Kaka and Lil Wayne, two sides of the same coin.

The other day I was listening to ‘’Let The Beat Build’’ off Lil Wayne’s seminal, career-defining album ‘’Tha Carter 3’’. In between Kanye West’s staccato, soulful production, I had a brain blast. That Kaka and Lil Wayne were two sides of the same coin. Sounds crazy right? But wait for it.

I attended a MUNDIAL Magazine a few summers ago, and we were discussing the greatest playmakers/number 10’s in recent history. I posited Kaka as comfortably one of the finest we had ever seen and that his middling time at Real Madrid had made some of us forget about the greatness he achieved at AC Milan. None of the people who challenged my point were United fans, cause we have the image of Kaka balletically brokering our demise etched in memory forever.

Kaka recently re-entered our consciousness, while kicking ball with the mandem in Hoxton. He provided one of the said mandem with a story for the grandkids, now is a good time to revisit the brain blast.

Kaka and Lil Wayne have had extremely different life trajectories, but very similar peaks. Coincidentally, they both cemented legendary status around the same time, Kaka winning his solitary Ballon d’Or in December 2007 and Wayne releasing Carter 3 in June 2008, the album sold a million in its first week. Both had entered their peak within a year of each other, however, both had been the leading lights in their arenas for a good few years before receiving the accolades that confirmed this.

Kaka’s Ballon d’Or in 2007 was totally deserved, that year he carried Milan to Champions League glory, feeding off the disappointment of Liverpool’s spectral smash-and-grab comeback win in 2005, using his deft fusion of sneak-attack acceleration, controlled power and mercurial vision to similarly devastating effect. Kaka was a maverick talent, who never felt like much of a maverick. Maybe his unwavering devotion to Jesus, limited the marketability that other Ballon d’Or winners have enjoyed. Just a normal guy doing extraordinary things. A bit like Jesus?

Iconic.

In 2008, Weezy F Baby was untouchable in hip-hop. He was leading the game. He had successfully built a hype train with his previous two ‘’Carter’’ instalments and a continuous string of mixtapes. In one year, with A Milli, Mrs Officer and Lollipop, Wayne had three number one hits. He had gone platinum with each single. At the GRAMMY’s, Wayne took three for Best Rap Album (a redundant category, — as Tyler, the Creator aptly describes), Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance, as well as a nomination for Best Album. Wayne was everywhere. Billboards. Magazine covers. Radios. On a whole lot of radios. Televisions. The lot. Outside of the numbers, Wayne had earnt the title of best in the game. His elastic, loopy wit and wide-eyed storytelling on Carter 3 — his magnum opus — acted as an official entry into the hallowed hip-hop hall of fame. Wayne was a bonafide star, and his influence is only now truly being felt, with many new-school mumble/trap rappers emulating his look. Wayne was the first rapper to truly popularise face tattoos, with the teardrops being the most iconic of all. But there was more to Wayne’s impact — his fearlessness to experiment artistically, switching genres, tapping into rock’n’roll and punk energy, Wayne, during his peak — and after it — created the blueprint for guys like Young Thug, Lil Uzi Vert, Gunna, Travis Scott, Trippie Redd and more who are some of today’s biggest names in hip hop.

But despite the critical, commercial and cultural impacts of both Kaka and Lil Wayne, why are their names always afterthoughts in conversations about the greatest?

In my opinion, I think omitting both names when discussing impacts and legacy can instantly limit your argument. But because this happens so regularly, there must be something in it. I think most people might wrongly consider both Kaka and Wayne as cult figures. Not major, era-defining icons.

