I get to sleep a lot…yeah. AllHipHop.com: What do you drink?Lil Wayne: Just soda. AllHipHop.com: …Because I read everywhere that you drink lean or its called “syrrup.” Can you explain to me what that is?Lil Wayne: No, I can’t. AllHipHop.com: No. Is that a lie? Ok…ok…ok…OK, but the drink is from Houston, right?Lil Wayne: I don’t know what you are talking about. AllHipHop.com: How do you make time to do you? You drop a lot of albums, travel, you do work with a lot of people. Lil Wayne: That’s me. That right there is me. Anything else is doing something else. AllHipHop.com: You work with a lot of different people. Who is the one that impressed you the most?Lil Wayne: (thinking) Uhmmmm…..AllHipHop.com: OK, who do you like to work with the most?Lil Wayne: Everybody. Everybody’s my favorite. I don’t have any favorites. AllHipHop.com: No favorites. OK. How do you make sure you maintain longevity in this game? You’re young, 26 years old, but you’ve been doing this for a long time. Lil Wayne: 25.AllHipHop.com: [laughs]Lil Wayne: Uhm…just keep on pushing. That’s all I can say. I wake up and do everything I do. Don’t stop. AllHipHop.com: Keep it going. In an interview, you said you, Birdman and Slim were a 3-headed monster. What did you mean by that?Lil Wayne: Its just a term used. A term [that’s been] used before…but business-wise. That’s what I meant. We coming to get our money. We’re coming to take over. AllHipHop.com: You’re also claiming that everybody jumped on Jay-Z, then everybody jumped on Kanye…now your like f**k it…everybody needs to jump on me right? Lil Wayne: I ain’t even trippin’ no more. That’s not even important no more. I’m seeing different kind of checks to where that doesn’t even worry me. That doesn’t matter no more. AllHipHop.com: So what matters now? You sold more than one million records in your first week. What does matter then?Lil Wayne: My daughter. And my family.AllHipHop.com: How old is your daughter? Lil Wayne: She’s nine, about to be 10.AllHipHop.com: So, you had her early. Lil Wayne: Yeah, I did. AllHipHop.com: How do you make sure you have time to spend with her? Do you take her with you? Lil Wayne: Yeah, I take her with me and she makes sure I don’t have to make sure. AllHipHop.com: Like, “Dad, I’m coming with you!” She’s with you now? Lil Wayne: No, she’s not in Amsterdam. I don’t think she has a passport. She goes a lot of places with me though. AllHipHop.com: What do you say when she comes to you and says, “Dad, I want to be in the music industry.”Lil Wayne: That’s what she wants to do already.AllHipHop.com: What’s she do? She’s singing? She’s rapping?Lil Wayne: What does she don’t do? She sings, raps, dance…everything. AllHipHop.com: So, when is she doing to release some stuff?Lil Wayne: We got some stuff cooking. We’re thinking about it, yeah.AllHipHop.com: But this game is crazy so how are you going to protect her?Lil Wayne: Her mama have her.AllHipHop.com: What?Lil Wayne: Her mama got her back.AllHipHop.com: Oh yea? She’s like, “Don’t f**k with my daughter!” I read that you got married to your high school sweetheart, but then you got divorced. Are you seeing anybody?Lil Wayne: No, I’m not seeing anybody now, but that’s who I got married to [my daughter’s] mother. Yeah, that’s all. AllHipHop.com: If there are girl’s listening you now, saying, “That’s my baby daddy! I need to get Lil Wayne now.” What do you say? Lil Wayne: I’m not your baby daddy! [laughs] I’m chillin’…AllHipHop.com: How do you get to know people? Its not like people can walk up to you. Lil Wayne: Part of the reason I am single is I don’t get to meet no one. AllHipHop.com: How are they going to like you for you?Lil Wayne: (thinking) Well, I don’t know. I try to be me and hopefully that works. AllHipHop.com: That’s what I am saying. They know who you are. Lil Wayne: That’s just a barrier that we’d both have to tackle. I have yet to find a woman that…AllHipHop.com: Tell me about Young Money.Lil Wayne: Young Money, that’s still my label. They still have my artists on there and they’re still doing great. AllHipHop.com: So, what’s going on with Currency? He was one of the first artists signed to your label. Lil Wayne: Currency was a part of the label and now he’s not a part of the label. He’s doing his thing right now and we wish him much success. AllHipHop.com: So, which artist is going to be the next Lil Wayne or the next big thing on Young Money?Lil Wayne: I don’t want to say “the Next Wayne,” because I want somebody to be better than me. But, everybody on my label, I have confidence in…I have faith in. They all are just amazing. AllHipHop.com: Could you see yourself doing anything in R&B or do you see yourself singing? Lil Wayne: I’ve been singing for a minute now. I’ve got songs out there that people seem to be liking. AllHipHop.com: You know Hip-Hop. You’re supposed to be tough and stuff…and now you’re singing. Lil Wayne: I just wanted [to do it] because it came natural. AllHipHop.com: What producer do you like a lot? Who do you want to work with?Lil Wayne: I don’t wanna say nobody’s name. I don’t want no problems. Everybody’s nice to me. I use everybody’s beats.AllHipHop.com: What matters most to you in this music game? The money or the recognition? Lil Wayne: My daughter. AllHipHop.com: There have been stories that you have beef with The Clipse.Lil Wayne: [motions]AllHipHop.com: You don’t know them?Lil Wayne: Yeah, I know who it is, but I don’t know of any beef. AllHipHop.com: If there are any talented people that want to get on your label, how do they go about it?Lil Wayne: There’s a website: youngmoneyent.com. You can go on there and you can find the section where you can leave your demo there. And you leave your name and your number. We’ll get it. AllHipHop.com: I know how it works in the states. Nobody ever listens! Are y’all really listening? Lil Wayne: I can’t even front…I listen to me all day. AllHipHop.com: [inaudible]Lil Wayne: I listen to me all day only because I am trying to critique what I should’ve said, what I didn’t say. AllHipHop.com: From this last album, Tha Carter 3, what would you do differently? Lil Wayne: I haven’t actually listened to it all yet, because I know its going to be too much that I’m gonna be mad at. AllHipHop.com: If you are a perfectionist, are you as hard on the people around you as you are on yourself? Lil Wayne: (pauses)AllHipHop.com: Be honest! Do they hate you? Lil Wayne: I’m not mean, I’m not too nice, but I’m a business man. I yell when I want my business done right. AllHipHop.com: An 11-year-old fan asked me to ask you this: your name, Lil Wayne, suggests that you’re still little. Bow Wow got rid of the “lil.” Are you going to get rid of the “lil'” because you are a grown man now?Lil Wayne: I’ma still keep it, because I’m actually a junior. So, I am little Dwayne. AllHipHop.com: Another person asked how do you intend to make your next album better than this one?Lil Wayne: Work harder. That’s all I could do. And, if that doesn’t work, work harder than that. AllHipHop.com: In one video, you thank your fans, because they are the ones buying the music. What do you have to say to your fans?Lil Wayne: I appreciate every single fan. I appreciate every fan, because without you I am nothing. This is no interview without the fans.
