For the second year in a row, Lil Wayne has gathered up some of his closest friends, hometown heroes and industry heavyweights alike to execute a New Orleans party for the ages. Lil Weezyana Fest 2 was nothing short of amazing thanks to a plethora of elements that were combined to make it an overall great weekend. The Source had someone on the ground level for all of the festivities over the weekend, so we’ve cooked up a list of things that assisted the festival in another year of excellence. Here are a Milli things that went right (really just 10—don’t be mad):
10. S-8ighty’s Pop Up Shop at the Tru Religion Store – Why was this a great part of the weekend? Well, S-8ighty of Good Money Global is one of New Orleans’ rising stars and the love he was shown correlated directly to him receiving love on stage when Lil Wayne brought him out during the concert. Fans were able to engage with S-8ighty the entire weekend, from the time he pulled up to Lil Wayne’s Pop Up Shop in his Porsche, to his own Pop Up Shop, to performing “Halfway” live on stage with Lil Wayne’s remix verse assisting. The position Fee Banks has put S-8ighty in is a remarkable one, and it shows that his management skills are top shelf, and if his track record proves him right, S-8ighty will be an even bigger star at this time next year.
9. Lil Wayne’s Pop Up Shop at Nouveau New Orleans – Speaking of Pop Up Shops, Wayne had one of his own and he brought the entire city out. The amount of people that were out there and the amount of demographics was truly staggering. Pop Up Shop attendees had to chance to take pictures, and get autographs from Wayne and the rest of the Young Money family. People also had a chance to network and build with other up and comers in New Orleans. Sure, Wayne showed up late and left early, but he surely had good reason, right?
8. Larry Morrow Brings the Stars Out at Eiffel New Orleans for the Official Lil Weezyana Fest After Party With DJ Chris Major on the boards, one of New Orleans’ fastest rising DJs, Eiffel went completely up for Lil Wayne’s official after party. The organizer? New Orleans’ premier event thrower, Larry Morrow. Once Morrow announced Chris Brown would be in the building after Breezy made a surprise appearance on stage, Twitter went wild. One follower even said, “Chris Brown in Eiffel tonight, no Chris Brown in me tonight.” (Yeah, wow.) But this isn’t a shock for a Morrow event, like we mentioned for the Curren$y concert—he simply brings the stars out.
7. New Orleans Just Celebrates Differently Festivals usually remind you of hipsters, colorful clothing, bare feet, and a lot of walking. In New Orleans, Lil Weezyana Fest means Rolls Royces, Maseratis, Porsches, Beamers, coupes, fancy clothes, Balmain, Tru Religion, designer shades, etc. It’s different. It’s a show. That’s to be expected. New Orleans has birthed stunners, especially the self proclaimed #1 stunner, Birdman. In its second year, Lil Weezyana Fest definitely proved to be a stunt fest. This was a good look for New Orleans. When a tourist goes on Canal Street and sees double r’s parked in front of the Tru Religion store, or when they see the local influencers pull up to Wayne’s Pop Up Shop dressed like millionaires, it’s good for the image of the city.
6. Tidal Never Disappoints The way Tidal does concerts is so next level that I’m not sure the Hip Hop community has even caught on yet. A concert as dope as Lil Weezyana Fest streamed via Tidal for the entire world to see didn’t trend once during the night. We’re given a chance to experience the concert, with a better view than most actually because of the capacity and most people just don’t get it. But Tidal delivers every time. From the groundwork that they put in at the actual concert and the preparation, the quality of service, the free product to the stream, they provide a concert experience that’s probably a few years ahead of its time.
5. Where Did Chris Brown Pop Up From? It was great to see Chris Brown at Lil Weezyana Fest, with his high energy, crazy hits, dope dance moves, and interesting hair. Wayne stated that he had just seen Chris Brown in Miami when Breezy invited him up to his room for undisclosed activities, and Chris asked him when was Lil Weezyana Fest. When Wayne told him that it was in three days, Breezy asked Wayne if he could perform, and Wayne said of course he said yes. This was a good move. The crowd went absolutely bananas when Chris Brown came out, and it was truly one of the highlights of the night.
4. Hometown Glory Wayne showed so much love to New Orleans over the weekend that it was crazy. The people that he allowed to perform ranged from local rap stars who are moments away from cracking, to New Orleans rap legends, all just as appreciative surely. LG, Jay Jones of 0017th, S 8ighty, Mystikal, PNC, Ms Tee, Fiend, 5th Ward Weebie, all of these people are New Orleans staples, and they all performed at some point during the weekend. This is necessary. Sometimes the narrative is that Wayne doesn’t give back to New Orleans. With back to back years of showing this much love, on this big of a stage, we can officially scratch that. Mystikal’s set was so dope. After Wayne introduced him as someone the crowd may not know, Mystikal came out and ripped Champion’s Square apart. LG had one of my favorite sets of the night as well, both times. What do I mean? He performed at Wayne’s Pop Up Shop, and opened up for Wayne at the concert, moves. Represented the 5th ward well for sure, and he’s certainly on his way to stardom.
3. The Amount of Love C Murder Was Shown – By now, the game knows that C Murder is locked away, but the community continues to shower him with love in anticipation of his homecoming. On two different occasions during Lil Weezyana Fest the crowd erupted when “Down For My N-s” came on. Yo Gotti started it off by saying that he grew up on No Limit, and C Murder, then after a quick message the beat dropped to “Down For My N-s”, and the crowd went crazy. Next, Mystikal was running through some of his classics, then suddenly the beat drops again for “Down For My N-s”, and once again the crowd went all the way up. When two heavy hitters like Yo Gotti, and Mystikal pay homage like that, it makes you reevaluate the legacy of someone like C Murder, and makes you happy to see him get his due respek. But the legends weren’t the only ones who showed C love. Migos came out in all No Limit T-shirts, two with C Murder’s face on them. To see the youngsters pay homage was a dope moment, as well.
2. Lil Wayne is Still the Best Rapper Alive (In My Opinion ) When Wayne begins to rattle off his library of music, nostalgia takes over, and you remember where you were when you heard projects like Carter III, No Ceilings or any of the Dedication series. For a very long stretch of my life, Lil Wayne was the very best at the sport, maybe even the longest tenure at #1 in rap history. Hit after hit after hit, Wayne has delivered greatness, and Lil Weezyana Fest put it back in perspective. Wayne’s legacy is certainly cemented, but at times in the present, the fans disrespect him, we should really analyze and celebrate his successes while he’s here. Lighter flick.
1. There Wasn’t Any Violence Thank God.