Lil Wayne Performs After Cash Money Artists Reunite At Essence Fest 2024

Lil Wayne shocked fans with an unexpected performance at Essence Fest, but it wasn't the surprise they were anticipating.

On Friday night, July 5, thousands of fans flocked to the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans to catch Birdman and Friends on the first night of the three-day festival. The performance was billed as a "Cash Money Reunion," which brought out the iconic record label's revered artists like Baby, Mannie Fresh, B.G., and Juvenile. After other artists like The LOX, Scarface, Bun B, and 2 Chainz pulled up to the set, fans were expecting Weezy to reunite with the Hot Boys for the first time in years. Unfortunately, it didn't go down like that.

Lil Wayne came out after the Cash Money artists and delivered his own set. He started off with "Uproar" and moved on to other songs like "Love Me," "Lollipop," "Mrs. Officer," and "We Be Steady Mobbin." He closed out the set with "A Milli." For what it's worth, Wayne did host a Young Money reunion during his set. Once the beat for "Every Girl" came on, Weezy invited Jae Millz, Gutta Gutta, and Mack Maine on stage to perform their hit 2009 collaboration together. The only YM alum that was missing was Drake.

It's not clear why Wayne didn't perform with the other Cash Money artists. Fans on social media floated around one theory — from someone who was at the festival — which claimed Wayne didn't perform with everyone because former Hot Boys rapper Turk wasn't there. B.G. also addressed Turk's absence on Instagram Live. He claimed Turk wasn't invited to perform at the show but didn't explain why. Turk also went on Instagram Live and revealed he was home with his family when the show happened.

Watch both B.G. and Turk's explanations below.