The self-proclaimed “best rapper alive,” Lil Wayne himself recently tore down Jiffy Lube Live as he kicked off his Tha Carter VI Tour: Celebrating 20+ Years of Carter Classics in support of his latest entry in his Tha Carter series, Tha Carter VI. The first official show was held at Madison Square Garden in early June, but the tour just resumed in Virginia last week. Wayne spent the night playing classic after classic from his more than 25-year career, as well as introducing us to his new generation of Young Money artists.
Up and coming artist Belly Gang Kushington kicked off the night on July 30, followed by French Montana, who blew through his discography of hit features as the amphitheater filled up and the growing crowd began to teem with excitement. In usual Weezy fashion, he hit the stage a little later than expected, but as soon as he did, he took command of the entire venue. Wayne opened his set, guitar in hand, with the intro and first track from Tha Carter VI, “King Carter” and “Welcome to Tha Carter” before taking me back to high school with a block of records from the early 2000s like “Fireman,” “Got Money,” and “Mr. Carter.”
The Lil Weezy time machine went back and forth throughout his massive discography all through the night, making sure to perform everyone’s favorite records, even if it was just a single verse or hook.
Newer songs like “Flex Up,” “Uproar,” and” Banned from NO” were sprinkled in here and there to let you know that Wayne’s still got it, but older records from Wayne’s earlier Tha Carter entries seemed to dominate the early first half of his set, with the nostalgia of fan favorites like “Money on my Mind,” “Let the Beat Build,” and “6 Foot 7 Foot” making everyone rap along with Weezy F like they were right back in their childhood bedroom.
Watch the official music video for Lil Wayne’s classic record “Fireman” on YouTube:
After “HYFR (Hell Yeah Fucking Right)” Wayne performed the Eminem featuring “Drop The World,” but instead of Slim Shady one of his new Young Money artists, Lucifena, came out to finish the song with him.
Next, the duo performed a Metal record called “Tyrant” that seems to be Lucifena’s first single on the label. She ended up being the first of several new and old Young Money artists to hit the stage, including Lil Twist, Domiio, Jay Jones, and even Wayne’s youngest son Lil Novi. They each got the stage to themselves for at least two songs, for each of them to have a chance to rock the crowd and make a name for themselves.
Listen to the sixth chapter in Lil’ Wayne’s Tha Carter series, Tha Carter VI, on Spotify:
Tunchi returned to the stage, bringing French Montana back out, as they performed “Pop That,” putting me right back into the time machine to my college days and hearing that record any and everywhere. After French left the stage, Mixtape Weezy kicked in as Wayne performed a handful of freestyles from his insane mixtape run, where it didn’t matter whose song it was; once Wayne rapped on it, it became his, including “Swag Surf,” “Wasted,” and “Watch My Shoes.” He rapped the night up with “Steady Mobbin” and finished things off with what is probably his biggest hit record in “A Milli.” As he’s known to do, Wayne thanked everyone for supporting him for all these years and made sure everyone knew that without his fans, there is no him.
Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” blasted through the amphitheater speakers as he left the stage and people began to clear out.
Tha Carter VI Tour: Celebrating 20+ years of Carter Classics is just getting started and will be all over the USA through October.
Below are some more photos from Lil Wayne’s show at Jiffy Lube Live on July 30, 2025. All photos copyright and courtesy of AJ Waugh (wauffleznotwaffles.com).
