This should be a rare treat: me covering Lil’ Wayne. In my defense, he covers the new issue of Interview Magazine, and his interview was conducted by Paris Hilton. So, it’s newsworthy, as is Wayne’s general openness during the interview (btw, he asks to be called simply “Wayne”). I’ve only skimmed the highlights thus far (I don’t really care for him, but whatever, the full Interview piece is here), and what’s cracking me up is that everyone keeps describing Wayne as “bizarre” and “alien” and “weird”. Like, he’s the rapper version of Tilda Swinton. Anyway, Wayne is out of Rikers (he got out in November) and he’s off the sizzurp (or however you spell it). Here are some highlights from the piece:

HILTON: And now you’re being called the new king of hip-hop. What do you think of that? Is it something that’s hard to live up to? Or is it exciting to have people say that?
WAYNE: It’s very exciting. I love pressure, so I guess if that brings forth pressure, then I’m up for it. But, you know, titles are titles, and names are names. As long as people remember me forever, that will be enough for me.

HILTON: Do you ever read your own press, or google yourself?
WAYNE: Um, never. I don’t think I’ve ever googled myself. [laughs] But I do read some things that . . . I mean, if I know that I was with an interviewer and I kind of figure that he or she got something bad or something good from the interview, then I’ll read the piece when it comes out. But other than that, I’d have to have a reason to read it-and, usually, I don’t have a reason. So, no, I don’t really read too much, because I know you know that they word things the way they want to word them when they put it on paper.

HILTON: What’s the most bizarre thing that you’ve ever read about yourself?
WAYNE: The most bizarre thing I’ve ever read about myself is that I was dead. That was kind of weird to read that I’m dead— mostly because I was reading it. [both laugh]
HILTON: I read that about myself once, too. It’s pretty bizarre.

Lil’ Wayne on his experience with the paparazzi in Miami: “The only time I ever really witnessed some crazy paparazzi was during my court experiences. Every time I rode up to court, as soon as I jumped out of the truck, they were there to snap, and all in our way to where we couldn’t walk. It’s nowhere near like that around here. But maybe I’m just not that caliber of person that they want to take pictures of me like that.”

Lil’ Wayne on discovering Drake and the one thing he has taught him from his own experiences: “When I first heard Drake, I already knew that he had potential beyond my imagination, because the kid was singing and rapping—and he was rapping real well…So that’s when I already knew that he was gonna blow up, right there. He would’ve done it—with me or not—I just wanted to make sure it was with me. And the main thing I’ve told him, or taught him, for lack of better words, is just to stay humble and remember who you are throughout it all, because there’s gonna be moments in every single day when you’ll have to go back to that person and reflect on that person. You have to self-reflect. If you forget who you actually are, then what’s the use of even looking in the mirror.”

Lil’ Wayne and Paris Hilton on solitary confinement:
WAYNE: For me it was okay, because it just meant that I was alone with my thoughts.
HILTON: I had to do 24 nights in solitary. [Hilton was held in a separate cell as a safety precaution.]
WAYNE: Oh, so you know how it is.
HILTON: Yeah, I know how it is.
HILTON: How happy are you to have your freedom now?
WAYNE: Words cannot explain.
HILTON: Yeah, I know how you feel. [laughs] It’s the best feeling in the world when you come out.

HILTON: Do you believe in horoscopes?
WAYNE: I’ve read horoscopes before and what they say about Libras. But I would actually love to not be what somebody writes down—I don’t want to be described.

HILTON: Do you have any pets?
WAYNE: I like animals, but I only have a few pets. I have a bunch of fish, and I have two sharks. Those are my dudes.
HILTON: Wow. Sharks? Nice.
EHRLICH: How big are the sharks?
WAYNE: One is a little baby, so he’s about a foot or two, or something like that. Then the other one is a good two, two and a half feet, or almost three feet. EHRLICH: So do you have a huge pool for them? Or do they stay in a tank?
WAYNE: They live in a crib…It’s like a little pond under the stairwell in my house. So they swim under there.
HILTON: That’s dope.

Lil’ Wayne on what goals he wishes to accomplish by the end of the year: “I want to bank a cool $50 million at least. At the end of this year, I want to be able to say that I banked $50 million. Not generated $50 million, but actually banked $50 million.”

WAYNE: I wanna ask you something, Paris. When are you dropping your album?
HILTON: When am I dropping the album?
WAYNE: Yeah. Do you know?
HILTON: Hopefully soon. I’ve been working on it for so long—since my last album [Paris, 2006, Warner Bros.]. So I want to release it by this summer, because I have a lot of summer bangers. I want to just have it out, because that’s when people love to party.
WAYNE: That’s cool.
HILTON: If I had you on a song too, that would be hot.
WAYNE: That was gonna be my next question. I was gonna ask you, how are you gonna release an album and don’t get me on it?
HILTON: Well, if you would be on the album, then I would be honored. That would be the sickest thing. We should get each other’s phone numbers so we can call each other after the interview or text or something.
WAYNE: Cool. Sounds good.
HILTON: My number is 310-XXX-XXXX.
WAYNE: Okay. I’ll text you my number.

HILTON: …I have a recording studio that I built in my house—and a nightclub too.
EHRLICH: You have a nightclub in your house?
HILTON: I built one, yeah, because I don’t really like to go out as much as I used to, so I just built a club at my house with the studio attached to it.
WAYNE: You’re so f-ckin’ rich.
EHRLICH: Do you have a disco ball in there?
HILTON: No, it’s really elegant. Although it has a stripper pole, so maybe it’s not that elegant.

[From Interview Magazine]

I kind wish I could have that time back. Sigh… why are these people famous again? I mean, yeah, I get why Wayne is famous, and I can also see that he’s very talented. But Paris… and having Paris talk to Wayne. It’s just… rough.

Photos courtesy of Interview.