LIL WAYNE wants to thank rap rival 50 CENT for calling him a whore - because the insult has made him famous.
The Candy Shop hitmaker criticised Wayne last year (07), accusing him of taking any job for money.
50 told a radio interview, "A whore sleeps with whoever will pay him. So we gotta call him a whore..." But Wayne insists the insult did him a favour.
He tells Blender magazine, "Man, I have to call him and say thank you. He's catapulted me (to fame). White people know me now. Thank you." However, Wayne admits he would be far too scared to hit back at 50 and start a war of words: "F**k no. That n**ger thrives off that. I am not feeding that tiger. I'm smart. Do you see his size? I'm small.
"This n**ga's the hardest n**ga on planet earth. So, no, I'm not dissing 50."