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During a recent episode of his self-titled podcast, Joe Budden commented on how he feels that Lil Wayne isn't the same artist anymore, judging from his work on Tha Carter VI. To back his claim, Budden gave examples of Wayne's longtime collaborators Drake and Nicki Minaj not featuring on the latest album.
"This is not the same Wayne..this sounds like 'who the f*ck is around him?' This sounds like is the engineer ni**a still mad at him? There's no Drake, there's no Nicki, nobody's walking through that door."
In the clip shared by Budden's fanpage on June 7, 2025, the podcaster complained that he didn't hear a proper song at all with regards to the format, origin, topic, concept, and cohesiveness.
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Additionally, Budden referring to Nicki and Drake's absence on Tha Carter VI came days after Sports Illustrated published a report on June 5, 2025, talking about a possible reunion between Drizzy, Nicki Minaj, and Wayne via the album. The report increased anticipation among fans, as the trio had collaborated on multiple hits in the past.
Lil Wayne talks about collaborations on Tha Carter VI
During an interview with Rolling Stone in February 2025, Lil Wayne spoke about the artists featuring on Tha Carter VI. The roster of collaboraters on the rapper's latest album include Machine Gun Kelly, Miley Cyrus, Wayne's son Kameron Carter, Andrea Bocelli, Wheezy, Kanye West, Elephant Man, Wyclef Jean, and Bono.
At the time, the publication mentioned that Lil Wayne recorded a song featuring a sample from Billie Eilish that hasn't been cleared yet. While discussing his thought process behind the collaborations and working with Wyclef Jean, he said:
"I’ve been thinking, ‘How would I sound if I collaborated with this artist or that artist?’ When you work with Wyclef, you can expect to create around eight tracks together. He has this incredible ability to take what you’ve done on one song and transform it into a completely new piece.”
Moreover, Haitian rapper and singer Wyclef Jean commented on working on Tha Carter VI with Wayne. As per The Feature Presentation Studios, he said that having himself and Lil Wayne in the studio for 24 hours is "a risky scenario," adding that one can't predict "what incredible music might emerge from that.”
While Tha Carter VI dropped on June 6, 2025, ESPN gave Wayne's fans a peek at one of the tracks from the album hours before it released. On June 5, 2025, the network featured the song The Days ft. Bono in a promo ad for the NBA finals between Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers.
According to Billboard, Lil Wayne issued a statement cocerning his decision to pair up with ESPN hours ahead of his album's release.
“Basketball’s been in my blood since day one, so to team up with ESPN less than 24 hours before the drop of Tha Carter VI for the NBA Finals is an incredible hono. My music and the NBA are vibin’ on the same frequency because it’s perfect timing for fans to hear Tha Carter VI on the game’s grandest stage.” the rapper mentioned
In other news, Wayne announced Tha Carter VI tour in support of his latest project. The tour kicked off on June 6, 2025, at Madison Square Garden and is a 34-city tour covering Los Angeles, Buffalo, Detroit, Toronto, and Minneapolis, among other regions. It will come to an end on October 2, 2025, at West Palm Beach, Florida.
