During a recent Twitter Spaces celebrating Lil Wayne‘s 40th birthday, Dipset‘s Juelz Santana addressed allegations that Weezy hijacked his rap style and flow in the mid-2000s.
“Ni**as love to, you know, especially these blogs…they love to always hit me with the, ‘Oh, Wayne took all this from you,’ the 40-year-old artist expressed to moderator Rob Markman on Thursday (Sept. 30). “I’m like, ‘Man, Wayne is a student of the game just like we’ve all been students of the game.’ So Wayne did exactly what he was supposed to do. Wayne studied every artist.”
The Harlem rapper continued, “And he took what he needed to take, and he incorporated it into his style and what he needed to do and became the best artist that he needed to be for himself, which is ultimately the best rapper in the world. Wayne did what he was supposed to do. We all took sh*t from each other. That’s my brother at the end of the day.”
At the time of the alleged change in the New Orleans native’s style, he and Santana were set to release a joint project, I Can’t Feel My Face, in 2005. However, Wayne told journalist Rob Markman in 2012 that “what probably would’ve been I Can’t Feel My Face, has now turned into I Am Not a Human Being.” Coincidentally, the initial album title is the same name as Santana’s newly-formed independent label.
This summer, the pair reunited in the studio, sparking rumors of a new collaboration for Tha Carter VI. Weezy also announced the forthcoming album after performing at Drake’s OVO Fest.
“Tunechi here. Thank you. I ain’t sh*t without you,” he told fans in a short clip. “I’m not sure if you heard, but Tha Carter VI is on the way.”
Listen to a clip of Juelz Santana addressing the claims as well as the full Twitter Spaces discussion about Lil Wayne’s career journey below.
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