When Lil Wayne sat down to speak with Taylor Rooks, he spoke about how his artistic inspiration came from the combative spirit of the battle-rap period. He thought of the so-called Rap God right away, Eminem being one of the jaw-breakers of the underground hip-hop fight scene in the 1990s.

The five-time Grammy Award winner made for an engaging conversation, sharing details about his partnership with Kevin Durant, how his career has refined his songwriter-rapper abilities, and how he compares himself to LeBron James in terms of rhyming talent. Wayne went into more detail about his want to play at the 2025 Super Bowl halftime performance as well as how drastically the music business has evolved.

Weezy gave rising basketball player Angel Reese some guidance in addition to expressing his admiration and appreciation for Drake’s accomplishments. The rapper thought that Ja Morant will be the NBA’s next big thing. Lil Wayne once used Eminem as a startling example while discussing the competitive nature of hip-hop in the interview.

I grew up during the competitive era of rap music. I was there when “battle rap” first came into being. That was a rap style where I could reallyIt was funny—almost comically. To put it another way, a comedian may make fun of each other. It doesn’t mean nothing to them.

Weezy went into further detail about the lasting influence battle rap has on hip-hop culture:

The battle rap was identical. These are the individuals you got. As they stand in a circle, you know… Eminem may make fun of you for something you loved about yourself in the mirror before you arrived, and then they return and repeat the same thing. That was a type of art, then. They have folks that, even to this day, have battle raps that happened that aren’t captured on camera or recorded, and tales have emerged as a result. We no longer possess it. I was there when it happened.