Lil Wayne Says He Recorded Music From His Rikers Island Jail Cell

Lil Wayne is opening up about one of the most challenging chapters of his life, revealing that he continued making music while serving time at New York City’s Rikers Island in 2010.

During an appearance on the Friends Keep Secrets podcast on Tuesday, July 21, the five-time Grammy Award winner recalled recording songs from his jail cell by using the phone. The rapper, now 43, said he turned his nightly phone calls into recording sessions, even coordinating with fellow inmates to keep the noise down.

“I went to the studio every night in jail,” Wayne said, explaining that “the studio” was his cell and the recordings were made over the phone. He joked that he’d warn everyone to stay quiet while he tapped out beats on a table and laid down verses.

Wayne said he cleverly timed his calls just before his 10:45 p.m. bedtime, allowing him to continue recording after lights out. Despite the unusual setup, he said other inmates generally weren’t interested in listening to what he was doing.

Looking back on his eight-month sentence, Wayne rejected the idea that it was the worst year of his life. Instead, he credited the people around him for making the experience more manageable.

“They made it their job to make it easy for me,” he said, adding that he eventually settled into a routine that included watching Discovery Channel’s Naked and Afraid with fellow inmates.

Lil Wayne was released in November 2010 after serving time on a weapon possession conviction stemming from a 2007 arrest. Years earlier, he told Rolling Stone that he viewed the sentence as part of God’s plan and an experience he was meant to endure.

His time behind bars also left a lasting impression on friends, including Fat Joe, who later recalled visiting Wayne in jail and receiving one simple piece of advice before serving his own sentence: “Just be humble, bro.”