Lil Wayne On Drake's "Thank Me Later" Debut Album

Grammy-winning rapper Lil Wayne recently updated fans on his Young Money artist Drake's Thank Me Later debut album progress and said the project is likely ready for release.

Wayne also briefly touched on the delayed Hot Boys reunion with Juvenile, B.G. and Turk.

"He's one of those guys who needs no help, [laughs] I don't do anything but say, 'Let me hear that song,'" Wayne explained about Drake. "And I'm blown away with every word. I'm honored to have him. Knowing Drake, I want to say he's probably finished with the project. But he's one of those guys who keeps going back to put more icing on the cake...I still agree with [the reunion] -- let's put it like that. There are four sides to this, and it's hard getting four sides to come to the table. But I still agree." (Billboard)

Drake recently touched on the importance of lyricism on his debut album.

"Lyrically, I want to keep the album as genuine and honest as 'Fear' is, but musically there will be a little more energy," he promised. "There will be more moments of triumph, because my life is the best it's ever been in my 22 years of existence. I want my music to reflect that, but I still want to be able to relate and connect with people. It's a good indication. There will obviously be some variation -- not every track is going to sound like that. I was actually going to save 'Fear' for the album, but I wanted to give people another reason to buy the [So Far Gone] EP...You've really got to come out and offer people something that's never been done before or something at a very high level. Take someone like Kanye West who produces, sings, writes and does fashion. He's beyond the full package. I think that's becoming requirement these days. You have to do everything." (Shock Hound)

Drizzy also reflected on Wayne's speculated eight to ten month jail sentence beginning early next year.

"He's dealing with it well," Drizzy revealed in an interview. "Wayne's not usually gonna open up emotionally and tell you how he's really feeling about anything. He's kinda more concerned about getting as much music as he possibly can, so that when he's in there, people are still satisfied musically with Lil Wayne product, and that's just the mind of a true businessman. I'll just do what I can to keep the whole Young Money/Cash Money team going, and I just want to play my part as a team member and keep the brand strong until the boss gets home...He's like superhuman. I don't think anything could really break his concentration or his zone when he's in there. I definitely didn't think this would be the outcome of it, but I hope it will add to him selling a million records again. It's an unfortunate situation and I hope that he'll be able to position it where his release is a day where everyone's excited and they're just excited about his new album. I hope he manages to market it the right way." (Rap-Up)

The Canadian-based emcee will reportedly grace the new VIBE Magazine re-launch issue next month.

The cover with Chris Brown actually shares the print run with covers featuring Drake, another hip-hop artist. But it's the Chris Brown cover that's more likely to get people talking. Now the print edition is coming back with a reduced frequency, four issues next year compared with the 10 once planned for 2009, and a smaller paid circulation guarantee, 300,000 now compared to 600,000 at shutdown. That partly reflects the tough economy. It's a result, too, of abandoning all subscribers to the old Vibe, who now have to buy new subscriptions if they want the new print edition; InterMedia didn't take on liability for prior subscribers when it bought Vibe's assets. The return issue, out Dec. 8 in a slightly over-sized format, is expected to include more than 40 pages of advertising. (Ad Age)

Thank Me Later is slated to land in stores February 2010.