By Track Lacer
He had a solo album that sold more than one million copies by age 15. Its been six years since and now he has children of his own. His company is not the completely dominant juggernaut it once was, yet Cash Money Records is still a household name. There has been a feud with labelmate Juvenile. An arrest of labelmate Turk. And overall, the state of rap music has been questionable at best. Rampant bootlegging. Lack of originality. Slow sales for all but a few artists. Where does this leave the mind of the CEO of Young Money Entertainment. Is the beef with Juve dead? What’s up with Nivea?
What does he think about education? All Baller Blockers can leave now. We about to take a trip down to the land of crawfish and alligator tails on a stick to find out.
TL: Weezy, what’s the deal wit’chu baby!
LW: Chillin, man.
TL: I don’t think you gotta lotta credit for being original and having fun on the mic. Even at a young age you were making sound effects. Getting creative with the choruses instead of doing the same ol’ thing everyone else does. So wanted to start off by showing some love to you for that.
LW: Appreciate that cuz. I appreciate that.
TL: Exactly how old are you? What day where you born?
LW: I’m twenty-one. September 27th, 1982.
TL: Man, 1982? That makes your life a lot different. It means that you have accomplished a lot more at age 14 or 15 than cats who are 30 years old with their own local labels.
LW: Right.
TL: You from Uptown or Downtown? (New Orleans is always identified by either Wards…or Uptown /Downtown)
LW: I’m from Uptown.
TL: Okay. Okay. Did you move around a lot in the neighborhood or were you in mostly just one hood growing up?
LW: Naw, I moved around a lot in my neighborhood ’cause I’m from the 17th Ward. You know ’cause New Orleans gotta lotta different Wards.
TL: Okay. Now you were raised by moms?
LW: Yep.
TL: Okay so who is “Rabbit” because I hear you had a strong relationship with him. What’s that your Step-Pops or was that your real Pops…or…
LW: That was my Step-Pop. Put you can put that as my real Pops. Cuz I don’t even know him (his real father)…we ain’t even gone speak on that cat. But that was my real Pops but he passed when I was 14.
TL: Okay, that’s the one you made the song for called “I Know” right?
LW: Yeah.
TL: How did he pass away.
LW: Oh, he got killed dog.
TL: Man, I’m sorry to hear that.
LW: It’s cool. That’s how it goes with the game.
TL: Now going along with that, it seems like it’s a lot of rappers that claim allegiance to a crew. But when it comes to Baby, you seem to take that real seriously. He says “My son Weezy” in his songs. You say “Baby, my father”. Why is the relationship so deep with you and Baby and why are y’all so tight like that?
LW: The same incident you just asked me about with my real father…the day that happened to ‘em…Baby was around the corner to pick me up and told me to never look back.
TL: Okay.
LW: That’s why I call ‘em my father ’cause the day I lost my father I didn’t lose my father. You know?
TL: Right. ‘Cause Baby was right there.
LW: Right there. The same day dude.
TL: Now how old were you then?
LW: Fourteen.
TL: Man, so that’s like seven years you been with Cash Money.
LW: No. That was seven years ago that that happened…I been with Cash Money since I was eleven.
TL: Eleven? Then how old were you when you recorded your first song?
LW: Eleven.
TL: That is crazy! What song was that or what album was that?
LW: It came out on B.G.’s “True Story” album. It came out when I was twelve.
TL: I’m going to have to pick that up just to hear it
LW: I was on three songs on the album.
TL: That’s outta control. Now I hear that nowadays you spend a lotta time at WAL-MART man. (laughing)
LW: (somewhat surprised…not sure of how to respond) I mean…(laugh)…I mean, everybody gotta go there sometime. I guess ’cause I go like once a week is why they say that.
TL: The only reason I brought that up because I read that you were more of a family man now and instead being at the club every week you prefer to go to WAL-MART to make sure the family is straight at home.
LW: Yeah, like I said I gotta go in there once a week.
TL: Now when you up in there do you get hounded? Or is it cool and the people just say, “Awww … that’s Lil’ Wayne.”?
LW: It’s like…I guess I gotta appeal to me…that…when people see me they already know he ain’t the type for you to hound.
TL: Right.
LW: They know they could just walk up to me and it’s. whatever you want. Autograph. Picture. Its whatever you want its’ nothing because I know the whole damn store ain’t about to come ask for one.
TL: Right.
