With the 10th anniversary of Lil Wayne‘s Tha Carter III approaching this weekend (June 10), Spotify caught up with a range of hip-hop artists directly inspired by Weezy to get their thoughts on first hearing the New Orleans native’s magnum opus back in 2008.
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Artists from varying generations such as Chance The Rapper, Lil Uzi Vert, T-Pain, Tyga, Migos, YG, Lil Yachty, French Montana, Rich The Kid, Ty Dolla $ign, and more offered up how their connections to the Grammy-winning project that was loaded with classic anthems across the board. Additionally, each rapper had Wayne’s famed album cover remade featuring a baby picture of their own instead.
T-Pain reflected on how his legendary “Got Money” collaboration with Weezy came about at a random studio session where the pair were coincidentally booked. “After ‘Lollipop’ dropped, it was my mission to work with Wayne,” he added. “Then I finally saw him pass by me when I was at the same studio he was at while he was still recording ‘Tha Carter III.’ I said, ‘What’s up,’ he didn’t hear me.”
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The Tallahassee native added: “I went back to my studio and bounced a hook I had just did, told my people to send it to Wayne’s room. He heard me then. ‘Got Money’ was born and I will be forever grateful for the long friendship that followed. Wayne’s influences on the rap game are still very much apparent in today’s music and, I’m sure, for many generations in the future.”
Tyga first met Weezy at the studio when the 35-year-old was recording Tha Carter III standout cut “A Milli” prior to signing a deal with Young Money. “I remember being in the studio with Wayne every day around this time. I was really watching a master at work. Real superstar feeling. ‘Tha Carter III’ was the icing on the cake,” T-Raww penned. “The rap game would never be the same after that. A million first week real album sales before streaming. One of the best times of my life was experiencing this first hand!”
Lil Uzi Vert’s artistry is a direct result of the genre-shifting impact Weezy has had on hip-hop throughout his prolific career. “When I heard ‘Tha Carter III,’ I knew Wayne was the greatest rapper alive,” the Philly rapper confidently proclaimed.
The album anniversary weekend got that much sweeter for Wayne, who just agreed to a settlement in his longstanding lawsuit and public feuding with Birdman. “I can say that my client is happy. He is his own man, a man that owns his assets, his music and himself. At some point, Wayne will let his fans know what’s going to happen next,” Carter’s lawyer Ron Sweeney relayed to Billboard.
Check out the entire collection at Spotify’s Rap Caviar Instagram page. Find some of the standout remakes below.