Lil Wayne and friends on stage

Hip-hop superstars will be showing Joburg what they’re made of, with Lil Wayne joined on stage by Rick Ross, Eminem and the Young Money crew.
IT’S a musical weekend if you’re a hip-hop fan – American artist Lil Wayne is on stage at the Coca-Cola Dome.

Ross is joining Lil Wayne on stageRick Ross is joining Lil Wayne on stageThe pint-sized rapper is joined by hip-hop heavyweights Rick Ross and Eminem. And the supporting acts are some of the Young Money crew, of which Lil Wayne is a member. Expect to see Corey Gunz, Gudda Gudda, Mack Maine, Shannel, T-Streets and Jae Millz.

Multi-award winning Weezy – as Lil Wayne is known by his legion of fans – is regarded as hip-hop’s best-selling artist ever. He is so popular in Joburg, that he has two concerts lined up for Joburg, on 9 and 10 December at the same venue. Both shows start at 8pm.

Glen Netshipise of Canoc Productions, the promoters of the South African leg of Lil Wayne’s worldwide I Am Still Music tour, says the huge demand for tickets led to the second concert on Saturday.

“On 24 November, when Canoc Productions and Channel O announced that Ross would join Weezy, fans snapped up about 2 000 tickets,” says Netshipise.

“The response by the public is phenomenal, resulting in excellent ticket sales which led to the second Johannesburg show. The latest news is a one-night only performance by a surprise artist who will perform on Saturday.”

Weezy began his singing career at the age of nine. His most successful album was Tha Carter III, released in 2008. It sold more than a million copies in the States in its first week of release, and won the Grammy Award that year for the best rap album.

Foraging further into the musical field, he released his first rock album, Rebirth, in 2010. His latest album, Carter IV, which was released in August this year, also received a good reception. Almost 100 000 copies were sold on the first week of release.

The South African leg of the I Am Still Music tour began in Cape Town on 7 December, moves to Joburg for the weekend, and ends in Durban on 11 December. Tickets are available from Computicket, but be warned, demand as high. Prices range from R400 to R750.