Lil Wayne turned to his favorite publication, ESPN The Magazine, for his latest interview. Young Money’s MVP spoke about his love for sports and how he got Kobe Bryant and Floyd Mayweather Jr. to tweet out teasers for Tha Carter V. He also revealed that it was the Lakers star who came up with the “Carter V Season” catchphrase.
Weezy’s final album is due sometime this year. So what can we expect? “Tha Carter V is about growth, flat-out,” he told ESPN.
Plus, the “Lakers die-hard” shared his thoughts on Donald Sterling and social media.
On the idea to have athletes tweet teasers for C5: “My [manager] Cortez came up with it: What do you think about Kobe tweeting the album art? I’m like, what do I think? That’d be dope. So I had the homey hit him up simple procedure: Hey, can you tweet this? And he did [on April 28]. It wasn’t planned or paid—I only went to the homeys as a favor for a friend.”
On Kobe Bryant: “‘Carter V Season’ was all Kobe. He came up with it. I saw that and thought, That’s dope as hell, so that’s what we’re calling the [album] campaign. I thanked him. Then we thought about Floyd.”
On Floyd Mayweather: “We knew Floyd had a fight coming up. So all eyes were on him. I have his number, so I had my homey hit him up: Can you put this video of Drake out, as a little tease? He did [on April 30]. And it worked. That sh** was crazy. I told him I appreciate him. He said he’s down for whatever else. That’s Floyd—down for whatever.”
On social media: “I don’t know social media. I’m old-school: I know eyes and ears. I know sports, worldwide, is forced on you all day, every day in a great way. Kobe can reach a wider audience. Plus, everybody knows I’m in love with sports, so it’s a way to be involved.”
On Tha Carter V: “Tha Carter V is about growth, flat-out. My thoughts are wiser. I still say what I want to say—it just sounds better and makes more sense. That all comes with growth and maturity.”
On his music: “I never try to send messages through music. Music is about self. It’s supposed to be personal, a reflection of me, unless you have somebody writing it for you, and everybody know I’m not that artist. I’m not sending a message because that message may not get across. Whatever message you take from it is your choice.”
On Donald Sterling: “My thoughts on Donald Sterling are I have no thoughts about a man who doesn’t, or can’t, think.”
Read the full interview on ESPN.com.
