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Over the past 10 years, it’s hard to find another rapper that has influenced hip-hop (for better or worse depending who you ask) than Lil Wayne.

We’ve seen hip-hop split into so many diffrent genres in the past few years with the next generation, with some artists delivering a fierce pen game, some have adopted the pop melodies and punk energy, and others are famous just because their charisma, and don’t worry much about skill aspect.

The one common trait among all these new rappers – the influence that Lil Wayne has had on them. The 35-year-old artist has adopted various trends, flows, styles throughout his 20+ year career, and many of these sounds today can be traced back to Wayne.

“I put Wayne in Jay-Z and Kanye’s bracket, in terms of success. Wayne is still fun. Are we forgetting that Wayne made everybody switch their flow up and start using the E’s and R’s, and ‘I’m ir-regul-ar, seg-ular’? Like, c’mon, are we forgetting that Wayne changed hip-hop, too? ASAP ROCKY

“Wayne is a reason that a lot of these people even probably rap or have fans or whatever it is. When he came in—you know he came in young, but when he grew up, you were able to watch him grow up, and you know all the things he did that we see people do today.” 2 Chainz

Today at age 35, Wayne continues to garner respect, but legal issues with his label and Birdman have prevented him from releasing the Carter V. Despite the label issues, Wayne has established a loyal fan base that ranges over two decades, so whenever the fifth installment of ‘The Carter’ does arrive, we are sure that there will be plenty of fans waiting to see what Wayne still has left up his sleeve. This is why we’re highlighting him for Black Music Month 2018.

We choose 5 songs that helped create the mania of Lil Wayne in the 2004-2014 era! Let us know YOUR favorite Lil Wayne song or project of all time in the comment section!

Da Drought 3 – “Dough Is What I Got”

Mixtape Weezy….As Wayne grew in popularity nationwide in the mid-00’s, it felt like a feud could be brewing between Jay-Z and Wayne (even though this was squashed quickly with collaborations like “Hello Brooklyn” and “Mr. Carter” from the Carter III. Lil Wayne has always had great respect for HOV, so this was less a “beef” and more of a friendly competition among two hip-hop elites.

“And when it comes down to this recording, I must be LeBron James if you Jordan”

Carter II – “Fireman”

He had some national success with solo and group tracks, but from 2005-2008 is when Wayne changed the hip-hop landscape and released more music then some labels in that time frame.

Plenty of songs stand out in that window, but the swagger that Wayne carries throughout this entire track is something that can be seen it many of your favorite rappers today.

“I Feel Like Dying”

In 2017, Noisey posted an article titled “Lil Wayne’s “I Feel Like Dying” Changed Rap’s Relationship with Drugs Forever, and “in that moment, the dealer became the user, and rap became that much more accessible.”

Now again, this can be viewed in many diffrent ways. Wayne is one of the best rappers alive, but when he’s not concerned with the women, money, or luxury raps, he’ll blindside you with admissions like:

“jumping off a mountain into a sea of codeine, I’m at the top of the top, but still I climb.”

Carter IV – “6 Foot 7 Foot”

This track compiles almost everything that made Lil Wayne. The rapid fire flows, the punchlines and metaphors, and the continuation of stretching the English language like A$AP Rocky mentioned above. This song is full of quotables – but Wayne fans all know that most iconic line from this song:

“real G’s move in silence like lasagna.”

Carter III – “A Milli”

Another staple moment in Wayne’s career and a song that sums up Wayne’s reign on top of the rap game. A vicious beat from Bangladesh, Wayne, per usual, goes off topic from his money, and for 4 minutes straight Wayne does what he does best, and even mentions – Orville Redenbacher, pushing flowers, sharing showers, Andre 3000 and Erykah Badu – all within the same bar, and this is exactly what defined Weezy.

It’s extra special because shortly after Wayne was sentenced for an eight-month prison bid, and “A Milli” and the Carter III put a bow on his historic run.

– Justin Thomas (@JustInMyView)

Sources: Pigeons and Planes, RollingStone, RedBull

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Black Music Month: Under The Influence Of Lil Wayne  was originally published on boomphilly.com