Lil Wayne and Drake’s Relationship

Lil Wayne and Drake's Combined Success

Lil Wayne and Drake have been the two most successful artists in hip-hop over the past ten years. Since Drake was featured on Lil Wayne’s Dedication 3 mixtape on the song “Stuntin” the dynamic duo have dominated the Billboard charts, worldwide tours, and the hearts and minds of hip-hop fans everywhere.

How Lil Wayne met Drake

Drake met Lil Wayne in 2006 through a mutual friend named Jas Prince. According to Prince, he was on his way to his jeweler in Houston and Weezy was in the car with him. He played a few of Drake’s mixtape-style songs he had been doing and Wayne was impressed.

The next day they flew Drake to Houston where he met Lil Wayne. He then traveled on a tour bus with Wayne’s whole entourage to Atlanta and began recording on Wayne’s tour bus. The rest as they say, is history.

Drake Signing to Young Money

Drake officially signed to Lil Wayne’s label Young Money in 2009. After meeting Wayne and getting a lot of additional heat and buzz from the association with Weezy, the rumors started swirling hardcore that Drake would be signing with Wayne.

For the first couple of years Drake seemed to keep his options open, he said multiple times that Young Money was family but he was trying to be independent and without a label.

In the end, the chance to sign with the machine that was Young Money combined with Universal distribution was just too much to pass up for Drake. He might have had the same level of success eventually without Young Money and Universal, but he was probably just a little bit too early.

The music business has changed a lot since 2009, artists like Chance the Rapper can be independent and make a lot more money without a label as long as they know how to market and promote themselves without a label.

However, 2009 wasn’t quite at the same digital level that we’re at in 2018.

Lil Wayne on Drake's Thank Me Later

Lil Wayne was featured on Drake’s first studio album “Thank Me Later” on the track “Miss Me.” It was certified Gold and peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot Rap tracks. It was the first official single the two teamed up on it was a huge track for Drake. It helped him keep his roaring momentum after the “So Far Gone” mixtape and kept Drake as one of the hottest names out.

Drake on Young Money Album

Drake was then featured on three singles from the Young Money album “We Are Young Money.” He was heard on hits “Bedrock” “Every Girl” “Pass the Dutch” and on his own in “Trophies.”  

The opportunities that Lil Wayne gave Drake to shine and Drake’s ability to consistently churn out hit verses proved to be the perfect combination. Weezy would give Drake a shot, and Drake would crush it.

Drake and Lil Wayne on Priceless

The two were then featured on Birdman’s Album “Priceless” on the track “Money to Blow.” It was another great verse from Drake to open the track, but Lil Wayne killed it and added to Drake’s eventual legend status with a line from his incredible closing verse when he said: “We poppin’ like Champagne bottles but we ain’t never shook. And we gon’ be alright if we put Drake on every hook.”

Drake on IANAHB

Lil Wayne’s album “I Am Not a Human Being” was another step towards eventual domination for Drake. The album was released while Lil Wayne was in prison which gave it major buzz, and it also came on the heels of Wayne’s masterpiece “No Ceilings.”

With all that heat and momentum, Weezy didn’t disappoint, and neither did Drake.

Drake was featured on the mega-hit “Right Above It,” as well as hits “Gonorrhea” and “With You.”

“I ain’t a killer but don’t push me!”

Wayne again gave Drake a huge platform to succeed and Drake hit it out of the park. “Right Above It” gave Drake even more notoriety at the top and he was quickly becoming the 2nd most dominant name in Hip Hop, passing titans like Jay Z and Kanye West. “Right Above It” went double platinum and peaked #1 on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs.

Lil Wayne on Take Care

Take Care was Drake’s coming out party as an artist who could sustain himself as a star on his own. While Lil Wayne was featured on two tracks from the album, and Nicki Minaj and Birdman were featured as well, people who loved the album loved it for Drake.

Even if they came originally for the Drake/Weezy collabs, they stayed and replayed the album over and over for Drake.

Drake’s reflective and sensitive side came out on the album, and fans loved him for it. The album went 4x Platinum in the U.S. and peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 200 albums list. The dominant force we know today as Drake had arrived, and he hasn’t left since.

Many Drake fans think Take Care was his best album, definitely in the conversation with Views from the 6. Whether it’s his best or not, the album put Drake on top of the Hip Hop world and he hasn’t fallen off.

Fights Between Lil Wayne and Drake

Beefs have been rumored between Lil Wayne and Drake for years, mostly because people want to sell stories and beef headlines get clicks. But there’s only one story that’s ever been substantiated.

When Lil Wayne was in prison, he had a girl that he had been seeing steadily. While in prison, Drake told Weezy that he had slept with Weezy’s girlfriend before they got together, years before. Wayne was upset because the girl had never told him about it before.

The fight apparently never became too big of a deal between the two, and Wayne wrote about it in his prison memoir, which is how we know it’s true.

Lil Wayne and Drake Tours

Lil Wayne and Drake have toured together several times but in 2014 they did their most iconic tour, “Drake vs Lil Wayne.” The tour was a huge success as fans of both artists got to see both artists on the stage at the same time, performing back and forth.

It allowed a lot of fan interaction and even had a smartphone app. The two seemingly had a ton of fun doing it, and surely made a lot of money.

Lil Wayne’s Support of OVO

Lil Wayne has been very supportive of Drake’s label and clothing brand “OVO.” He has featured on some OVO acts songs and he wears OVO clothing quite often. He can be seen in the “My Nigga Remix” music video wearing an OVO “Know Yourself” hoodie, and in countless other videos wearing OVO tees.

Drake’s Lil Wayne Tattoo

Drake has a tattoo of Lil Wayne’s face on his left triceps. The tattoo is large and features Lil Wayne’s face with a hat on. Wayne was reportedly honored and loved the gesture of respect from Drizzy.

Funny Videos of Lil Wayne and Drake

If you want to watch some funny videos of Lil Wayne and Drake, check out these links below and have a good laugh. Maybe one day we’ll get even more behind the scenes video footage of the two being themselves and enjoying their great bond.

Funny Lil Wayne and Drake video one

Funny Lil Wayne and Drake video two

What’s your favorite Weezy and Drizzy memory? Let us know in the comments below!