Lil Wayne’s work ethic
I breathe this shit. I’m in the studio right now. I switched hoodies and tennis shoes and came to the fucking studio. Not the club, the studio, nigga. And not for ya’ll. For ME. You feel me?
Niggas got the game fucked up. EVERYBODY in this fucking game’s got the game FUCKED UP. Work man, work.
[How the] fuck you gonna be on the streets talking about what you do and you aint doin’ it? [How the] fuck you gonna be in the club looking like you do something and you don’t really DO IT? [How the] fuck you gonna stand next to a nigga like me that really do it, and you don’t do it?
“I ain’t going into the studio tonight. I got a situation. A subject… I need a beat; I need a producer. Who’s gonna be on the hook?”Man, what have you done? Go in the studio with fucking clips. Clips! Ammo! Who we shootin’ at? Huh? Positive subjects, bitches, niggas, fake niggas, a club song, ho’s that shake their… Who we shootin at? I’ma shoot em in their fuckin’ head. Who we shootin at? I got bullets for days, nigga. Feel me? These niggas ain’t got no fucking ammunition, man. HOW THE FUCK YOU GONNA GO TO WAR?
This isn’t a rant from Lil Wayne. It’s a modern day translation of “Prologue in the Theatre” from Goethe’s Faust I. If you are involved in something, the action will speak for itself. Don’t talk about. Just begin it. Now.
This video is from the second quarter of 2007. Lil Wayne finished that year with over 800 recorded tracks. He didn’t worry about perfectionism and hesitating with each project until everything was exactly right. Wayne immersed himself in the art and in the end had enough solid product for Vibe Magazine to list the 77 best Lil Wayne Tracks of 2007 three months before the year even ended.
I found this monologue at an important time in my life when my habits in business and art are corresponding to how I’ve already tried to live my life. I’m training myself to take action immediately and boldly. I’ve always acted as my own authority with regard to things that enhance my own life (daily self-gratification), and I’m finally carrying that mentality over into areas where I’m creating value externally.
Today I resurrected a lawsuit that I gave up on in deed (but not in thought) a long time ago. This newfound passion culminated in prospecting and calling five law firms in New York and getting farther in 30 minutes than I did in two months last year. Maybe it won’t go anywhere. Maybe my friends and I won’t get that payoff and vindication we deserve. But at least I tried with all my might. And at least it will be a step toward reclaiming my old nickname: Power.
