Lil Wayne Reflects On Signing Drake & His Longevity In The Industry

Lil Wayne shared exactly what it was about Drake that made him sign him and revealed his shock at hearing the Toronto rapper sing for the first time. 

The Young Money Boss also revealed how he stays at the top of his game with a career spanning nearly three decades during an appearance on the I Am Athlete podcast. 

Lil Wayne explained he saw the star in Drake as soon as he heard him rap. “That’s when I saw way more than just potential,” he said. “When Drake’s music was brought to me from the homie Jas, it was about rap. I was like, ‘This dude sound different.’ What I loved about him, he was sounding just as dope as we were. When I say we, I’m talking about the streets and what we came from.” 

Lil Wayne Says: “You Gotta Be The Ultimate Artist”  

He continued, “I told him, ‘You could make working in the cubicle — you know how to make that the dopest thing in the world. Don’t stop.’ Then one day I heard, ‘[singing voice].’ Like, ‘What the f*ck was that?’ I remember asking Mack [Maine] who that is [singing] on the hook? … You gotta be the ultimate artist. My homie could do two nights when he hits your city.” 

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Lil Wayne also shared the secrets to his longevity in the music industry. “You have to be, first of all, you have to be embracing. You can’t be the person that’s saying I don’t like the new music.” He added, “You gotta love it. Learn it, like it and love it. You better understand that’s music. That’s not a certain type of music, that’s music. You got to Apple Music and top 100s and them folks right there.” 

Furthermore, you have to be versatile and work on your craft Lil Wanye said. “Therefore you have to embrace that,” he added. “You gotta go get you a vocal coach. Rest in peace, Ms. Betty Wright. Then you got a Drake. He’s music. My goal now, if you want to be the ultimate artist, that’s what I want to be. In sports, we like to call them the Swiss Army Knife.” 

Watch the full episode below.