Lil Wayne opened the ceremony at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles Wednesday night (July 12) with a remix of one of his biggest hits.
The Hip-Hop icon treated guests to a very special sports-themed rendition of his 2008 hit song “A Milli,” flipping the lyrics to show love to legendary athletes.
Wearing an eye-catching pair of Marc Jacobs daisy Dr. Martens boots Lil Wayne gave a nod to an LSU star, rapping, “And I’m over New Orleans like an Angel, Reese,” as the crowd cheered at the acknowledgment. The audience soon began to catch on to the sporting twist when Lil Wayne flipped the “A Milli” lyrics to shout out another athlete.
“God is good, Damar Hamlin doing fine,” he continued, referencing the Buffalo Bills star’s recovery after suffering a cardiac arrest on the field earlier this year.
Hamlin paid tribute to the Bills’ training staff during an emotional speech, presenting them with an ESPY Award for Service.
Lil Wayne name-checked Deion Sanders, celebrating “Uncle Prime,” for his appointment as head football coach at the University of Colorado.
The master lyricist also weaved in the surname of one of the NBA’s hottest prospects. No. 1 draft pick, French phenom Victor Wembanyama, got the Lil Wayne stamp at the ESPYs less than a week after making his NBA debut for the San Antonio Spurs. “We pop ‘em like we coaching Wembanyana,” Lil Wayne rapped.
He also referenced the NCAA name, image and likeness (NIL) rights rule changes before name checking an NBA legend: “I want my NIL so I’m going back to college/ Tattoos on my face you can call me Dennis Rodman.”
Watch Lil Wayne’s sports-themed “A Milli” performance below.
