Lil Wayne has reportedly recorded a response track to Kendrick Lamar after he namedropped him on his latest album GNX.
Speaking on his eponymous podcast, Joe Budden claimed that Weezy had tried to get in touch with Kendrick Lamar to iron out their issues, but after his attempt was unsuccessful, he chose a different course of action — one, seemingly, less amicable.
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“I’m hearing that somebody picked up the phone, tried to call and see what the energy was. I’m hearing that Kendrick didn’t answer,” the former Slaughterhouse rapper said.
Co-host Lamar “Ice” Burney then interjected to point out that Kendrick is known to “go months without a phone,” as he revealed in a 2021 letter prior to the release of Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, which might explain why he allegedly didn’t pick up.
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“Yeah but if I’m calling you, rapper to rapper, and you don’t answer, it’s like what Mark [Lamont Hill] told fucking [Queenz] Flip when they had their shit,” Budden said. “Now, I’m going in the booth. You have until I get in that booth to hit me back.”
When asked if he was talking about Wayne, Budden replied: “Yes,” adding: “I’m hearing that Wayne went in the booth.”
Lil Wayne allegedly tried calling Kendrick Lamar after being name-dropped on 'GNX' but got no answer, so he went in the booth to respond 👀
(via The Joe Budden Podcast) pic.twitter.com/dCqsxodWzT
— Kurrco (@Kurrco) November 27, 2024
The claim comes after Kendrick Lamar publicly addressed Lil Wayne — who he’s long cited as one of his favorite rappers — on “wacced out murals,” the thunderous opening song from GNX.
Responding to the rap legend’s comments about not being selected to perform at next year’s Super Bowl in his hometown of New Orleans — a gig that was given to Kendrick — he rapped: “Used to bump ‘Tha Carter III,’ I held my Rollie chain proud / Irony, I think my hard work let Lil Wayne down.”
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He also spit: “Won the Super Bowl and Nas the only one congratulate me / All these n-ggas agitated, I’m just glad they showed they faces / Quite frankly, plenty artists but they outdated / Old-ass flows, tryna convince me that you they favorite.”
The Young Money founder didn’t take kindly to the track, hitting back on X (formerly Twitter) soon after: “Man wtf I do?! I just be chillin & dey still kome 4 my head. Let’s not take kindness for weakness. Let this giant sleep. I beg u all. No one really wants destruction,not even me but I shall destroy if disturbed. On me. Love.”
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Months earlier, Lil Wayne posted a somber video on Instagram expressing his disappointment at being overlooked for the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show, a slot he had openly coveted.
“That hurt. It hurt a lot,” he said in part. “I thought there was nothing better than that spot and that stage and that platform in my city.”
He added: “It broke me and I’m just trying to put me back together.”
While he didn’t mention (or congratulate) Kendrick in the video, it only fueled outrage over the NFL’s decision to book the Compton rapstar instead of the New Orleans native.
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Shortly before, a number of Wayne’s rap peers including Nicki Minaj, Birdman, Juvenile and Cam’ron angrily spoke out against the perceived snub.
Much of this frustration was aimed at JAY-Z, who has helped organize the Super Bowl halftime show since 2020 as a partner of the NFL.
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“It’s one person who’s stopping this. It’s not really a secret,” Cam said on his sports talk show It Is What It Is. “Lil Wayne had a problem with somebody before who’s kinda part of the organization running it. This is payback. Who’s Lil Wayne’s artist? Drake. This is crazy, bro. It’s ridiculous.”
