A handwritten lyrics notebook once owned by Lil Wayne is for sale after a long-running court struggle over the item’s provenance was settled.

Moments in Time, a memorabilia site, has been fighting a legal battle over the right to sell the notebook for nearly five years. The diary documents Lil Wayne’s early days as a member of the Hot Boys, which formed in New Orleans in 1997. The group consisted of Lil Wayne, Juvenile, Turk, and B.G. Moments in Time first placed the notebook for sale in 2019, but Lil Wayne issued a cease-and-desist order and demanded that the notebook be returned.

The action is similar to what occurred to Don Henley of the Eagles in 2012, when pages from his handwritten lyrics notebooks went up for auction. According to Moments in Time, a man contacted them, claiming to have discovered Lil Wayne’s handwritten lyrics in a former Cash Money Records automobile. In February 2024, Judge Kern A. Reese of the Civil District Court of Orleans Parish, Louisiana, decided that Moments in Time could sell the documents.

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While the handwritten notebook was originally placed for sale in 2019 for $250,000, the price has now risen to $5 million following the judge’s consent. Lil Wayne’s lawyers filed the cease-and-desist, alleging the rapper’misplaced’ the notebook. However, Lil Tunechi did not respond to the court action in which the ‘Unknown Possessor’ argued “finders-keepers,” claiming that he is the rightful owner of the document.

The lyrics notebook includes handwritten lyrics to songs such as “Grown Man” and “We On Fire.” There looks to be a doodle of Mannie Fresh. Now, any Lil Wayne fan with enough money can own a handwritten piece of hip-hop history. Perhaps Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammed bin Salman is interested?

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The situation of Lil Wayne’s missing notebook differed from Don Henley’s in one important way: Henley’s handwritten notes were stolen. Three individuals, including a rare book collector, memorabilia specialist, and a former Rock and Roll Hall of Fame curator, were charged with conspiracy after knowingly possessing and attempting to sell stolen goods. The kicker? Despite featuring handwritten lyrics for classics such as “Hotel California,” “Life in the Fast Lane,” and “New Kid In Town,” those lyrics pages were only valued at around $1 million.

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