Last night (August 25) in New Orleans, the 4th Annual Lil’ Weezyana Fest took place. Since its inception, Lil Wayne has used the festival to celebrate not only his solo catalog but also those of his all-star friends and local celebrities. The event has developed a reputation for being a hotbed for surprise guests; in years past, Drake, Chris Brown and a bevy of New Orleans icons including Partners-N-Crime, Hot Boys and Big Freedia have shown up. This year, promised performers included Young Jeezy, Tory Lanez and NBA YoungBoy but, as usual, the main event came from someone whose name was not on the bill.

In front of a sold-out Champions Square crowd, Lil Wayne received a public, seemingly unscripted apology from Bryan “Birdman” Williams, who was a surprise guest in addition to Nicki Minaj. It was a historic acknowledgment of many years of legal and personal strife between the multi-platinum selling rapper and Cash Money Records founder, who remained immersed in an acrimonious financial battle until this past June. While embroiled in lawsuits, Wayne’s music career was effectively on hold as the two parties and their legal representatives argued over contracts and the release of Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter V.

Lil Wayne Has Settled His Lawsuit For Cash Money & More

As reported by Complex, Birdman took to the Weezyana Fest stage to say of his former signee and frequent collaborator “It feels amazing to be home f*cking with my son, I love that n*gga to death. I don’t know what y’all know but I know what the f*ck I know and I know how I feel about what I know…I knew this day was gon’ come but I ain’t know when it was gon’ come. But this n*gga right chea? The best n*gga, the realest n*gga, the illest n*gga. And I wanted to apologize to my n*gga worldwide.”

Local outlet Nola.com reported that Birdman also spoke on his early relationship with a young Dwayne Carter Jr., saying “He put his life in my hands. We’re going to do this to the day I die.”

Though this year’s Weezyana Fest was celebrating the 10th anniversary of Tha Carter III, it seems the theme was more forward thinking, with this apology now paving the way for a public acknowledgment of a rekindled partnership between two long-standing Rap giants and setting up the potential for new music. Furthermore, in the weeks following the June settlement, Billboard reported on Wayne’s signal of a release date for The Carter V.