T.I. and Lil Wayne might have a lot in common, but according to Tip, that doesn't mean he was influenced. During a recent appearance on DJ Whoo Kid's podcast, he opened up about his relationship with Weezy, making it clear that he's always been a supporter.
"I’m a Hot Boys fan," he explained. "I sold brack to the Hot Boys. To see what he’s become and what he’s evolved into, it’s kind of like we always knew it. But to see it come to fruition is super dope. I think he’s definitely legendary."
From there, T.I. was asked whether or not Lil Wayne inspired him. He was quick to set the record straight. "Excuse me?" he responded. "Hell no. He ain’t influence me. I ain’t said no sh*t like that."
Do T.I. & Lil Wayne Have Beef?
"We do push each other," he continued. "When I hear him do something dope, I say, okay, let me go do something doper. I think that’s what it takes to revolve and set the game on another level. [...] I think Lil Wayne’s got his own lane and I think I got mine."
T.I. and Lil Wayne go way back. It's even been rumored that the two of them had beef when they collaborated on “Swagga Like Us” in 2008. T.I. addressed this rumor during an appearance on Fat Joe‘s STARZ show Fat Joe Talks last year.
“Many we got many records together,” he said. “And I think that some people talk because they got lips. And it’s respect there. The toughest fight you had, regardless of who it was you fought, you left with a respect for that person. It got to be that.”
TI went on to recall how the collab came to be. “We weren’t together [in the studio]," he explained. "To my knowledge, how I knew it, I was first. Because Gee Roberson gave me a beat that Kanye produced that had the M.I.A. sample. He got it to me with Kanye on the hook. And then he said, ‘You know what would be dope? If I could get Wayne and Hov on here too.’ And I said, ‘Man get the f*ck out of here!’”
