Lil Wayne's long-awaited Tha Carter V is still slated to release sometime in the fall, after reaching a settlement on two long-running lawsuits with Cash Money Records and Universal Music Group.

In a new cover story with Billboard, Weezy talks more about the forthcoming album which was initially scheduled to drop in 2014, the issues leading to the delayed release, his stance on Drake and Nicki Minaj, as well as revealing that he once attempted suicide, and more.

Read the most glaring takeaways from the interview below, and for the entire cover story, head over to Billboard.

On the lawsuits with Cash Money Records and Universal Music Group...

"I’m a very passionate guy about anything I do. So once I find out that I’m being f**ked over, I’m going to be passionate about that emotion toward how I feel about it."

On how the delayed release of Tha Carter V was a distraction from his art and not the money he was owed...

"The difficult part of it, was finally having to pull the curtains back and see what the hell was out that window -- having to actually care about other things than my music and my lyrics."

On practicing skateboard tricks to ease his mind...

"Once you put your feet on the board and start a session and notice that five hours have went by, you actually forgot what you was mad about ’cause you been too stuck on what you was trying to do. Whatever other reality is going on outside -- I don’t care how serious it is -- to you, it is not landing that f**kin’ fakie switch nosegrind."

On how his children helped him get through the legal battle...

"My four jewels -- when I FaceTime one of them, man, everything goes away. I didn’t let it get to me too much.. Just the confidence in knowing that there’s always a tomorrow and I’m going to make sure that tomorrow is bright. Some people can’t go on [like] that, like, ‘OK, tomorrow will be better.’ They need it to be better right now. And thank God I didn’t, and I never did."

On his mindset after finally reaching a settlement, and his relationship with Birdman...

"Not even just with him, but my relationships with a lot of people have become different, just because of how different I work now. I’m submerged in everything about myself, trying to be better at who I am. It’s something where you have to cut some things off."

On how injuring his heel kept him from skating and forced him into the studio...

"God telling me, ‘You have to go to work, bro.’"

On Drake and Nicki Minaj...

"They all the way -- they got it. They know how to make them joints that y’all going to be runnin’ to. I’m something else with my music. I’m coming straight at Drake’s and Nicki’s neck, Lord have mercy, I’m talkin’ ’bout machetes. I’ma out-sing Drake, I’ma date Nicki. It’s goin’ down."

On his creativity and his thoughts about how Tha Carter V will be received.

"I’m very much a perfectionist... I don’t know what it’s setting me up for -- some big comeback, or maybe some big fall back or whatever -- but it’s setting me up for something, and I’m ready."

On his greatness...

"I must be a hell of a motherf**ker. In football, when a motherf**ker hasn't been playing one year, we expect him to be nothing. Thank God I’m in music, and they still expect me to be up there with no one touching me, other than my own [Young Money] artists."

On retirement...

"I do think about retirement. I think about how I don’t think I ever will."

Furthermore, Lil Wayne also revealed that he once attempted suicide at the age of 12, while living in New Orleans with his mother. Wayne shot himself in the chest, with the bullet just missing his heart. In the past, the rapper had called it an accident, but in a new verse on his upcoming Tha Carter V album, he reveals that the self-inflicted wound was actually a suicide attempt. The rapper decided to finally tell the truth, following the suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain.

"In the past, he has called this an accident. But on the new verse he plays, Wayne admits this was a suicide attempt, undertaken after his mother told him he would no longer be allowed to rap," Billboard reports. The verse is reportedly in a song which samples British singer Sampha's 2013 single "Indecision."

For more, head over to Billboard.

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, there are resources to help you. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24/7, free, and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones. You can call directly at 1-800-273-8255. In the UK, you can contact Samaritans at 116-123. Also, in case you missed it, check out how Birdman apologized to Lil Wayne at Lil’ Weezyana fest.