Weezy. Mr. Carter. Young Tunechi. Lil Wayne. Founder of Young Money Records, he has had several accomplishments as a Grammy award-winning artist including the fact that he is a respected rapper, entrepreneur, and not to mention skateboarding enthusiast. Today, people tend to only note his achievements of the past. Though this may not be a high point of his career, consider the artists that have signed to his record label: Nicki Minaj and Drake, two of his well-known protégés, have dominated in the world of hip-hop and rap. People worry for him now that he is not in the spotlight. Concerns have also been brought up with the possibility of him retiring after the release of his long-due Tha Carter V, but hopefully this is just a resting point for him. On the other hand, Collegrove, the collab album of 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne, is out now! As a way of personally thanking his supportive fans, Wayne went on the Dedication Tour to perform in the smaller cities he rarely visits.
On Thursday, March 3rd, Weezy gave IU a night to remember in Assembly Hall. To start things off, brothers Swae Lee (right) and Slim Jimmy (left) of Rae Sremmurd opened the show. They heated the stage with hits from their album Sremmlife including "Come Get Her," "No Type," and "Throw Sum Mo."
"Now where my real Lil Wayne fans at?"
Warming up with back-to-back hits, the crowd got hype as Lil Wayne played everyone's favorites including "6 Foot 7 Foot," "Rich as F*ck," and "Believe Me." He did throwbacks from old mixtapes and had a variety in song choice for his setlist. This was one setlist that no one could be disappointed with, because he pretty much covered it all.
"Who the best rapper alive?"
Wayne probably asked this question over 10 times throughout the concert, repeatedly claiming he "forgot" if he asked yet. It just served as a reminder of how much we all appreciate him. He had a fun way of engaging conversation with the crowd, entertaining everyone in between songs. During tracks like "Love Me," "Lollipop," and "Got Money," everyone went wild. However, Tunechi also slowed it down at times, including to his hit song "How to Love." The entire audience was singing along with him.
"Ain't no song without the 'F-E-A-T. Lil Wayne' after it!"
Weezy proved himself when he showed the crowd that as a solo or featured artist, he kills it. A majority of his verses on these tracks would almost make you forget that it wasn't his song: "HYFR," "Truffle Butter," "Pop That," "The Motto," "Only," "She Will," "Loyal," "I'm Going In," "I'm On One."
"I. Ain't. Shit. Without. You."
Wayne preached this throughout the concert and got the crowd to say it along with him. As he looked around the venue, he couldn't help but show his contagiously charming smile, with the lights shimmering his grills. It gave everyone a genuine feeling knowing that he really was doing this for the fans. This one final time, he showed the true purpose of the Dedication Tour, and then proceeded to surprise the crowd with "A Milli" and "No Worries." During the whole show, everyone was in Wayne's World.
In other words: People have, do, and always will love a timeless artist like Weezy.
