Birdman Recalls The Moment He Found Out 12-Year-Old Lil Wayne Shot Himself
By Tony M. Centeno
January 24, 2024
Birdman is opening up about nerve-wracking moment when Lil Wayne nearly lost his life.
On Wednesday, January 24, Jalen Rose debuted his brand-new interview with the Cash Money Record co-founder. The sports broadcaster sat down withthe record label executive while on a yacht near downtown Miami. During their conversation, Rose discussed several topics with Birdman from his early beginnings before rap to the birth of Cash Money. Midway through, Baby recalled the moment when he discovered that his former artist Lil Wayne shot himself when he was just 12 years old.
"He was writing a rap called 'The Nine' when his index finger... the bullet when above his heart," Birdman explained.
"When that incident happened to Wayne, I went to the hospital the same day and the next day he went home," he continued. "I knew God had a different plan for him. But around the Hot Boys time, that's when we seen a different Wayne."
Wayne survived the incident thanks to a police officer named Robert Hoobler aka "Uncle Bob," who responded to his home and acted quickly to save his life. Afterward, Birdman also discussed how he felt when Hot Boys broke up. At the time, he said he didn't want to rap any more and decided to pass the torch to Weezy. That was the moment when Birdman stepped into his executive role and shined the limelight on Wayne.
"I didn't wanna rap no more at the height of my career," Birdman explained. "I say 'Look Wayne, I don't wanna rap no more. I'mma give you the flow. You run the label. You're the president of the label and I'mma follow your lead.' I completely stepped back as an artist and as a CEO and I said 'I'mma go learn the business and you run the label and you do your thing' and I think that changed his life."
Elsewhere in the conversation, Birdman also talked about his experience working with Pharrell Williams for their hit "What Happened To That Boy." He said that Skateboard P was the first producer he worked with outside of Mannie Fresh. Watch the entire interview below.