Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory doesn’t just walk into the club. He arrives. The first sign he’s coming: the cars. They coast to the curb like supermodels down a runway. Bentleys and H2s, Lambos and Porsches. And, when the crowd swells to full ranks, tour buses. In front of clubs from Midtown Atlanta to South Beach Miami, the streetlights bounce off the million-dollar motorcade, and it’s blinding. Next, the crew. As Meech likes to say, all members are family: “Everybody moves like brothers. Everybody moves as one.” But as with any entourage, there’s a definite hierarchy. Pushing into the crowd (if that was possible), you’d first find the guys hovering on the fringes, moving with a slightly menacing sway. Go deeper, and the vibe starts to change. Guards come down. Egos edge up. Keep going and you encounter a steady calm. The aura is one of jaded confidence and quiet control. That’s when you know you’ve reached Meech. “All Meech did was walk in the spot,” one woman posted on an SOHH.com message board, “and panties got moist.”
Exactly five years ago, Lil Wayne and Travis Barker appeared together on the magazine’s cover. Wayne’s statement that he was “better than Jay-Z” appeared as a cover line, causing a flurry of discussion in certain circles when that issue hit stands. The full transcript of Toshitaka Kondo’s interview with Lil Wayne has never been published before now. Though it is five years old, the conversation sheds new light on the complex relationship between hip-hop’s two Mr. Carters—and the never-ending quest for respect that is hip-hop. With Lil Wayne’s “It’s Good” being named his No. 1 verse of 2011, this interview seems more relevant than ever. ‘Okay, since I know you’re big on the sports metaphors—from a fan perspective, how do you feel about Jay’s return so far? How many songs have you heard of his? I heard a couple, and I’ma tell you if I like what he talking about. But I don’t like what he’s talking about and I’m gonna tell you why. Because he’s saying it like he had to come back, like hip-hop’s dead and all this…Like, I’m a hip-hop artist, B. What you mean it’s dead? So that means I’m not rapping the whole time? I’ve been in it 13 years daddy. How can it be dead? You know what I mean? If anything it’s reborn. Nawmean? So he’s probably having a problem with that. Like his whole aspect of coming back was ‘Because it was dead and y’all needed me.’ Like, “Nah, nigga.” I want him to know that. You left on a good note. You left. This was your house. All the people in the house, all the artists were saying ‘Yo, this is Jay’s house. He’s bowing out gracefully. We all say he’s the best.’ All the players say ‘You the coach. You’re the best.’ We love it. You bowed out. You come back and think this still your house? Nah nigga, we fucked bitches in your bed already.’
