Lil Wayne is opening up about the time he recorded one of his headline-making albums from jail. During an appearance on the “Friends Keep Secrets” podcast, the 43-year-old said he put in an extreme amount of time and effort while serving an 8-month sentence at New York’s Rikers Island to put his album together in 2010.
According to Lil Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., he spent time in “the studio every night in jail,” revealing that the studio was actually him on the phone. “In my cell,” he added. “That meant everybody be quiet. I’m about to beat on this damn table.”
Although Lil Wayne had a 10:45 PM curfew, the rapper worked around it by starting his phone calls just before the cutoff time so that he could continue working on his project. “I would do it on purpose … That’s why everyone’s gotta lock in,” he said. “It was just me on the phone and [that way] I can actually record.”
Lil Wayne Said The People In Jail Made His Sentence Much Easier For Him
When Lil Wayne was asked if spending those eight months in jail was “the worst year” of his life, the rapper said it wasn’t that bad because the people at Rikers Island made it easier for him because of his status.
“… I have to give all of that thanks and credit to the people that were around me in there. They made it their job to make it easy for me,” he said.
Lil Wayne explained that when he first went in, he did what he could to make the days go by faster, but after some time, he accepted his fate. He even joined his fellow inmates by watching the Discovery Channel’s “Naked and Afraid.”
“You think they’re watching it because a female is in there naked. Nah, they know the storyline, they know everything,” he said.
Lil Wayne Recalls The First Day Behind Bars
In his memoir, “Gone ‘Til November,” Lil Wayne recounted his first day behind bars, stating that he was so beside himself that he had to speak with the facility’s psychiatrist.
“If I hadn’t traded my blue Marc Jacobs jeans, white polo, and gray Vans for green onesies, I wouldn’t have believed this shit myself. I had to talk to the prison psychiatrist when I got here. I told her that I shouldn’t be talking to her because I’m not crazy … but I ended up really enjoying her conversation,” part of the memoir read, per Revolt.
Elsewhere in the book, Lil Wayne said the prison’s captain warned him from the beginning that he would follow the rules and stay out of trouble.
“As soon as I sat down in the captain’s office, his exact first words to me were, ‘Don’t f-ck with my staff! Don’t come in here trying to be what you are. You’re not gonna ‘Lil Wayne’ up in this mothaf-cka!’ After the captain’s great words of discouragement, I was handed a towel, two sheets, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a green cup. Oh yeah, and a cell, cell 29,” he wrote.
Wayne Was Under Fire A Few Weeks Ago
According to a previous report from The Blast, Lil Wayne was under fire several weeks ago when he ghosted a scheduled concert appearance in Maine. After hours of waiting, concertgoers were informed that the “Lollipop” rapper wasn’t coming on stage, leaving thousands of fans disappointed.
It’s not the first time he’s missed a show either. Back in 2025, Lil Wayne made headlines after ditching a scheduled performance in Toronto and, months later, walked off stage during a Los Angeles show due to an alleged illness.
For the most recent show, Lil Wayne promised to make it right by rescheduling the performance for July 28, 2026, telling his fans that he was “so sorry” about the mishap.
Wayne Was Upset Over Super Bowl Snub
In 2025, Wayne was the subject of much attention after calling out the NFL for overlooking him to perform during Super Bowl LIX.
“They stole that feeling. I don’t want to do it [anymore]. It was perfect,” he said. “To perform, it’s a bunch of things [the NFL] going to tell you to do and not do, a**es to kiss and not kiss.”
He went on to say that he refused to bend the knee and hang out with folks he normally wouldn’t just for relevance. “You ain’t never seen me in them types of venues. I ain’t Drake. I ain’t out there smiling like that everywhere. I’m in the stu’, smokin’ and recording,” he said.
