[Review] Lil Weezyana Fest 2024

The night kicked off with Q93 and New Orleans’ own Wild Wayne along with DJ Ro warming up the crowd and setting the tone. New Orleans deep cuts by Hasizzle, Messy Mya, Choppa, Magnolia Shorty, DJ Jubilee, Hotboy Ronald, Rob49, Kevin Gates, and more played throughout the arena for two hours as attendees waited for the show to start.

In 2015, Lil Wayne held the first-ever Lil Weezyana Fest in his hometown of New Orleans. Some have compared it to Drake’s OVO Fest in Toronto or J.Cole’s Dreamville Fest. In previous years, Lil Weezyana Fest took place outside at Champions Square (and the one time it moved to the festival grounds of UNO Lakefront Arena.) Previous lineups included artists like Megan Thee Stallion, Rick Ross, Unc & Phew (Takeoff & Quavo), Travis Scott, Saweetie, and more. This year’s festival took place inside the Smoothie King Center — thank you to whoever made that decision.

Lil Wayne

Unlike previous years, this year’s festival was more of a Lil Wayne concert with special guests sprinkled in between. Rob49 was the first artist to take the stage around 8:40 pm. He took the crowd to Vulture Island during his 30-minute set with performances of “Wassam Baby,” “Homebody,” and his verse on the “Don Who Leo [Añejo Remix].” Just before 9:20 pm, a lighter appeared on the screen before Lil Wayne walked on stage.

My favorite part about seeing Lil Wayne live is you don’t know what to expect. The five-time Grammy Award winner is one of the world’s best-selling music artists with over 30 years in the industry and his setlist reflected that. Fans got to hear “Shine” from his Lights Out album (2000), “Ice Cream Paint Job” from his No Ceilings mixtape (2009), and “Uproar” from Tha Carter V (2018). I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Lil Wayne perform six times in the last decade and this may have been one of his best performances. The energy and love throughout the night were next level – from him and the sold-out crowd.

Hot Boys Reunion

I would not have believed you if you told me we’d be getting a Hot Boys reunion in 2024. Fans were disappointed after the “reunion” at Essence Festival in July – only two (BG and Juvenile) of the members reunited on stage. Lil Wayne surprised the crowd at one in the morning with a 20-minute solo set but the divide was clear. He was not doing a Hot Boys reunion without Turk. Fans were anxious to see how the reunion at Lil Weezyana Fest would turn out and they did not disappoint.

Big Tymers (Mannie Fresh and Birdman) took the stage first followed by Turk, BG, and Juvenile each performing a bit of their solo work before joining forces to give the crowd what they wanted. “That was everybody apart now let’s put that together,” Wayne announced after the solo portion of the show was complete. For about 30 minutes, the Hot Boys performed their greatest hits including “We On Fire,” “I Need A Hot Girl,” and “Project Bitch.” This was the first time the Hot Boys have all been on stage together in over 15 years! “We gotta do one more classic,” Wayne told the crowd before the beat of “Back That Ass Up” played throughout the Smoothie King Center. A video I shared of the Hot Boys reuniting on stage already has over 1.5 million views after 24 hours with fans demanding they take this reunion on the road.

Surprise Guest

In previous years, artists like DJ Khaled, Drake, and Nicki Minaj have been surprise guests at Lil Weezyana Fest. “She needs no motherf*cking introduction,” Wayne announced before LSU women’s basketball star and rapper, Flau’jae Johnson surprised the crowd. She and Lil Wayne performed their recent collaboration, “Came Out A Beast.”

Online fans and other artists like Jermaine Dupri criticized Drake for attending a Raptors game instead of Lil Weezyana Fest. Unlike the critics, I think it was a good thing he didn’t take the stage. This year’s focus was on Cash Money and the reunion of the Hot Boys. If Drake unexpectedly surprised the crowd, similar to the 2022 festival, it would have taken attention away from Juvenile, BG, and Turk. Maybe 2025 can be a Young Money reunion where fans get a lineup featuring Drake, Nicki Minaj, Lil Twist, Gudda Gudda, and more. “BedRock” live in 2025 would be pretty iconic.

New Orleans

New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell presented Dwayne “Lil Wayne” Carter, Jr. with a key to the city. “We love you…you matter for generations to come for what you have done, what you are doing, and what will continue to do,” Cantrell told the 42-year-old rapper. Founder of No Limits Records and the City of New Orleans Entertainment Ambassador, Master P deemed Wayne “the greatest rapper alive” as he announced Lil Wayne is one of the first honorees featured in the New Orleans Walk of Fame on Canal Street. Wayne got teary-eyed as Percy “Master P” Miller shared that on February 6th they’re bringing a skate arena for Wayne. “We’re about to shut the city down. February 6th & 7th will be Lil Wayne Day…it’s us against the world.”

In September, news broke that Kendrick Lamar would be the Super Bowl LIX halftime performer on February 9th, 2025 in New Orleans at the Caesars Superdome. Lil Wayne and others took to the internet to share how upset they were by the news. After thanking Master P, the Mayor, and the fans, Wayne took a moment to share with the crowd why not headlining the Super Bowl in his hometown hurt him. “But this motherf*cking moment right here, they can’t take that bro,” Wayne told the sold-out crowd (along with the thousands watching at home online).

If you missed Lil Weezyana Fest 2024 or just want to relive it, check out the photo carousel below and the videos on @nolaconcerts TikTok.