Drake pays tribute to Lil Wayne.
Drake has not been on good terms with the Grammys, but the rapper makes an appearance through a pre-taped video during the Black Music Collective pre-Grammy event. In the clip, the 6 God honours his good friend and longtime collaborator Lil Wayne with the Global Impact Award.
“Good evening, Grammys. Well, I haven’t gotten to say that since 2016,” he said in reference to his last appearance at the event in 2016. “My name is Drake and I’m here tonight on behalf of the Black Music Collective,” he said. “To present the Global Impact Award to Ed Sheeran,” he said before someone told him that was actually Lil Wayne. “Lil Wayne, makes sense… That’s a lot better, by the way.”
He continued, “I love you so much and I don’t want to make this personal because the Global Impact Award would be about how you affected everybody, not just me. I know I’d probably get annoyed with saying how much you mean to me and my family, but 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.”
“Just know that there’s only one Lil Wayne and that’s why he’s receiving the Global Impact Award from the Black Music Collective at the Grammys,” he concludes with a wink at the camera.
Wayne, who in 2009 brought Drake on board to Young Money, then stepped up to accept the award. “I want you all to know that I don’t get honored,” the rapper said, as reported by the Hollywood Reporter. “Where I’m from, New Orleans, you’re not supposed to do this … I walked into my mama’s room when I was 14. She asked me for a kid because my dad was killed. And her son had just blown up and went on his first tour. When I came home she said, ‘Son, I can’t live in this house by myself. We’re going to have to figure something out.’”
He continued by recognizing the mother of his first-born child: “I’d like to thank Antonia Johnson for reasoning with me and my mom, and my life. I’d like to thank every single one of my kids and every single one of their mothers … Ladies and gentlemen, I don’t know who you all are tonight. Again, we don’t get honored. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I ain’t s**t without you.”
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Check out the video below.
Drake made a video for Lil Wayne during the BMC event with the #Grammys pic.twitter.com/ejHrFWvRi4
— 2Cool2Blog (@2Cool2Blog) February 3, 2023
Lil Wayne accepts his Global Impact Award at the Grammys Black Music Collective celebration pic.twitter.com/wsfwEeqB4G
— Andrew Barber (@fakeshoredrive) February 3, 2023
Tyga gave Lil Wayne his flowers last night with a tribute! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/8SVtU3xQWs
— TheShadeRoom (@TheShadeRoom) February 3, 2023
