Lil Wayne XXL’s July/August 2011 Cover

Lil Wayne is gearing up to release Tha Carter IV, his highly anticipated follow up to 2008’s multi-platinum smash album, Tha Carter III, but before putting the long delayed disc on shelves, XXL sat down with Mr. Carter in Miami’s famed studio The Hit Factory for our forthcoming July/August 2011 issue to speak on everything from his recording process, his retirement plans, Drake and Nicki Minaj’s success, and why he’ll never record with pop sensation Justin Bieber.

Writer Shaheem Reid, chopped it up with Weezy in Miami about how a rapper as prolific as himself, was able to actually select tracks for Tha Carter IV. Asked, when he knew that the album was ready, Wayne said: “You don’t. When they tell you. When [manager Cortez Bryant] call me and tell me and say, ‘You got such and such date is your deadline to stop,’ I be like, ‘Aight.’ ’Cause I never stop recording, obviously. So it’s just on him to say, “Okay, stop. We’re gonna pick these songs, and that’s the album.’ That’s how we do it.”

Fans might ask what fills the contents of such songs? Weezy explains: “What is good about me is that I’m an interesting muthafucka. I’m Dwayne Michael Carter period! Whether I’m a rapper or not, I’m interesting. And that’s what my album’s gonna be about: me and how interesting I am.”

The Young Money leader also revealed to XXL that he plans to retire soon and hints at C4 possibly being his last offering. “I’m bowing out still on top,” he says. “I’ma make y’all want me when I retire. I’ma make y’all be like, ‘Nooo!’ I ain’t leaving out this bitch when y’all be like, ‘Yeah, it’s about time, dawg.’ Carter IV might be my last one. I’ma make y’all be like, ‘Fuck!’ Yeah, nigga, I’m gone.”

Wayne saying being a good father to his children would be the cause for an retirement. “Honestly, this is the real truth,” he says. “I honestly think it’s unfair to my kids. I’m super dedicated into what I do. Like, it’s no questions—it’s hands down, I do this. I live this. I don’t have a day out my week that I do something else. I do this every day of my life, and I’m not about to stop, ’cause that’s the only way you can succeed in this business, is to do it the way I do it. I want to succeed the way I want to succeed. You can succeed. You can put out a hit… But to do it the way I want to do it, to be comfortable to do what the fuck I want to do, you’ve got to work like no other. Like I said, it’s unfair to my kids. So about 30, 31, 32, I gotta get ready.

Luckily for Wayne his superstar Young Money signees, Drake and Nicki Minaj, are sure to keep his pockets fat in his absence. In fact, Birdman, Jr. counts on it. “You already know what I expect,” Weezy says of Drizzy and Nick’s imminent success. “I expect to eat, and eat well. I expect [Drake] to be a lot more successful than he has ever been. I mean, this guy’s a superstar. He is the definition. That’s what I told y’all before he was: ‘That’s the definition of a superstar.’ And like Nicki, he’s only breaking ice. He has yet to be who he’s going to be. I’m banking on them.”

While fans can expect to hear both Heartbreak Drake and Ms. Minaj on Tha Carter IV, it’s the two Justin’s that Weezy F. also talks about. “That’s my little homie now,” Wayne says of The Biebs. “He texts me every night asking me to do [his] damn song. That’s my nigga, but I can’t do it. Like I said, I don’t want to fuck his shit up. But like I said, I want to work with Justin Timberlake. That boy got a voice; that boy can sing. He needs to come back right there on Tha Carter IV.”

Along with Lil Wayne, XXL’s July/August 2011 issue also features interviews with Weezy’s buddy, Justin Bieber, out-there interviewer Nardwuar, and producer Boi-1da. In addition XXL investigates hip-hop’s controversial history with homophobia, while also sitting down with the rap world’s most colorful, heterosexual couple, Ice-T & Coco and much, much more.

XXL’s July/August 2011 issue will hit newsstands nationwide on July 12. —XXL Staff


Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter IV Pushed Back to August 29, Rep Confirms

XXLMag.com has learned that Lil Wayne’s highly anticipated eighth studio album, Tha Carter IV, has been pushed back.
Last set to come out on June 21, a rep for Weezy’s parent label, Universal Motown, has confirmed with XXL that the disc will now be delayed until August 29. We also learned his next single will be hitting the airwaves around July 4. That song has yet to be determined.
Wayne recently dropped the third song from the album, “How to Love.”
Stay tuned to XXLMag.com as more information becomes available. —Jesse Gissen