Lil Wayne Lights Up Tallahassee

By Trevor Durham on November 5, 2016

Hidden behind clouds of smoke, dodging between the blinding lights, Wayne rages on the stage with all the energy that have made him ‘the greatest rapper of all time’. You can hear him ‘fore you see him, the small thirty four year old rapper from Louisiana. Fans young and old flocked to the Donald Tucker Civic Center to see a one-off performance from the man, the myth, the Wheezy- Lil Wayne made his own kinds of waves to celebrate FSU’s game against Clemson. If anything, Tunechi showed us that he’s still got the power to run the game, Birdman be damned.

Photo: Brandon Buck

Wayne’s show comes with a lot of heavy retrospective, whether it be his extensive discography or political career history. In the past few years, his endless output of studio albums and free digital mixtapes has been barred by his label owner/ex-best friend Birdman. His highly anticipated finale, Tha Carter V, has been all but scrapped to prevent release, and Wayne hasn’t toured since.

The surprise concert was a massive riot of energy, rambunctious soul that have always separated Wheezy from the rap community. Having seen Kanye, Chance, J. Cole, and countless other rappers in the last year, there’s something to be said that a nearly retired rap superstar is still schooling everyone on how it’s done.

Photo: Brandon Buck

To watch Wayne perform live is to remember why he owned the game in the 2000s, topping Eminem, Jay Z, young Kanye, and the rest. Never slowing, never stopping, the man was a ball of energy ripping across the stage for the entirety of his set. Remember how massive his discography is? So does he. There are no pauses between songs, and often, he only plays the best verse or two from each song. In his short performance, Wayne went through his entire legacy, bouncing from hit to bigger hit, giving the moshing audience a nonstop thrill ride of rap music history.

Photo: Brandon Buck

Only once or twice did he tag in his other performers, Skate Maloley or Mack Maine. The entirety of the night felt like Wayne warming up, as he shed layer after layer to reveal his iconic tattoos. The longer Wheezy danced and rapped, the more I felt he was being reborn. By the end of the night, I felt that he still had enough in him to record a dozen more albums and mixtapes. My faith in Tunechi is back.

Towards the end of the show, Wayne put his beats on hold to give a quick message, a reminder of why we had slowly passed by Wayne.

“Fuck Cash Money.”

Photo: Brandon Buck

In retrospect of the night, it could have been just as much Wayne’s final hurrah as a reignition of his career. As long as Birdman continues to block his success, we will be waiting on bated breath to see how Lil Wayne continues. Maybe he’ll keep supporting his friends, such as 2 Chainz on Collegrove or Chance the Rapper’s ‘No Problem’. Free Wheezy, baby.

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