Playboi Carti has never been one to do things halfway—and his latest stunt at the 2025 BET Awards was no exception. In an era where tribute performances often feel like safe, surface-level gestures, Carti showed up looking like he time-traveled straight out of the early 2000s—BAPE, saggy pants, and all.
Carti didn’t just borrow Lil Wayne’s aesthetic—he cracked open the vault, threw on the best references he could find, and sprinkled in a few diamonds for good measure. While the full Weezy-inspired fit went hard, nothing could top the accessory that proved rappers will ice-out anything these days: a lollipop. Still, turning a candy that costs less than $5 into something shiny, not edible, and worth more than most cars was a subtle fuck you money flex.
Much like the real melt-in-your-mouth thing, Carti’s lollipop has layers to it. Below, we unpack the lore of his “like a lollipop” ice.
Carti’s a Longtime Disciple of “Like Weezy”
Playboi Carti showed up to the 2025 BET Awards ready to cosplay Weezy F. Baby in 4K. He performed “LIKE WEEZY” and “RATHER LIE” in full tribute mode—and made sure nobody missed the memo.
From the moment he hit the stage, it was clear Carti wasn’t just referencing Wayne—he was spiritually possessed. The fit? Pure 2005: sagging jeans, BAPE hoodie, dark shades, and a whole lot of “I grew up watching 106 & Park” energy.
Carti’s love for Wayne runs deeper than just cosplay, though. He’s been citing Wayne as his rap blueprint for years. In a 2021 interview, Carti made it clear that when it comes to recording, he freestyles off the dome just like Weezy does.
“I’m right there in the moment. Everything is freestyle. Shout out Lil Wayne. I use whatever I bring with me that day…If something is stressing me out, I’ll come to dish that. If I’ve been hanging around my street, I’ll make street shit that day. No matter the vibe of that day, that’s how I come,” Carti said.
The track “BACKD00R” straight-up samples Wayne’s “Red Rum,” Carti sprinkles in Wayne-style ad-libs like hot sauce, and the more obvious Wayne homage comes in the form of “Like Weezy.” The Rich Kidz sampling track is rife with tributes to Wayne’s style and music. Off rip, the opening lyrics, “two-tone, yeah, A-Peezy, lookin’ like Weezy,” reference how Wayne was an early pioneer of Audemars Piguet watches among rappers.
However, Carti took his tribute fit to a whole new level when he stepped onstage holding a diamond-encrusted lollipop—a not-so-subtle nod to Wayne’s favorite red carpet candy and hit song of the same name. It was the final boss move in his Weezy cosplay. Subtlety? Yeah, that left the building.
Who Created the Diamond-Encrusted Lollipop?
Enter: the “STRAWBERRY DIAMOND LOLLIPOP,” a flex disguised as candy, created by none other than his longtime jewelry designer and fellow menace to minimalism, Alex Moss.
Yes, the same Alex Moss who made that red-eyed skull and crossbones chain back in 2018 with 140 carats of VVS diamonds, because apparently Carti needed a pirate moment to mark Die Lit. Since then, their creative partnership has only gotten more unhinged in the best way possible. Just last year, Moss made him two camo-style, diamond-crusted belt buckles repping “YVL” and “OPIUM” which might be the most expensive pant-sag to date (because you know those are never sitting at his waist).
For Moss, creating jewelry for the Opium gang is like working with family.
“…I grew up with everyone. All our projects we make together are absolutely fucking bananas because we’re on the same brainwave. It’s always fun when I make jewelry with those guys. We’re not close to stopping at all. We’ve got some crazy shit coming out,” he declared.
As for the lollipop itself? It’s about the size of a toddler’s fist and encrusted in pink and white diamonds. Word on the street is it costs six figures, but Carti treated it like it came from CVS. There’s footage of him actually licking the lollipop—another homage to the Wayne song, perhaps?
The virality of Carti and his lollipop came, in part, from its sheer absurdity. Some people didn’t rate it. Others saw what I saw—an elite, “when I get rich, there will be signs” flex from a tax bracket I can only dream of reaching.
