Lil Wayne Talks God, Higher Education on ‘The View’
Lil Wayne sat down with the women of 'The View' to set the record straight on his rumored drug addiction and new album. Dressed in his usual Dickies pants, a white t-shirt and black fedora, the 26-year-old chatted up the ladies about his 'Rebirth' album, which he says is a reflection of his growth as an artist rather than a change in music genre.
"It's just the way my life went and so my music went the same way," he said. "We just used the title 'rock' because we didn't want anybody to think I was too different. So we put the title on it before they [did]. It's really just more of Lil Wayne maturing."
Lil Wayne Pictures
Johnny Nunez, WireImage
Ben Rose, WireImage
Rick Diamond, WireImage
Arnold Turner, WireImage
Frank Micelott, Getty Images for MTV
Jay West, WireImage
Kevin Winter, Getty Images
Victor Baldizon, NBAE via Getty Images
Jamie McCarthy, WireImage
AP
soKe.flace('music-boombox.lilwayne.popup.searchable', '476', '600'); var uid = new Date().getTime(); var flashProxy = new FlashProxy(uid, 'http://www.aolcdn.com/_media/modtools/kit_swfpublisher_javascriptflashgateway.swf'); var flashvars = {}; try { flashvars.lcId = uid; } catch (Exc) { }; try { flashvars.targetAds = 'music-boombox.lilwayne.popup.searchable'; } catch (Exc) { }; try { flashvars.omniture_tracker = '0'; } catch (Exc) { }; try { flashvars.adrefresh_wrapper = '1'; } catch (Exc) { }; try { flashvars.appswfURL = soKe.fv('http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,entry&id=333370&pid=333369&uts=1240610104'); } catch (Exc) { }; if (typeof(screen_name) != 'undefined') try { flashvars.userName = screen_name; } catch (Exc) { }; var params = {}; try { params.wmode = 'opaque'; } catch (Exc) { }; try { params.menu = 'false'; } catch (Exc) { }; try { params.bgcolor = '#ffffff'; } catch (Exc) { }; try { params.quality = 'best'; } catch (Exc) { }; try { params.allowScriptAccess = 'always'; } catch (Exc) { }; try { params.allowFullScreen = 'true'; } catch (Exc) { }; var attributes = {}; try { attributes.id = 'outlet'; } catch (Exc) { }; top.exd_space.refresher.ads2Refresh(new Array( 'music-boombox.lilwayne.popup.searchable', new Array('93243967','300','250','0','I','') )); top.exd_space.refresher.iFrm2Refresh(new Array( 'music-boombox.lilwayne.popup.searchable', new Array('Placement_ID', '1435668'), new Array('Domain_ID', '1395767') )); top.exd_space.refresher.mmx('music-boombox.lilwayne.popup.searchable', 'http://www.aolcdn.com/_media/channels/ke_blank.html', ''); swfobject.embedSWF('http://cdn.channel.aol.com/cs_feed_v1_6/csfeedwrapper.swf', 'music-boombox.lilwayne.popup.searchable-swf', '476', '600', '9.0.115', 'http://www.aolcdn.com/ke/swfobject/expressinstall.swf', flashvars, params, attributes); top.exd_space.refresher.launcher( 'music-boombox.lilwayne.popup.searchable',{ dynamicSlide:[''], size:['476s'], photoNumber:['3'], title:['Lil Wayne'], numimages:['395'], baseImageURL:['http://o.aolcdn.com/photo-hub/'], imageurl:['gc_gallery/i/l/lilwaynest09kw/lil-wayne-412-f-012809.jpg'], credit:['Arnold Turner, WireImage'], source:[''], caption:['Lil Wayne poses in the Awards Portrait Gallery during the BET Hip Hop Awards 2007 at the Atlanta Civic Center on October 13, 2007 in Atlanta, GA.'], dims:['http://o.aolcdn.com/dims/PGMC/5/241/330/70/'], showDisclaimerText:[''], disclaimerText:[''], CSS_Title:[''], CSS_Caption:[''], CSS_Disclaimer:[''], CSS_Container:[''], CSS_Border:[''], CSS_PhotoWell:[''], CSS_photoHolder:[''], CSS_Buttons:[''], CSS_BtnOver:[''], CSS_Scroll:[''], topMargin:['0,0,241,330,238,196,0,0'] } );
The father of two, who admitted to feeling misunderstood, also addressed his rumored addiction to "syrup," which is a mixture of codeine and promethazine. "I depend on God and motivation," he said. "I don't depend on cough syrup and marijuana. I never have." He did, however, note that he enjoys smoking marijuana and that he is aware of his role model status. "I know that I have a lot of youth following me and I think the best way is to lead by example. I keep that in my head."
To that end, Wayne also expressed the importance of education and revealed he's currently pursuing a college degree online through the University of Phoenix. In 2005, he enrolled at the University of Houston but dropped out due to his hectic schedule.
After some additional banter, including Wayne describing his diamond-encrusted grills as "his form of braces," the rap star took the stage to perform his single 'Prom Queen.' 'Rebirth' is due in stores on June 9.