Lil Wayne may have been released from prison on Thursday (Nov. 6), but the rapper officially returned to the stage on Saturday night, making a surprise appearance during his protege Drake's concert at The Joint in Las Vegas.
It was the last stop of Drake's Light Dreams & Nightmares tour, and Wayne's appearance -- which had bene rumored for days but remained unconfirmed until the last minute -- came during "Miss Me," from Drake's debut album, "Thank Me Later."
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"Hello, Vegas. I'm back -- it feels good to be back," Lil Wayne, sporting dreadlocks down to his belly button, told the roughly 4,000-head crowd, which had turned from an excited mass to an ecstatic swarm of raised hands and camera phones. "If you love me like I love you, please make some motherfucking noise."
Video: Lil Wayne joins Drake onstage in Las Vegas
The rapper only stayed onstage for one song, but before he left he assured the hysterical crowd that he wouldn't leave them in the free world again, saying goodnight to fans shouting, "Weezy." "I swear to God, ain't nothin', nothin', nothin' like home," Wayne said emphatically.
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Without Wayne at his side, Drake's crowd control was perpetually impressive for a 24-year-old and still relatively new artist with green live experience. The six-piece backing band and rave-caliber light show helped round out the performance, but to short-lived chagrin of screaming fans, Drake's set was culled largely from the "Thank Me Later" tracklist. The rapper skipped a couple of his more recognizable bangers like the Hot 100 No. 1 "Best I Ever Had" and "Houstatlantavegas." He hammed it up during some of his more personal songs, bringing a female from the audience onstage, neck-pecking her, holding her...and sending her back offstage with a new BlackBerry.
Gimmicks aside, though, the tour's final stop was met by a happy, sold-out crowd (like most of its other 25 dates), adding credence to the recent prediction from Drake's camp that he'll be an arena and big theater tour player by his second album. Before that happens, though, Young Money fans might get a truly special treat: the Canadian rapper hinted at a Drizzy/Weezy tour now that Wayne's been released. Fingers crossed...
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