LW: But it’s like I never get hounded and I never got hounded. I ain’t that kinda star. I ain’t tryna be neither.
TL: Now since you got into the game at such an early age did you ever mess with a public high school in New Orleans? Did you ever finish up?
LW: I went to school all the way to the eleventh grade. I went to McNein Middle School and I went to Averson High School.
TL: Now when is the first time you left the United States with Cash Money to perform?
LW: WE never left the United States to perform. If they did, I haven’t with them…but I have…but not with them.
TL: Really? Where was the first place you went to?
LW: Uhhhh…(recollecting)…the Virgin Islands!
TL: Were you in Saint Thomas?
LW: Yeah.
TL: What was that like, man?
LW: It was cool because actually I was just a special guest. I was wit my homegirl Eve (formerly of Ruff Ryders now signed with Aftermath). It was just a vacation and she had a show. She just brought me along ’cause that’s like my big sister.
TL: Okay.
LW: She brought me along and I really wasn’t supposed to perform. I really didn’t want to and she was like “Please. Please.” And I…I did that for her, and man. We killed it.
TL: Now what are the people like over there? Were they really into hip-hop like we are here?
LW: Yeah they was showing her mad love, and then when I came out there they was showed me love on some gully shit. I was like, “damn.”
TL: Yeah you wouldn’ t think a place so beautiful would be into anything hardcore, but that’s the appeal of the music though.
LW: Right.
TL: Now right after that, did you touch back down at home after the Virgin Islands?
LW: Yeah.
TL: What was it like to look around New Orleans and realize that your gift to rap had just taken you outside of the country?
LW: I mean, it’s cool but I don’t dwell on things like that. That may be bad but I keep going and keep trying to get bigger and bigger and bigger. Like…I didn’t come home and was like ‘Damn I just left the Virgin Islands’. I’ll probably be like…come home and wanna own the Virgin Islands or own my own island or something. I think like Baby, man. We never stop. We gotta keep getting it. Ain’t nothing really too big. You know what I’m saying?
TL: Fa Sho’.
LW: Once you dwell on one thing, then you start to set a limit for yourself. You supposed to think bigger than that. You know what I’m saying?
TL: Yeah, that’s real. What was it like working on your first movie? Was Baller Blockin’ the first movie you ever appeared in?
LW: I mean, it was fun to an extent…because I was young at the time and I had other things I wanted to do besides be on that movie set. But now that I’m older when I do one, if I do one…it should be more interesting. I should be more into my character.
TL: Right. Now when it comes to writing your raps what’s your preference? Do you prefer to be alone when you write? Do you write on the tour bus? Can you write anywhere…..(cut off by Lil’ Wayne)
LW: Excuse me, excuse me Track.
TL: Yeah?
LW: I don’t write baby.
TL: Oh! You do the Jay-Z thing? (Jay-Z has been rumored to never write his songs
down)
LW: I do the Weezy thing.
TL: Okay, you do the Weezy thing meaning… (cut off by Lil’ Wayne again)
LW: Aye, aye Track.
TL: Whaddup?
LW: I told you I been with these guys (Cash Money) since I was eleven. So that means I was rapping before that. I been rapping since I was nine. I’m twenty-one now. I been rapping for twelve years dog. I don’t need a pen or a pad or a beat.
TL: So you memorize your whole album in your head when you go to the studio?
LW: What I do is, I just go to the studio and getta beat. I’m usually in my truck. In my whip…my girl takes a ride with me because I don’t listen to music with words. I’m always just listening to the beat. I’m always rapping to it. So when I go into the studio with the producer…when he cut on his beats…I already got some raps in my head…so whatever fit…or I’ll make it fit. If I don’t like it I’ll just make something else up. Because it come within fifteen to twenty minutes and then we drop the song. That’s how come I finish albums in like a week. To do my album Baby uh set me up for a week straight in Atlanta. And from Monday to the next Monday I’m finished.
TL: That’s crazy. I never seen how emcees was able to do that. I’ve always had to write my own stuff down so that’s just more props to you. PUB
Beverly Hills, CA (March 15, 2010)– Dance music has been evolving since it’s birth in the mid-80’s and nobody understands the evolution of such music like R.K. Jackson (Madonna’s “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore Remix”, RuPau’sl “Little Drummer Boy”, Cece Peniston’s “Finally”). Born in the era of disco and funky style tunes, Jackson has forever been a believer in the celebratory message of dancing, love, and sexuality that music can have on a person’s soul. 
