Lil Wayne Taking a Rap Hiatus to Pursue the Skateboarding 'Lifestyle'

The rapper is planning to trade in his microphone, saying, "I believe the fans deserve some peace from me."

What would make rapper Lil Wayne put a hold on his career as a rapper after nine successful studio albums and over 20 mixtapes? The Young Money headmaster's newfound passion for skateboarding the a fear of overexposure, apparently, have both contributed to the 29-year-old to take a break from his recording career.

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In an interview with Atlanta radio station Hot 107.9, Wayne discussed why he’s planning to take an absence from the rap game.

"I picked up the skateboard and I thought it'd be a hobby and what happened is it's a lifestyle,” he said. "You have to be fully committed because its super scary. In order to be fully committed you have to live that lifestyle. Like the young kids say, ‘You have to be about that life.’ It's kind of putting rap on the back burner. I think I deserve that. I think fans deserve a little-to-no Wayne. I've been everywhere. I've been out on everybody's song. I’m still on everybody’s song. My artists have been doing awesome. I believe the fans deserve some peace from me. So I'll be on my skateboard in the meantime."

While Wayne has long referenced his newfound passion in the media, fans got a first look at his skills a recent commercial for Mountain Dew's "This is How We DEW" campaign. The Mountain Dew company has been noted to feature skateboarding in a number of their ads and has long partnered with extreme athletes for promotional purposes.

“I spend more time on the skateboard, 'cause even at the studio I have ramps and shit.” Wayne said in an interview with Vibe. “In the booth literally I have something I can boardslide on and a quarter pipe. So I get off the mic, drop the board down and skate."

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In fact, Wayne has become so dedicated to skateboarding that he’s even built a ramp on the roof of his Miami home. Also, Wayne will officially celebrate the opening of his own skate park “DEWeezy Skatepark” in New Orleans on Aug. 29. A line of skater shoes is also in the works for Wayne, as confirmed in April of this year.

The move doesn’t come as a huge surprise to fans, as Wanye has been very vocal about his love of skateboarding, and in October, the music mogul announced that he plans to retire by the age of 35.

As one of the most popular rap artists of this decade, it will be interesting to see what will happen to the genre amid his absence. Wanye has received four Grammys and a handful of BET music awards, along with an ongoing string of No.1 singles, and he's collaborated with an astounding number of today's artists. His label, Young Money Entertainment is home to some of several successful acts, including Drake, Nicki Minaj and Tyga.

Before Wayne does take a break from the mic, his latest mixtape The Dedication 4 is set to be released on Aug. 15.