Lil Wayne is potentially gearing up to release a response record to Kendrick Lamar’s GNX, at least according to Joe Budden. On Wednesday (Nov. 27), during an airing of his eponymous podcast, the “Pump It Up” artist alleged that the Young Money Records rapper attempted to have a man-to-man conversation with Lamar after hearing the surprise album but got nowhere.
“Somebody went in the studio after they heard this album. I’m hearing that somebody picked up the phone and tried to call [to] see what the energy was,” Budden claimed on the show. “I’m hearing Kendrick didn’t answer.”
“If I’m calling you rapper-to-rapper and you don’t answer… Now, I’m going into the booth. You have until I get in that booth to hit me back,” the Harlem native continued. He and his cohosts then debated who’s the better lyricist of the two, with Ice questioning if Lil Wayne could even “get in the ring” with Lamar.
Friction between the two rappers stemmed from Lamar’s GNX opener, “wacced out murals,” in which he addressed the controversy surrounding him headlining the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show in Weezy’s hometown of New Orleans. “Used to bump Tha Carter III, I held my Rollie chain proud / Irony, I think my hard work let Lil Wayne down,” the Pulitzer Prize winner lamented.
In response, Lil Wayne took to X on Saturday (Nov. 23): “Man, WTF [did] I do?! I just be chillin’ [and they] still [come for] my head. Let’s not take kindness for weakness. Let this giant sleep. I beg [you] all. No one really wants destruction, not even me, but I shall destroy if disturbed.”
Similar to the claim mentioned above by Budden, the rapper-turned-podcaster previously alleged that Drake and Lamar hopped on the phone before their back-and-forth earlier in the year. However, most would agree the Canadian star suffered a massive defeat following “Not Like Us,” which he’s filed petitions against Universal Music Group for.
Either way, Lil Wayne and Lamar are lyrical geniuses in their own right, so it’d be interesting to see how a rap battle between them would play out.