Lil Wayne & Nas Inducted Into The Billboard's R&B & Hip Hop Hall Of Fame
Lil Wayne and Nas graced the red carpet with their daughters at the Billboard R&B & Hip Hop Hall of Fame induction, celebrating 50 years of hip hop, while reflecting on their influential careers and enduring impact on the music industry. We discuss it!
Nas and Lil Wayne both pose at the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Live held at The Novo on August 8, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photocred: Billboard/Brandon Todd)
By: Gentel Sharrie
Lil Wayne and Nas both walked the red carpet with their daughters Reginae Carter and Destiny Jones at Billboard’s official R&B & Hip Hop Hall of Fame induction at the Novo in Downtown Los Angeles. The induction was in honor to celebrate 50 incredible years of hip hop.
Lil Wayne started his rapping career at the age of 12. He was signed by Birdman and joined Cash Money Records, becoming the youngest member at the label. Lil Wayne has released numerous successful albums and mixtapes throughout his career, including the ‘Carter’ albums. Lil Wayne has 5 Grammy awards, 4 Billboard awards, 2 MTV Video Music awards, 11 BET awards, 16 BET Hip Hop awards, 1 American Music awards, and 4 Soul Train awards.
The great, Nas started his rapping career in 1991. He rose to prominence in the 1990s with his debut album ‘Illmatic’ which is known to be one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time. Nas is also known for his introspective lyrics, storytelling ability, and social commentary, He has released several critically acclaimed albums throughout his career and won 1 Grammy award, and 2 BET Hip Hop Awards.
Nas (Billboard)
When Lil Wayne received his induction into the R&B/Hip Hop Hall of Fame he stated, “You already know I gotta give thanks to the man up above. Also those that we lost, those that we wish were here, we thank you as well… And to my fans, I think I worded it the best way when I said I ain’t shit without you. This is for y’all, y’all as in my fans, those in the crowd, my supporters, those that work for me, those that work with me, those that work around me, those that work like me. This is for us.” Lil Wayne then went on to say, “I’m not stopping.”
Nas and Lil Wayne have been part of the music history and business for over two decades and they continue to be a part of history and create new history for the world to see.
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Lil Wayne Talks About Childhood Suicide Attempt And Owning Young Money
Lil Wayne talks about owning Young Money and discusses a suicide attempt at 12 which he hopes will help people going through a similar situation get through it!
“Just being an adult, reaching a level of maturity and comfort where it’s like, ‘I want to talk about this because I know a lot of people out here might be going through that.’”
By: Omar Cook
Rapper Lil Wayne was only 12 years old when he shot himself in the chest with a handgun he got from his mother’s purse. He has always gone on record for saying it was an accident but in his recent interview with Billboard, he revealed that this was a suicide attempt. "In the past, he has called this an accident. But on the new verse he plays, Wayne admits this was a suicide attempt, undertaken after his mother told him he would no longer be allowed to rap," Billboard reports.
Young Money label president Mack Maine explained why Wayne came forward to speak about it after all this time. “He just told me one day that he was ready to address it now,” Maine said. “Just being an adult, reaching a level of maturity and comfort where it’s like, ‘I want to talk about this because I know a lot of people out here might be going through that.’”
On his album Free Weezy, he subliminally addressed the situation on the track “London Roads”: “Ms. Cita, I remember goin’ in your gun drawer/Puttin’ it to my chest and missin’ my heart by centimeters, oh Lord.” What’s crazy is that after he recovered from his injuries, his mother allowed him to join Cash Money with the agreement that he wouldn’t curse on his records. The result was his 1999 solo debut, Tha Block Is Hot which featured no curse words!
Wayne coming forward with this testimony speaks to the passion that he knew he had for rapping at an early age. It also tells us that people can hide hurtful truths about themselves and secretly go through things without anyone knowing. Wayne is one of the biggest artists in the world, and the world had no idea that it was a near death experience that propelled him into a rap career. His testimony also says that sometimes on the other side of pain, is glory and you just have to get through to receive what’s yours, no matter who’s in the way. Wayne’s maturity and growth on the situation should let people know that they too can get through what looks like the worst possible situation and come out on top.
Lil Wayne Opens Up About Childhood Suicide Attempt (CREDIT: Instagram.com/evanhernandez)
In the interview with Billboard, Wayne also addressed how he got through his long legal battles with Birdman and Cash Money Records saying, “Just the confidence in knowing that there’s always a tomorrow and I’m going to make sure that tomorrow is bright. Some people can’t go on [like] that, like, ‘OK, tomorrow will be better.’ They need it to be better right now. And thank God I didn’t, and I never did.”
Lil Wayne announced the production of his highly anticipated album, Tha Carter V, in late 2012 and was scheduled to release it on December 9, 2014. Just a few days before the scheduled release, Wayne took to twitter to express the issues he was dealing with regarding Birdman and Cash Money discussing how they refused to release the album. What followed was a $51 million lawsuit against Birdman and Cash Money, alleging breach of contract, failure to pay royalties and withholding advances, and requesting an audit of Cash Money’s books. Since then the album has been on halt.
The lawsuit has since been settled and Wayne has retained ownership of his label Young Money and recently announced that Tha Carter V would be released this fall. FINALLY. It’s about time because if you’re reading this i’m assuming you’re a Wayne fan and this is what we been waiting on. Since settling the lawsuit, Wayne and Birdman have repaired their relationship but he also revealed that it caused him to have some trust issues.
“Not even just with him, but my relationships with a lot of people have become different, just because of how different I work now,” he says. “I’m submerged in everything about myself, trying to be better at who I am. It’s something where you have to cut some things off.”
Sometimes you have to withstand a storm to receive the ultimate blessings. And sometimes you have to remove yourself from certain relationships to ultimately become who you need to be. Wayne opening up about his trials and tribulations should be a message to anyone going through something, that they can get through it and still come out on top.
Meet Gentel Sharrie, Head of Media Coverage for 247 Live Culture!
Email: Gentel@247LCTV.com