LUCKI Says Lil Wayne And JAY-Z Are Partly To Blame For People Not Knowing What Freestyling Actually Is

LUCKI is back with another hot take. On Thursday (July 4), the Chicago artist partly blamed Lil Wayne and JAY-Z for the younger rap generation’s inability to distinguish between freestyling and punch-in writing.

“They didn’t even do it on purpose [though]. They’re literally the two best rappers EVER… So, yeah, they basically accidentally mislead every rapper from our generation [into] thinking taking your time and writing is a FLAW,” the Chicago rapper explained on Twitter.

“Hit [that motherf**ker] right on [the] head,” said Dreamville lyricist JID in support. Meanwhile, a separate commenter called for music post-mixtape era to be classified outside of Hip Hop. According to them, artists like Young Thug, Future, and Lil Uzi Vert spawned a “generation of ‘rap fans’ who don’t actually like rap/rapping.”

In 2023, Lil Wayne recalled how JAY-Z inspired him to rap off the dome instead of using traditional pen and paper. He claimed on “The Pivot Podcast” that 2002’s “10,000 Bars,” which clocked in at just over 35 minutes, was the last time he wrote down a rhyme.

LUCKI’s controversial comments came on the heels of him defending Rich Amiri, who walked out of a cypher for XXL‘s 2024 Freshman Class. “It’s 2024. The fact [that] they got the format the same that it was in 2013, that’s how you know XXL [is] in it for the engagement part. They know the freestyles [are] going to be the most viral part,” he explained in a now-deleted Twitter Spaces session. “Nobody even [freestyles] anymore. [There’s] not no young Nasir from Queens going to pop up. [There’s] no lyrical geniuses.”

The FLAWLESS LIKE ME creator was correct, to some extent. For example, in 2020, Coi Leray faced backlash for her freestyling skills. The rapper clapped back at critics with a few tweets, including “Trending topic. [I’m a] trendsetter, let’s talk about it.”