Lil Wayne has opened up about the surprising way in which the death of his father impacted his life during an emotional speech at a Grammy Week award ceremony.
Weezy took the stage in Los Angeles, California on Thursday (February 2) to accept the Global Impact Award at the inaugural Recording Academy Honors presented by the Black Music Collective. After thanking the event’s organizers and those in attendance, he proceeded to offer the audience some insight into his upbringing.
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“Where I’m from? I walked into my mama’s room when I was 14, she asked me for a kid because my dad was killed,” Wayne recounted as his voice cracked. “And her son had just blew up and went on his first tour. And we didn’t know that bitch was gonna be six months. When I came home she said, ‘Son, I can’t live in this house by myself. We gonna have to figure something out.'”
Without detailing where the conversation went from there, Lil Wayne proceeded to thank Toya Rushing — the mother of his 24-year-old daughter Reginae Carter — for “reasoning” with him and his mother.
The Young Money boss has previously shared that rather than his biological father, Dwayne Carter Sr., with whom he’s had no contact since his parents divorced when he was a toddler, he considers his mother Jacida “Cita” Carter’s third husband, Reginal McDonald, to be his dad.
According to Exclaim!, McDonald’s death in 1996 prompted Ms. Cita, as her son affectionately refers to her in his music, to finally allow Wayne to commit to his music career full-time.
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Reginae was born two years later, two months after Lil Wayne’s 16th birthday and one month after the release of Get It How You Live!, his debut album alongside Juvenile, B.G. and Turk as the Hot Boys.
While Cita Carter’s request to her 14-year-old son might be unconventional, the two have always shared a close relationship, with Wayne incorporating her into his lyrics throughout his career. Mrs. Carter even made an appearance on his 2018 album Tha Carter V.
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Opening the project with a message to her son, she spoke to the many ways in which he has supported her and his younger brother, Semaj. “Dwayne, mama proud of you. You done came so far,” she is heard saying on “I Love You Dwayne.” “You’s my rock, you’ve always been my rock. You take care of me and then some. And your brother, we don’t wanted for nothing”
Ahead of his acceptance speech, Wayne was introduced to the crowd with a pre-recorded message from Drake, who used the opportunity to no just give his “brother” his flowers, but also to poke fun at the Grammys, which he has spoken out against many times over the past few years.
“Good evening, Grammys. Well, I haven’t gotten to say that since 2016. My name is Drake and I’m here tonight on behalf of the Black Music Collective,” Drake said as he took off his glasses and winked at the camera.
He continued his video by stating he was presenting the Global Impact Award to pop star Ed Sheeran before someone off-camera whispered in his ear that the honor went to Lil Wayne.
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It was an obvious dig on the Grammys fumbling award winners over the years, with the most memorable happening when Macklemore beat JAY-Z, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar and Drake himself for Best Rap Album at the 2014 ceremony.
“Lil Wayne, oh right, makes sense, yeah, sorry Lil Wayne, my brother, that’s a lot better … I love you so much,” Drake said. “I know I probably get annoying with saying how much you mean to me and my family, but I think I speak on behalf of everybody when I say that our careers, our cadences, our melodies, maybe our face tats or our outfits or our decisions in general would not have been the same without your natural gift to just be yourself.”
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The Black Music Collective event also honored Dr. Dre and Missy Elliott, as well as longtime music executive Sylvia Rhone.
