Lil Wayne performs at the Molson Amphitheatre on July 31, 2010 in Toronto.
Lil Wayne Molson Amphitheatre on Friday in Toronto
When Lil Wayne, long dreadlocks bouncing and diamond-encrusted teeth blinging, began saying, "I'm in Toronto…" the near-capacity crowd at said city's Molson Amphitheatre erupted into ecstatic cheers – and not because it was the usual pandering shout-out to his latest tour stop. Rather, people knew what was coming next: "…which is the hometown of my brother Drake."
When the hometown hero emerged onto the industrial-themed set of Wayne's I Am Still Music tour, the reception caused the self-declared "best rapper alive" to joke, "I said Drake, but I didn't know I was bringing Michael Jackson out."
"I grew up in this city; I know how special of a place it is," Drake said, turning to the man who helped him, and by extension Toronto, become an international hip-hop fixture. "I just wanna say, in front of my city, thanks for giving us that opportunity."
A lot's happened in Lil Wayne's world since winter 2009 when he rolled into Toronto as music's biggest – if least-likely – pop star, boasting the previous year's biggest-selling and most Grammy-nominated album, Tha Carter III.
When Wayne brought out his Young Money stable during that show – featuring then-unknowns Drake and Nicki Minaj – the crowd reaction was ambivalent. But two years later, Wayne's protégés have taken up their mentor's mantle while the most distinctive MC in modern hip-hop was in lock-up on weapons charges. (As Wayne put it on Friday night, "It was people like Drake and the people of Toronto," he said, acknowledging the support of his close friend and fans, "who made it like paradise. I spent eight months in Rikers Island, but I didn't spend one day in jail.")
Given his recent past, the lyrics to Miss Me – Drake's song, but featuring a cameo by Wayne – felt particularly poignant. It was the second time the two had performed the song together: Last month, Wayne joined his Drake during the latter's annual OVO fest. Drake returned the favour Friday night by appearing on stage for Miss Me and I'm On One.
With all that history, this wasn't your usual album-promo jaunt, though the eccentric MC tested out some new songs, including the sappily sung How to Love accompanied by acoustic guitar, Nightmares of the Bottom, delivered a cappella like spoken-word poetry, and the previously-released John.
The show, however, was primarily a chance for Wayne to reconnect with his audience – he repeatedly noted he'd be nothing without them – and for his audience to show that they had indeed missed him. The show had its missteps, including a rap-rock segment led by Prom Queen and Drop the World, as well as a too-lengthy for-the-ladies stint that featured Mrs. Officer and I'm Single.
But for most of the 90 minutes, Wayne barrelled through his back-catalogue, boldly pitching down his biggest hit Lollipop into a near-unrecognizable slow jam and dropping his strongest song, A Milli, early on to set the crowd off. From the radio-friendly Got Money to the hard-hitting Bill Gates and autobiographical epic Mr. Carter, his iconic rhymes were chanted back by the crowd, reinforcing the communal experience.
Since his breakthrough, the ever-prolific Wayne has released several studio albums: the failed rock experiment Rebirth and middling, yet chart-topping I Am Not a Human Being, as well as some more interesting free mixtapes. But his proper follow-up Tha Carter IV isn't releaseduntil Aug. 29; he closed Friday with that album's street-banger 6 Foot 7 Foot (sampling the Harry Belafonte hit Day-O (The Banana Boat Song).
The night ended with the virtuosic rapper again effusively thanking his fans – while tossing his sneakers and ball cap into the crowd – as everyone departed to count down the days until Tha Carter IV finally reinstates the mentor back to his status as the master.
Special to The Globe and Mail