AceShowbiz - Rapper Lil Wayne has heaped praise on his "real friend" Jay-Z for helping him pay his taxes during his legal battle with former mentor Bryan 'Birdman' Williams.

The "Lollipop" hitmaker filed a $51 million (£40.3 million) lawsuit against Birdman, officials at his Cash Money Records label, and parent firm Universal Music Group in 2015 over money he was allegedly owed for his long-delayed album, "Tha Carter V".

The two sides managed to reach a settlement earlier this year, allowing Wayne to celebrate his 36th birthday in late September by finally releasing the project.

He has been promoting the new material on his "I Ain't S**t Without You Tour" in recent weeks, and wrapped up the gigs with a stop in Chicago, Illinois on Sunday, December 23, when the show was streamed live on Jay-Z's Tidal music app.

During the performance, Wayne went public with the hip-hop mogul's generosity, revealing the "Empire State of Mind" icon had been one of his biggest supporters during the tough time in his career.

"There's people like Jay-Z. He helped me out when I was really, really, really down. Really, really, really down...," Wayne told the crowd. "Jay don't want me to tell nobody (but) that man helped me with my taxes. He's a real friend, y'all (sic)."

The rapper also revealed how producer Swizz Beatz had helped him get his career back on track, adding: "There's people like Swizz Beatz, who's gonna send me every single beat he make and wants me to rap on every single one until I got my situation straight (sic)."

@LilTunechi thanks JAY-Z and Swizz Beatz

"There's people like JAY-Z, he held me when I was really really down... Jay don’t want me to tell nobody, that man helped me with my taxes." - Lil Wayne tonight in Chicago #TIDALXLilWayne - 'I Ain't Shit Without You' Tour pic.twitter.com/qESixcsRGZ

— JAY-Z Daily (@JAY_Z_Daily) December 24, 2018

Jay-Z has long admired Lil Wayne, and even tried to sign him to his Roc-A-Fella Records label at the start of the Louisiana native's career.