Drake Wasn’t Allowed on Lil Wayne’s Tour Bus Because Bloods Were on it, Says Director

Years after Wheelchair Jimmy memes stopped being funny, it feels surprisingly easy to separate Drake, Rap OmniGod, from the awkward up-and-comer he was in the late 2000s. But there was, apparently, a time when even he wasn’t so cool and had to be kept out of certain environments for his own safety. Or because he was too lame. In a recent interview, Adam Bhala Lough, who filmed Lil Wayne before and after the release of Tha Carter III, for the unofficially released cult classic documentary, The Carter, pointed to a little of both. 

Speaking to journalist Andre Gee for his Andre Gee Newsletter, Lough recalled a time when Drake wasn’t allowed on Weezy’s tour bus because… well, he simply wasn’t cool enough. And because gun-toting gangsters were kicking it in the vehicle. 

“At one point I spent some time with her before Wayne did The Jimmy Kimmel Show, when nobody knew who she was, and they wouldn’t even let Drake on the bus. He was, he was, like, such a dork that they wouldn’t even let him on the bus,” Lough says. Of course, things would eventually change.

“When [Drake] started selling millions and millions of records. It was a different story entirely,” Lough adds. “But he was definitely not allowed on the bus and wouldn’t hang out with any of [them] because there were real Blood gang members around all the time. And I’m sure he was intimidated by them, too. I was, even though they were super cool to me. These are serious, Blood gang members with guns on them, like, some shit could go down.” 

Elsewhere in the interview, Lough explained that it was actually a company owned by Harvey Weinstein and Steve Bannon that was originally going to produce the film. However, the two shut down the company while the film was still in production. Quincy Jones III ended up producing the film instead. 

To date, The Carter has never gotten an official release. Wayne filed a $50 million lawsuit over the doc in 2009, with many sources saying he filed the suit because he wanted to have scenes of him sipping lean removed. But a judge dismissed it the same year. 

Lough is currently looking to officially release a part two of The Carter documentary, which includes footage Wayne gave him during the filming of the first. That footage includes film from 2002-2004. 

Check out the whole Adam Bhala Lough interview for yourself on the Andre Gee Newsletter.