Lil Wayne has finally opened up about why he doesn’t include his celebrated collaboration with Kendrick Lamar, ‘Mona Lisa’, in his concert setlists.
At a recent show, fans clamored for Lil Wayne to perform ‘Mona Lisa’ from his 2018 album ‘Tha Carter V’. Despite what some might believe, the Young Money icon clarified that his decision has nothing to do with Kendrick Lamar’s beef with Drake.
Instead, Lil Wayne admitted that the song is simply too complex for him to remember the lyrics. ‘This is the second time I’ve seen this within my last three shows. Somebody had a sign that said, ‘Mona Lisa’ […] If y’all real Lil Wayne fans, you know I don’t know the lyrics to my shit,’ he confessed.
He continued, ‘You know how hard that fucking song is, girl. [Mumbles lyrics from the song]. You know what I mean? I don’t like to rap the words, but I’m going to learn that shit. I’m going to learn it. I got you.’
This candid admission isn’t new for Lil Wayne. Back in 2020 on his Young Money Radio show with Eminem, he admitted to Googling his own lyrics to avoid repeating himself in new songs. ‘If you look in my phone history, with Google history, and you press the letter L, it comes up ‘Lil Wayne Lyrics.’ I literally have to Google my own lyrics to make sure I didn’t say certain stuff before,’ he shared. Eminem echoed this sentiment, saying, ‘Oh my God! I swear to God I do that too! I just did that shit last night. Man, that’s funny as hell. I been doing that for the past five years! You be like, ‘Oh, I knew I flipped this before.’
Lil Wayne’s struggles with remembering his lyrics extend beyond the studio. A video from two years ago shows him Googling the lyrics to ‘Shooter’ while performing on stage with Robin Thicke.
At 41, Lil Wayne has also spoken about his songwriting fatigue. Last year, he explained that he no longer writes down his rhymes due to his age and tiredness. ‘Thank God for the iPhone. Before, I would have to remind myself all day because I don’t write nothing down. They always be thinking that it’s some type of achievement… No, I don’t write because I’m too old and too tired to be trying to read. You know, they got the iPhone now so I go ahead and record the voice memo,’ he told co-hosts Michael Irvin and Skip Bayless on FOX Sports’ Undisputed.
Despite the high demand, Lil Wayne’s honest reasons for not performing ‘Mona Lisa’ highlight the challenges even seasoned artists face in their careers. For now, fans might have to settle for streaming the track rather than hearing it live.
