Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. known as Lil Wayne, Tunechi or Weezy, performed at the Fillmore on Sunday for his Welcome to Tha Carter Tour. Lil Wayne has won five Grammys and sold over 200 million records, so it was no surprise that this was a sold-out show. Although he is prolific enough to play a venue of any size, fans enjoyed this more intimate evening at the Filmore with Weezy and emerging Young Money artists.
Fans were welcomed with a DJ set intended to warm them up for Lil Wayne’s set while they waited. As time passed, the excited crowd sent smoke signals in an attempt to summon Lil Wayne, but energy dipped up and down when the wait went on longer than expected. Fans were eventually told the show would start in 10 minutes, but Weezy did not take the stage until over an hour later. When Lil Wayne arrived wearing his charming smile and a red jacket, all was forgiven. Energy skyrocketed as he opened with “Mr. Carter.”After “Kan’t Nobody,” Wayne began thanking his beautiful fans, giving shoutouts to his crew, and Introducing himself as Tunechi on behalf of Young Money Records.
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“Before I get started, I must let you know three important things about myself. Number one is: I know that we all ain’t shit without the love from above, number two is: I know that I ain’t shit without you. Number three is a very very important one. If you don’t remember shit about tonight please remember, I ain’t shit without you.”
Lil Wayne began teasing a new album, Carter VI in August of 2022. His Welcome to Tha Carter Tour has been the perfect opportunity to take fans on a journey of his epic discography, containing five previous Tha Carter albums and many, many other mixtapes. After almost 30 years (Carter’s career began in 1995), he still shows no signs of slowing down. He even insisted that those 25 years felt like 25 seconds. Lil’ Wayne is arguably the best rapper of all time but maintains an honorable humility. He performed over twenty songs, and ended every single one with a genuine and modest ‘thank you.’
Many fans have followed Wayne’s work since the 90s and are considered his ‘day-one fans.’ But there’s another caliber of fan Wayne recognized as his word-for-word fans.’ Lil Wayne specifically dedicated “Let the Beat Build” to them, the ones that could recite his quick and complex lyrics. The crowd sang recognizable lyrics from hits like “Lollipop” just as often as they chanted more obscure lines from deeper-cut tracks.
A highlight of the evening was Lil’ Wayne’s performance of “Blunt Blowin.” Wayne went silent as fans serenaded him with the lyrics “Hello Weezy, welcome home.” The stage erupted with smoke cannons and the floor jumped with intensity. The bass was palpable throughout the entire evening, but there were moments when the fans felt it surge throughout their entire being.
After performing “How to Love,” Wayne took a backseat to highlight other Young Money artists like Lil Twist and Yaj Kader. The transition of Wayne exiting the stage seemed a bit abrupt after how highly anticipated his arrival was, but the Young Money talent was unsurprisingly high quality. Wayne was welcomed back with his performance of “6 Foot 7 Foot” and continued to keep the crowd hyped for the remainder of the evening.
His set was balanced with a mix of absolute bangers intertwined with slower smoother songs like “Single for the Night” and “Hustlr Music.” His diverse setlist was performed in front of an ever-changing backdrop, melting from psychedelic swirls to starry skies and intertwined with different depictions of Wayne in holographic hues.
After closing the show with “A Milli,” Lil’ Wayne made sure to once again remind the crowd, “I ain’t shit without you.” He continued, saying “Colorado, I know you’ve been through a lot lately but you were nothing short of beautiful tonight.” Fans were left conflicted, craving a longer set and more songs played in their entirety, but also completely satisfied with the quality of performance in everything Wayne did.
Lil’ Wayne is known for his genius wordplay and ability to adapt to the ever-evolving genre. Fans were reminded of this, having witnessed so many highlights from his large catalog of songs. This tour left fans highly anticipating his new album Tha Carter VI to be released later this year.