Lil Wayne Salutes Athletes With "A Milli" Performance At 2023 ESPY'S

Lil Wayne opened up the 2023 ESPY Awards on Wednesday (July 12) with a performance of his classic single “A Milli,” putting a twist on the original by referencing star athletes who impacted sports over the past year.

“How y’all doing tonight?” Weezy asked the show’s attendees before the DJ commanded them to get up out of their seats and match the rap star’s energy. Beginning the track as usual, a few lines in, he switches things up by showing love to LSU Tiger and NCAA champion Angel Reese, whom he’s voiced his fandom of and was rooting for in their NCAA title game matchup against Caitlyn Clark and Iowa.

The 40-year-old sports buff then mentions the progression of Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin’s recovery from his frightening on-field injury before acknowledging Deion Sanders’ new gig as the head coach of the University of Colorado. “On the sheets on the tablet in my mind/ God is good, Damar Hamlin doing fine,” he raps, later adding, “Father, y’all can call me Poppa/ But my Uncle Prime got me out there way in Colorado.”

Weezy also shouts out San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick Victor Wembanyama, rhyming, “You pop ’em ’cause we Pop ’em like we coaching Wembanyama.” At one point during the set, the New Orleans native steps off the stage and prowled the front row, stopping to briefly pose alongside Kansas City Chiefs tight end and Super Bowl winner Travis Kelce.

After the end of the performance, which took place at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, Wayne voiced his pleasantries to the crowd while kicking off the network’s awards show. “Thank you,” the hitmaker said. “Welcome to the 2023 ESPYs. Thank you for your time, I appreciate you.”

Watch Lil Wayne’s 2023 ESPYs performance below.

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