New Orleans rapper Lil Wayne is a legend in hip-hop and a music industry mogul. Following in the footsteps of Scarface, he was one of the few rappers from the South to break into the mainstream during the early noughties successfully. However, beyond the praise he gets from the rap community last year, he got a shout-out from a revered soul singer.
In 2021, legendary vocalist Anita Baker began a battle with her former record label Elektra to retrieve her masters. Strangely, both Chance The Rapper and Lil Wayne took the time to help the singer. Lil Wayne (real name Dwayne Carter) had had a similar battle with his former friend, the Cash Money founder Birdman. Therefore, he decided, along with Chance, to help Anita retrieve her master recordings.
Last year, the iconic vocalist performed at the Venetian theatre in Las Vegas as part of her grand return to the stage. During the performance, the songstress drew the crowd’s attention to Chicago rapper Chance The Rapper, who was in the audience. With eyes on the musician, Baker proclaimed to her fans, “Would you guys say hello to a friend of mine by way of the music industry.”
Carter was also in attendance and received a shout-out from the singer, who shed a tear as she declared, “I’d like to thank you for all of your support. I appreciate you so much.” Wayne proceeded to stand up and bow in reverence of the singer. Baker was involved in a long-running battle with Elektra Records for the possession of her masters throughout 2021 and 2022. As a result, she instructed fans to wait to stream her music until she had them back.
After the show, Chance The Rapper tweeted, “I saw one of THE greatest performances of my LIFETIME last night! Thank You so much @IAMANITABAKER for being an inspiration and an icon to so many of US.” You can watch footage of Lil Wayne getting a shout-out from Baker in the video below.