Despite both having the credentials to be in the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) conversations — they’re always looked at as ‘curveball’ type mentions. Is this due to their short peaks? Kaka won the World Cup with Brazil in 2002, but was most productive between 2005–2008 when he reached two Champions League finals, won one, and the Ballon d’Or. In this period, he was simply the best player in the world. However, his peak coincided with the emergence of the two horsemen: Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. In 2009, Kaka joined Real Madrid, effectively ending his incredible era at AC Milan as the world’s very best, submitting to play second fiddle to Ronaldo (Ronaldo joined in the same summer, the rest is history). Lil Wayne’s Carter 3 dropped at an interesting time too. Kanye West was about to enter his cubist phase, with the release of 808’s and Heartbreak in November 2008. Jay-Z plotting a cubist phase of his own — working on Blueprint 3. 50 Cent had stopped caring what his music sounded like, and focused on his business moves. So, not to say Wayne had an easy ride, but the number one spot was definitely up for grabs. Wayne seized his moment, releasing a project that shows him at his dizzying best. Resembling another cult figure from the same decade: Heath Ledger’s Joker.

“Four tears in my face and you ain’t never heard me cry/ I’m richer than all y’all, I got a bank full of pride” — La La, Lil Wayne

That paradoxical ability to be both playful and snarling in the same breath is what makes Lil Wayne’s cadence great — and unique.

Back to Kaka. Following his time at AC Milan, when Real Madrid stood above all clubs as the pinnacle of greatness, Kaka did like Brazilians do and moved to Madrid.

By the time he had made the jump, he had already achieved the highest accolades in the game. But much was still expected of him, and the move should’ve been a simple success for both. Sadly, it turned out to be very disappointing. Kaka joined Madrid aged 27, right in his peak years. But injuries had caught up with him. That skittish, yet mesmeric, wind-up-toy like burst of pace, key to his attacking play, had gone.

After Tha Carter 3’s success, Wayne was meant to continue building on it with more fire. He took a few strange turns, some in part due to contractual issues with mentor/Young Money president Birdman, some due to artistic expression. He released Tha Carter IV in 2011, but it was his stinker rap-rock album Rebirth that dropped in 2010 which sent his career off a cliff for a while. Just like Kaka, Wayne had two rising stars in Drake and Nicki Minaj (both on the same label) to contend with, who Birdman predicted great commercial success for and pushed them instead of Wayne. This became a bitter, drawn-out affair that we’ve seen all too often in hip-hop. Wayne finally flew free of Birdman’s shackles in 2018 — releasing the fifth, and final instalment of his Carter series. He is now enjoying his late-career, comfortable in his legacy.

Both Kaka and Lil Wayne were subject to a similar set of circumstances that enabled them to become legends. Football and in hip-hop were both experiencing a ‘’changing of the guards’’ kind of moment — creating an open lane for the throne — should a worthy challenger show the consistency required. Both of them did, for a time. But, neither had the longevity many would associate with ‘’GOATS’’ like Messi, Ronaldo, Zidane, Jay-Z, Ghostface, etc.

Yet a player like Ronaldo Nazario (R9) who I believe to be the greatest player in history, he too experienced a short peak, and his name is never omitted. This could be because his legend was *mostly* marred by injury, a matter of circumstances and not choice bad decisions.

Kaka could’ve stayed at AC Milan challenging for more league titles and more Champions League glory. Curtailing the typical route for the best Brazilian players of that era by going to Real Madrid. His pace was going, and his technical ability in a slower league like Italy would’ve kept him evergreen for a long time. And Lil Wayne, who had every right to tap into different lanes of music after Tha Carter 3, should’ve taken a leaf out of DMX’s book. DMX released two number one albums in 1998, remaining the only rapper to do this. The message here is: strike while the iron’s hot. Considering Wayne’s prolific output, it’s not hard to imagine him ready to release an album as good as, if not better than Carter 3 quite quickly after it. But Wayne chose to explore his creativity, and this is what makes him one of hip-hop’s greatest characters.

Kaka and Lil Wayne are not two people you’ll find in a bar together. But are a pair whose fates and fortunes are fairly similar. Two unlikely characters who share an odd likeness in their narrative trajectories. Two of the last legends in music and football to write their stories before streaming numbers, before xG statistics. Perhaps Kaka and Wayne are both victims of timing. On the cusp of the 2010’s decade dominated by Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar, Kendrick, Kanye, Drake… Their greatness might’ve gotten lost in it all.

But just as Kaka showed us in Hoxton, and Wayne showed us on his latest release – Funeral – there is still much life left in these old dogs, yet.