Mannie Fresh was somewhat of a mentor to Lil Wayne. He helped Weezy in the studio early on and his influence on the Cash Money Records brand is undeniable. That relationship puts Fresh in a unique position to be able to talk about Wayne's recent beef with the label with some authority. The hip-hop producer spoke to the Associated Press before the Grammys, saying Wayne has outgrown Birdman and CM.
"I just think Wayne is growing as an artist," he said. "Wayne has given us some great albums, but he has never given us that album with like a Justin Timberlake on it -- with features where like, OK, this is what we expect from an artist of your caliber ... Like you went out and got Cher on the song, because you are that dude. You're on that level."
Fresh added that Wayne is probably ready to work with other artists, since CM labelmates are often featured on each other's tracks.
"I think he's going -- real talk -- 'I could probably use Drake and Nicki [Minaj], but I've done that so many times,'" he said. "Let's get out there and do things so I can show that I am bigger than life."
The producer did not comment on Wayne's yet-to-be-released album Tha Carter V, which he worked on. In October, he said recording was going well despite problems with the label.
"We got great chemistry," the producer told HipHopDX. "We've always been A-100 with each other, regardless of what was going on with me and Cash Money or whatever. We just picked up where we left off and we're doing music. That's what we're doing now."
As for Weezy, he recently filed an $8 million lawsuit against Birdman and CM over an unpaid advance. He dropped the Sorry 4 the Wait 2 mixtape last month to hold over anxious fans.
