That’s another answer that’s none of your concern. Shouldn’t be. Well, some of our male readers would probably want some advice on how to deal with their own baby mothers. It’s all in the person that you are. It’s nothing about what you do. There’s no rules or certain things to do or say. It’s who you are. Period.
grill, so that’s the whole process.
Lil Wayne’s “going away party” @ Dolce in Miami after the Super Bowl with the whole YM family including Lil Twist, Short Dawg & Lil Chuckee (above) & Tyga, Drake, & Nicki Minaj (below) (Photos: Julia Beverly)
A lot of people have this idea that paying child support determines if someone is a good or bad father. Obviously, it’s more about giving your time than money. How would you define good fatherhood? I’m not on child support with none of my kids cause I’m a great father. So it’s not determined by how much money you’re paying at all. That’s not what it’s about. It’s about being there and being that important person in their lives. It’s about being #1 or #2 in their life. That’s very important for your child, to make sure you’re that #1 or #2. Because if you’re not, you know what #1 or #2 could end up being. That’s the most important thing of all. I just try to make sure I’m of the highest importance in their lives, next to their moms. How does your background affect the way you treat your children? I had a great stepfather, Reginald Rabbit. As far as my “real dad,” I don’t know what that is. So I guess that pushes me [to be there]. Kind of aiming to be what you didn’t have? I don’t get when people say that. How could you be something if you never had it? It’s just aiming to not be what you had, you know?
Well, just from being around you myself, I’ve observed you as somebody who’s very polite and respectful towards women. But at the same time, in your music, you still do have a lot of “bitches” and “hoes” talk. How do you justify that or how do those two things coexist? There’s two answers to that. One is – there are bitches. There are hoes. There are ladies. There are women. There are girls. Pick which side you’re on. When somebody’s saying something about “bitches,” if they didn’t say “Julia is a bitch,” if it doesn’t apply to you then it doesn’t apply to you. The second answer is, you’d have to be a woman who’s met me to know if I believe you’re a bitch or a hoe or whatever. You worked with Shanell a lot on the Rebirth album. Was it more of a musical connection at first and then became more personal, or vice versa? Since when did it become a personal thing? I don’t know. I thought y’all were an item. That’s a rumor, sweetheart. No, it’s never been a personal thing. As far as us being friends, yeah. That’s my friend. Shanell is a great artist and that’s it, period. She’s a Young Money great artist. I heard a rumor that she was pregnant from me. How could that be? We’ve never had sex. How could she be pregnant from me? You’ve got to have sex to be pregnant. That’s one of the things you have to do. I don’t understand how people’s brains work. You know? I’m a really big person. I’m a real superstar. I’m not afraid to tell you or nobody else, you know? I die every week [according to the rumors]. I’m in jail right now [according to the rumors]. So the intrusion into your personal life bothers you? No, it bothers you, because you have to actually think if it’s true or not and come sit down and ask this dumb ass shit. I know you have to feel stupid, because it’s like me sitting here and looking at your [brown] hair and asking you, “Since you dyed your hair green, how do you feel?” Your hair obviously isn’t green. It was a rumor that appeared to be substantiated so I have to do my job. Folks wanna know. So how’d you make it through eight root canals? Were you knocked out? Yes. Sedation. Are you happy with the pearly whites? Oh, my grill is about to be put back on. [The pearly whites] are temporary. That’s why I’ve gotta go through so much to get my teeth worked on, because my grills are permanent. They’re not just the ones that can be snapped out, so when I have a problem with my teeth, they have to break the grill. That requires messin’ up the grill, which requires getting a new
With less than a week to go before you have to start serving time, are you feeling like the world is about to end? Or feeling like you have a new adventure or a new phase in life to look forward to? What’s on your mind at this point? I don’t think about that. I just live in the present. You’re never supposed to think about the future; it comes soon enough anyways. Has this whole legal process been a humbling experience? No, I wouldn’t say that, because I’m an emotional dude. I wear my passion on my sleeve so it’s not humbling at all. I’m too passionate and too emotional, so everything gets to me.
Your “going-away party” after the Super Bowl at Dolce in Miami was really one of the few times I’ve seen you appear to just..have fun. At that point, I didn’t care about it being a going-away party. All that didn’t matter to me. I felt like I was with my real friends. Anytime I go in the club I’m with one or two friends, and we end up with 18 people we’re just okay with. You know? But that party – I was in there with my real people, that I fuss at, that I care about, you know what I mean? So that was the difference that night. That’s why it was so fun. Literally, I’ve never experienced that with them. And I don’t think I even had a drink that night. What do you think separates an artist who goes away and comes back with more hype than they left - like Pimp C or Gucci Mane – from an artist who goes away and is forgotten? Do you think it’s having somebody on the outside still representing, or the volume of music pre-recorded? I think it’s that too, but I think it’s who you are, period. If people care about you or not. If people wanna follow you [on Twitter] and that type of stuff, they actually give a fuck about you. If they give a fuck about you being [in prison] they’re still gonna give a fuck when you come out. It’s about being who you are, period. I don’t think there’s anything you can do to make people give a fuck about you. I mean, you can do things, but I don’t know how much those things would really help you or hurt you. That’s why we shot a billion videos, just for the sake of – I am loved. We didn’t shoot it just because I’m going in. Did you keep track of how many videos you’ve shot recently? Nah, I didn’t. I just know that I shot ten videos in two days. But that was just in two days. I shot more after that. We just kept shooting. Some artists have said they weren’t inspired to write music at all while they were locked up because of the surroundings. Yeah, I don’t think I’m gonna be too inspired to write anything either, because I usually get inspired off music. Since I don’t write [lyrics on paper], it’s the music that gets me to do something. So if I get some music back there and keep my thoughts fresh, maybe. Will this be your first experiment with writing down lyrics? Nah, I’ve been writing before, when I was younger. So I don’t know. I guess that’ll be my form of recording for now. I’ve got so much material already, and I work so hard, I really just need a break. That was my next question. In some sort of way, are you looking forward to it? I mean, obviously, it’s not the ideal situation, but at least you are getting a break. Yeah, that is what I’m thinking about. I’m looking forward to sleeping and stuff like that. Sleep? A foreign concept for you. Is that the plan for the first few weeks? That’s my plan for the whole time. (laughs) If I could have power, that’d be my plan. To sleep the whole time. Turk’s younger brother passed recently. Have you been in contact with him? I heard about it but I didn’t know if it was a rumor or not. I haven’t talked to him, but of course, my condolences. My condolences to him and the family and friends. In New Orleans, shit is crazy. Baby did a few interviews recently where he said that he was definitely feeling the loss as far as you going away for a little while and he planned OZONE MAG // 73