Birdman Breaks Silence On Lil Wayne’s Absence From Hot Boys ESSENCE Fest Reunion

Birdman has clarified remarks perceived to be aimed at Lil Wayne regarding his absence from the Hot Boys reunion performance at the 2024 ESSENCE Festival.

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Speaking with Gregory “Geedy P” Earls earlier this week, the Cash Money Records founder set the record straight, making it clear he has no qualms with Weezy . Birdman also revealed that Wayne initially wasn’t going to appear at the annual music festival at all and only agreed to take the stage at his behest.

“I seen ni**as was talking about, ‘Wayne ain’t wanna do this and do that,” Birdman told “Geedy P” in an during the interview, which surfaced on Monday (Aug. 5). “Wayne wasn’t even gonna do Essence. I called my son and asked him to do it because I was doing Birdman & Friends. He did it ’cause I asked him.”

The tenured CEO also noted that Weezy’s decison to perform separate from the rest of the crew was predetermined and understood by all parties involved, particularly his Hot Boys groupmates.

“We always knew that Wayne was gonna have his own set. Because me and Juvie and Geezy and Fresh, we rehearsed together every day and we had our own set together. But we all knew that Wayne was gonna have his own set. He was only a surprise guest,” Birdman explained.

“He had done Essence two years in a row and he turned them down personally, and I asked him would he do it for me, and he did it for me. Shout out to my son Weezy, man.”

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Birdman’s comments come in the wake of the mogul’s “Birdman & Friends” set at ESSENCE Fest, which was largely billed as the first official reunion of the full Hot Boys lineup in two decades. However, Birdman took the stage with Juvenile, B.G., Mannie Fresh, and a list of outside collaborators, with Weezy following up that performance with one of his own alongside Young Money artists.

Toward the end of his own set, Birdman seemingly sent a jab that many attributed to being angered by Weezy not joining him and his groupmates on stage. “I swear to God on everything I love — and I love nothing more than Ms. Gladys — I will never let my city down and be a pu**y-a** ni**a for nobody,” the 55-year-old told his hometown crowd at the time.

Yet, the Big Tymers member says that he was not referring to Lil Wayne, but the Hip-Hop and music industry as a whole. “What I meant by that is I ain’t gonna let this game play me. The game done played a lot of ni**as. I ain’t never gonna be a pu**y-a** ni**a to this industry and let them play me. I ain’t built like that and I ain’t gonna let my city down by being a pu**y-a** ni**a,” he said.

Watch Birdman’s interview with Gregory “Geedy P” Earls below.

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