The retirement plan: why Lil Wayne wanted to quit rapping at 35
Many rappers get it into their heads that they don’t want to rap for very long. In some cases, the ability to spit about anything meaningful or relatable fades away after years of releasing music. Across the music industry, artists often lose their magic touch in their later years, causing irreparable harm to their legacy. Lil Wayne planned to stop that from happening.
As young as 22 years old, the New Orleans rapper had retirement in the back of his mind. In 2004, he famously said, “I ain’t about to be 35 and rapping.” Thankfully, he never went through with it, and some of the best music of his career was still to come. At the time, he was only several albums into his career, releasing projects like Tha Block Is Hot, Lights Out, 500 Degreez, and Tha Carter.
Wayne revisited his comments seven years later when he was in his late 20s and revealed he was still sticking to his plan. After almost two decades in the game, Weezy was content with his contribution to hip-hop, which included his number one album, Tha Carter III. Not only that, but he had a thriving Young Money label with Drake and Nicki Minaj on his roster.
Speaking to GQ, he said, “Basically, I have been doing this for 18 years. That’s reason number one. I have accomplished all that I have set out to accomplish and more. Also, I have a label, and I’ve only put out two artists. I have a lot more work to do, and it’d be selfish to not focus on being the boss and focus on their projects.”
Aside from his record label, he wanted to stop rapping to spend more time with his children. Wayne has four kids, Reginae, Dwayne, Kameron and Neal, and it was important for him to give them the quality time they deserved. He was at a point in his career where money wasn’t an issue, and he was passionate about being able to attend every sports game or their hobby of choice.
“The main reason is my kids, my children,” he said. “Now, if I thought I’d be selfish to my artists, imagine what I think I would be doing to my kids. I have enough money that they don’t have to ever do anything – which, they will do everything, ’cause they ain’t getting shit. Six [more] years, I can do this Lil Wayne thing, and my boys will be about seven and eight years old. And man, it’s all about them then.”
Wayne was excited about what the future held, feeling like he would be opening a new door by the time he was 35. Ultimately, Weezy went back on his decision and is still rapping today. He turned 35 in 2017 and has since released many albums, including Tha Carter V, Funeral, and Tha Carter VI. Clearly, Wayne still has the appetite to give fans new music and is further cementing his name in hip-hop history at the age of 43.