Waka Flocka Flame Explains Retirement Talk

Jay-Z famously said that he would retire after he dropped his debut album Reasonable Doubt way back in 1996, and we all saw how that worked out. With only one solo album under his belt, could Waka Flocka Flame do what Jigga couldn't?

Last month, the "Hard in Da Paint" rapper tweeted "This game 2 fake I [quit] rap after this year," but when Sway asked Waka about his post-rap plans, he elaborated on the statement.

"Nah, I am gonna retire. I'm gonna retire from the industry," Waka said on last week's "RapFix Live." "I'm not gonna kick it in the industry no more. I'm gonna do what I wanna do, how I started like from the beginning. I'm gonna do exactly what I wanna do."

Flocka didn't exactly say that he'd quit making music, however. Instead, the Atlanta-based rapper said he would go on to operate outside the music industry's traditional avenues.

"I don't expect to win awards, I don't expect to go to big venues. I'm gonna really help the youth — this is what I started doin' it for, so I'm gonna finish doin' it," he said. "Yeah, I'm gonna retire — from the industry."

For now, though, fans can tide themselves over with Ferrari Boyz, Waka's joint album with mentor Gucci Mane, which dropped last Tuesday. "Man, we just came to smash the game — point blank, period," Waka told Sway when asked why the duo made Ferrari Boyz. "They chasin' our sound, folks' singles is on our sound, and we might as well just go 'head and give it all to 'em."

Do you think Waka Flocka Flame can make it on his own terms? Let us know in the comments!