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Heisman winner Travis Hunter has his fiancée to thank for introducing him to one of the most notable rappers in the world, Lil Wayne.
The 21-year-old admitted during his 2024 Heisman Trophy acceptance speech on Saturday that he was unfamiliar with Lil Wayne’s music before meeting his fiancée, Leanna Lenee.
“Wayne, you don’t know how you came into our life. My fiancée loves you,” Hunter said as the rapper sat alongside Colorado coach Deion Sanders and teammate Shedeur Sanders. “I didn’t know none of your songs until she let me know because I don’t listen to music. She let me know, she told me, ‘You gotta listen to this. If you’re going to listen to (music), listen to Wayne.'”
As he pumped himself up for games where he averaged 96 yards per game offensively and dominated on defense, Hunter admitted he was plugged into Lil Wayne’s music.
“From that day on, that is all I listen to,” Hunter said. “Pregame music, those are the songs I’m listening to. When I get in that TRX and I blast that music, I’m listening to Wayne.”
The Colorado Buffaloes star was born in 2003, making him just five-years old when Wayne’s best-selling album “Tha Carter III” was released. It would be three more years until Hunter’s acclaimed favorite song, 6 Foot 7 Foot was released on “Tha Carter IV.”
“It’s crazy. 6 Foot, 7 Foot, 8 Foot… That’s my song,” Hunter added. “I respect you for coming out here and supporting me man.”
Wayne, a five-time Grammy Award winner, was recently passed over for the 2025 NFL Super Bowl halftime performance in favor of Kendrick Lamar, much to Hunter’s dismay, as he shared on his podcast, The Travis Hunter Show.
“Kendrick Lamar being the halftime Super Bowl 59 halftime performance, it’s gonna be in New Orleans, which is kind of crazy cause I was thinking it was gonna be Lil Wayne all the way, and I’m about to be out there running on the field ‘six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch. Tryna go out there and be lit with Lil Wayne.”