GQ: Congratulations on selling a million records this week. Are you surprised at all?

** Lil Wayne: **Yeah. Hell yeah, I’m surprised.

GQ: I was sure you were going to be like, "Absolutely not."

** Lil Wayne: **No. I was very surprised. I did not think I was gonna do that. I mean, I already did that—I sold a million copies the first week [of Tha Carter III]. I never imagined it would happen again. I think we’d be some greedy motherfuckers to expect it to happen again, and I’m still shocked that it did.

GQ: I hear you plan to retire when you turn 35?

** Lil Wayne: **Basically, I have been doing this for eighteen years. That’s reason number one. I have accomplished all that I have set out to accomplish and more. Also, I have a label, and I’ve only put out two artists [Drake and Nicki Minaj]. I have a lot more work to do, and it’d be selfish to not focus on being the boss and focus on their projects.

But the main reason is my kids, my children. Now, if I thought I’d be selfish to my artists, imagine what I think I would be doing to my kids. I have enough money that they don’t have to ever do anything—which, they will do everything, ’cause they ain’t getting shit. [cackles wildly] Six [more] years, I can do this Lil Wayne thing, and my boys will be about 7 and 8 years old. And man, it’s all about them then. You know, whatever they’re doing. Sports. Whatever they’re into. That’s where I am. I’m at every game. I’m the dad with the hat on. The jersey. That’s me.

GQ: You’ll still be you without music?

** Lil Wayne: **I feel like I’ll be a new me, and how good is that? To actually be opening a brand-new door of life at 35? That’d be awesome. Totally awesome. I’m looking forward to it.

"I was never on heroin or cocaine or Ecstasy or nothing like that. I drank syrup and smoked a lotta weed. I wish I could be back on it."

GQ: Did your time in jail slow you down or mellow you out a bit?

** Lil Wayne: **I don’t think life is about a pace, living slow or fast. I think you just live, y’know what I mean? You’re either living or you’re dead. So it just helped me on my way, helped me with life. Cleared me up, cleaned me up, opened my eyes to things. I definitely thank God for that moment instead of looking at it as a problem or a bad situation. I needed it.

GQ: You’re sober now? No more syrup?

** Lil Wayne: **I’m good. I ain’t tripping. I’m used to it now. But I was never on heroin or cocaine or Ecstasy or nothing like that. I drank syrup and smoked a lotta weed. I wish I could be back on it. That’s how it fucking feels. [cracking himself up] "How does it feel to be sober?" I’ll be like, "It feels fucked-up." What you want me to say? "It feels great"? No. I was on something that the doctor prescribed. I was ill, and that was helping me.

GQ: So you aren’t going back on it?

** Lil Wayne: **I cannot wait until I get off probation, sweetheart. Not for syrup. No, not for syrup. I stopped syrup May 9 of 2009. But nobody knew. Because I still rapped about it. Because I respect the culture of where it came from. I still rep that shit.