Lil’ Wayne and Lil’ Baby sat down for an interview with Rolling Stone for their Musicians on Musicians series this week, in which they spoke on some of their biggest influences.
When asked what Jay-Z album was the closest to his heart, Wayne shared that Life and Times of Shawn Carter was arguably the first album that impacted his life in a big way as an artist. Lil’ Wayne explained that he liked it so much that he actually went out and bought the car “that the rapper was talking about.”
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He referred to the Life and Times of Shawn Carter as “his” album. The rapper went on to say that Jay talked a lot of craziness on the record, describing it as “bananas.” Wayne felt so inspired by it that he got lyrics from it tattooed on his body.
According to the rapper, who is a legendary MC in his own right, the songs from the Life and Times of Shawn Carter have provided inspiration to him for years. He says he remade tracks of “spinoffs of songs” from the record, insinuating that many of the songs acted as his muse.
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Fans of Jay-Z know the record is a big one for the artist, featuring classic tracks like “Dope Man,” “Big Pimpin’,” “So Ghetto,” and “Watch Me,” among many others. The album dropped in 1999 when Lil Wayne was 17-years-old.
Around that time, Wayne was already on his ascension in the rap scene, having released The Block Is Hot in addition to collaborations with the Big Tymers and Hot Boys. It’s clear Wayne has no problems shouting out to other rappers.
Earlier this year, Weezy and Eminem, also known as Marshall Mathers, sat down for a conversation in which the pair of rappers talked about some of the greatest bars of all time.
Eminem touched on the greatness of the late Tupac Shakur, arguing how the “All Eyez On Me” artist mixed passion, lyricism, and poetry into his performances, cementing Tupac as one of the best in Eminem’s eyes.