S. Samuel
Grammy-winning rapper Lil Wayne's manager, Cortez Bryant, recently spoke on overseeing his client's successful hip-hop career and helping guide him in the right path.
When asked if Wayne’s credibility diminishes by his ability to do tracks with pop stars Madonna and Weezer, Bryant responded by saying Weezy is focused on pushing the hip-hop envelope.
“We wanted to take away the cliche that Wayne was an urban hip hop rapper thug. Any kind of stereotype he had in the beginning of his career. It stuck on him. Going into the Carter II and Carter III phase we wanted to break Wayne out, and a lot of those features were strategic….Wayne would be on the phone with Madonna one day, and the next day you’d hear him on the phone with Gucci Mane,” Bryant said in an interview. “He made sure he gave all of his fans some of him. The fans who made him, who created him back in the day, he still makes music to satisfy them. I think that when he goes in to record he keeps that in the back of his mind because he teaches that to some of those artists; especially to artists like Nicki Minaj who started out with the same type of following and who is now going more pop. He gave her the advice, ‘Don’t forget about the people who created you, who were there from the beginning. You have got to deliver for them.’ I believe that Wayne has a fine balance. He makes sure that he doesn’t…Just because he did a song with Madonna, or Weezer, or anybody else on that (mainstream pop) side, that doesn’t make him think that he’s too big to do a song for any urban hip hop act.” (Celebrity Access)
Last February, Wayne’s experimental rock album, The Rebirth, debuted on the sales chart.
Grammy-winning rapper Lil Wayne’s Rebirth debuted on the charts landing at No. 2. After seven days in retail stores, the rapper’s experimental rock album was able to shell out 176,000 records. (SOHH Sales Wrap)
While incarcerated on a gun conviction last spring, Wayne thanked fans for supporting his rock album in April.
“But this isn’t all about me, you are the reason for this letter. It’s because of you Rebirth went gold when critics aborted it. It’s because of you Young Money is and will always be a movement. If the weight of the world is on your shoulders, I beg of you, place it on mine. That’s the least I could do for you, after all you have sacrificed for me.” (Weezy Thanx You)
In 2009, Cash Money Records co-founder Baby talked about wanting to expand his label outside of only rap music.
“We still feel like we got a long way to go man,” Baby said in an interview. “His music and his heights are unlimited. We do pop, rock, rap, everything, so when you catering to our nationalities, our songs, it’s not gonna be just one urban record. You gotta do pop records, cross over records.” (New Lil Wayne)
Listen to Madonna & Lil Wayne’s “Revolver” down below:
