pressure panel: Exclusive: Mannie Fresh Explains Lil Wayne Reunion At Bonnaroo

Monday, June 13, 2011

Exclusive: Mannie Fresh Explains Lil Wayne Reunion At Bonnaroo

Wayne embraced his former Cash Money mate onstage during his Friday night set.
By James Montgomery, with reporting by Ade Mangum

Mannie Fresh at Bonnaroo 2011
Photo: MTV News

MANCHESTER, Tennessee - One of the highlights of Lil Wayne's headlining set at Bonnaroo on Friday - at least to the folks in attendance who've followed Weezy's career since his Hot Boys days - was the moment when he brought Cash Money founding father Mannie Fresh onstage, ending a longtime separation that had existed since 2005, when Fresh parted ways with Birdman and the label under decidedly acrimonious conditions.

When the two embraced onstage, it was symbolic in more ways than one: Not only did it show that Mannie and Wayne had never really been at odds, but it was a rather important passing of the torch too. And Fresh told MTV News as much, earlier in the day on Friday, when he said that the two really never been rivals ... and hinted at bigger things to come later in the evening.

"It's a possibility. Like I said, there's no beef. No animosity," Fresh said. "I got a great deal of respect for Wayne. You know, from where he started to where he at right now. He's on top of his game. So it's a possibility [we could reunite]. You never know."

And as anyone who was in attendance for Wayne's set could attest, that possibility definitely became a reality. For his part, Fresh wouldn't speak about just how the pair settled their differences, but now that they've gone public with their reunion, could the duo could get back to their collaborative ways? It's something Fresh isn't about to write off.

"That would be hot," he said. "But, you know, my half, I'm there. We're going to leave the rest of it on him, you know what I'm saying?"

Would you like to see Wayne reconnect with Mannie Fresh in the studio? Tell us in the comments!

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