Culture

Lil Wayne gears up for another big year in 2009

by Robert Sutherland | January 14, 2009 at 01:23 pm

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Year of the Ox? More like Year of Weezy. With an extensive "I Am Music" North American tour and eight Grammy nominations this year, Lil Wayne is poised for another successful year.

Lil Wayne leads all artists this year with eight nominations. He is up for both Album and Rap Album the Year. In a bizarre twist, he is up against himself in two categories, Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. Lil Wayne is also scheduled to perform at the ceremony on February 8th.

Following a year that saw ratings fall to the lowest since 1992, organizers are looking to generate more buzz with an eye catching advertising campaign. Lil Wayne, Rihanna, Stevie Wonder, Lenny Kravitz and Radiohead lead singer Thom Yorke are featured in the ads.

According to a Grammy spokeswoman, the artists were asked to give 10-20 songs that influenced or affected their life and career to the Recording Academy. Song lyrics and titles are featured in the print and television ads.

In other Lil Wayne news, as mentioned the artist is already embarking on a North American tour, but some dates are drawing some negative buzz. This is most evident in Montreal. Lil Wayne is scheduled to perform at The Bell Centre in Montreal tonight and local law enforcement is preparing for the worst.

"In the past, we've had problems in front of the theatre where [rap] concert[s] took place, and so you can be sure we'll be present," "What kind of a police procedure, you can use your imagination, but you can be sure it's going to be pretty much everything," said police spokesman Sgt. Ian Lafrenière.

In 2004 a man was shot several times outside of the Bell Centre after a concert by 50 Cent. The man was wearing a bulletproof vest and thus survived the attack.

We will find out soon how 2009 will play out for Lil Wayne. Will he get snubbed by the Grammy voters? Will he dominate the winners circle? Will the worst case scenario play out in Montreal? Personally, I will be keeping my ears and eyes open for news on the latter since I will be in row 14 for the Lil Wayne concert in Vancouver on the 24th of January.