NLE Choppa recently revealed how he pulled off a $60,000 gamble to get Lil Wayne to appear in his new short film The Wash.
On Monday (October 28), NLE Choppa and director Ben Marc hosted an intimate movie-night-themed premiere event and streamed the short film at the swanky Rooftop Cinema Club in downtown Los Angeles. Along with Marc and his family and close friends, Sukihana, TDE rapper Ray Vaughn and Kia Shine were in attendance for the screening.
Additionally, artists such as BIA, Lay Banks, Skilla Baby and former model Amber Rose also made appearances at the event. Following the early preview of the flick, NLE Choppa shared the incredible lengths he went to in order to secure a cameo from Lil Wayne.
NLE Choppa revealed that while filming the video for his aforementioned hit featuring 41 and Kyle Richh in New York, he made the decision to halt all of his plans to accommodate Wayne’s schedule once the Carter 3 rapper agreed to join the cast of the short film — despite the fact he and Marc were in the early planning stages.
“I came to a realization that we needed an extra piece to the movie, and I hit Wayne out of nowhere,” NLE Choppa recounted to the audience. “I’m like, ‘me and Wayne have a great relationship,’ to the point, y’all have relationships with people, y’all don’t want to ask them for nothing. You feel me? Because y’all honor the relationship so much. So I just went about it, I was like, let me just see.”
He continued, “Me and Wayne have music. He’s a great mentor. He check up on me, we have a great relationship. I hit him. I’m like, ‘man, would you love to be in a short film I’m working on?’ And the man said, yes.”
To his surprise, Lil Wayne agreed, which NLE Choppa says was a surreal moment.
“And if y’all know Lil Wayne, Wayne is, he’s a tough f###ing cookie,” he said. “So when he said yes, I’m still like, ‘It ain’t no way this n###a just said yes.’ It is just like, the way that he is, the way he operates. It’s very inhuman. So it’s like I capitalized on it. I took a risk.”
However, the commitment to capturing Wayne’s cameo required a swift pivot in the filming schedule, along with what ended up being close to $60,000 in travel fees to bring everything together.
“I canceled all plans, caught a [private jet] from New York to L.A.,” he said. “It was, what, damn near, eight passenger plane—spent damn near close to 60 bands to get back to L.A.”
Marc echoed the intensity of the moment, saying he was set to shoot the film in Miami but dropped everything to fly to Los Angeles.
“Bro, Wayne said yes, I said, s##t,” Ben Marc added, underscoring the quick decision-making required to seize the opportunity.
Their efforts almost went up in smoke, though. Just as they landed in L.A., they got word from Lil Wayne’s team that he might not be able to make it that day. Despite the setback, NLE Choppa held firm to his faith.
“God sees our efforts,” he said, sharing how he relied on his belief to push forward. “Even when through adversity… it just wasn’t meant to be, God kept me in it and told me, keep going and stay faithful through it.” He encouraged fans to stay persistent in their own pursuits, reflecting on how this journey tested him but ultimately paid off.
NLE Choppa and Lil Wayne’s connection goes beyond The Wash; they’ve collaborated on several tracks. Their first major release was on “Ain’t Gonna Answer,” where Wayne’s signature style complemented Choppa’s high-energy verses. Following that, they worked together on a remix of Choppa’s#### “Do It Again,” strengthening their musical alliance and offering fans powerful collaborations across both the hip-hop and film worlds.
In addition to detailing the hectic filming schedule that nearly went south, NLE Choppa also spoke to AllHipHop about the bond he and Marc share, how they became inspired to rework Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg’s cult classic 2001 film, and their favorite Lil Wayne style eras to emulate for Halloween costumes.
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