Lil Wayne “is still the greatest rapper alive,” according to Flo Milli, and Wayne isn’t particularly worried about his status on rap’s Mount Rushmore changing in the wake of AI.
On Wednesday (August 2), Wayne was revealed as the cover star of Billboard‘s annual “R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players” issue. This year, it’s doubling as a celebration of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary.
Within the accompanying cover story, Gail Mitchell asked Wayne for his opinion “on artificial intelligence and its potential effect on creativity.”
Wayne coolly replied, “Someone asked me about that recently. And they were trying to tell me that AI could make a voice that sounds just like me. But it’s not me, because I’m amazing. I’m like, is this AI thing going to be amazing too? Because I am naturally, organically amazing. I’m one of a kind. So actually, I would love to see that thing try to duplicate this motherf*cker.”
This week also marked the premiere of Mixtape on Paramount Plus, and Wayne is among many pioneers featured in the documentary. Back with Billboard and Mitchell, Wayne shared his thoughts on the perception of mixtapes in a post-AI music landscape.
“The terminology or definition has changed, that’s all,” he said. “Mixtapes can mean an album mix or anything now. But when it comes to Lil Wayne, everybody knows how I approach mixtapes. So my mixtapes won’t ever change.”
See more from Wayne’s Billboard cover shoot below.