Lil Wayne finally delivered his long-awaited new album Tha Carter V, and it features a slew of guest appearances from famous and up-and-coming names.
First and foremost, album opener "I Love You Dwayne" is a spoken word piece by Wayne's own mom, Jacida Carter — who also appears on the album artwork with a little Wayne before he became Lil Wayne.
"Don't Cry" follows, bringing in a chorus from the late controversial rapper XXXTentacion, who was shot dead in Florida earlier this year.
Things get a little more meta on "Dedicate," which samples "Dedication" by 2 Chainz — a song that in itself is a tribute to Wayne. At the end of the track, he even samples a speech by Barack Obama, where the former president says: "They might think they've got a pretty good jump shot, or a pretty good flow. But our kids can't all aspire to be LeBron or Lil Wayne!"
"Uproar" doesn't have any guests per se, but it does hear producer Swizz Beatz reworking the melody from G-Dep's 2001 track "Special Delivery." Wayne previously rapped over the same instrumental on his Dedication 4 cut "Green Ranger," which featured J. Cole.
"Let It Fly" hears Wayne sharing bars with hip-hop phenom Travis Scott, before going it alone on "Can't Be Broken."
Nicki Minaj — who isn't on friendly terms with Scott — puts aside her differences with Wayne's collaborators and appears on "Dark Side of the Moon." Hell, she even mines some of his "Sicko Mode" moon-related imagery, rapping: "Tell me will I see you soon / Meet you on the moon?
Kendrick Lamar, meanwhile, hops on "Mona Lisa." If the song sounds familiar, you have evil pharma-villain Martin Shkreli to that for that; he leaked it last year.
"What About Me" features Taylor Gang's Sosamann, but he brings it back into the family on "Famous," enlisting his daughter Reginae Carter to sing the hook.
Another hip-hop heavyweight, Snoop Dogg, appears on "Dope Niggaz," enlightening listeners with lines like, "You are what you smoke."
Ashanti, Mack Maine and Mannie Fresh all hop on "Start This Shit Off Right" (towards the end of the album), while Nivea provides the chorus on "Dope New Gospel."
Finally, the 23-song offering comes to an end with a cameo from UK crooner Sampha. The chorus comes courtesy of the singer's 2013 track "Indecision."
The record also features production credits from the likes of Metro Boomin, Mannie Fresh, Zaytoven, Ben Billions, Cool & Dre and more.
Hear the whole thing for yourself over here.
First and foremost, album opener "I Love You Dwayne" is a spoken word piece by Wayne's own mom, Jacida Carter — who also appears on the album artwork with a little Wayne before he became Lil Wayne.
"Don't Cry" follows, bringing in a chorus from the late controversial rapper XXXTentacion, who was shot dead in Florida earlier this year.
Things get a little more meta on "Dedicate," which samples "Dedication" by 2 Chainz — a song that in itself is a tribute to Wayne. At the end of the track, he even samples a speech by Barack Obama, where the former president says: "They might think they've got a pretty good jump shot, or a pretty good flow. But our kids can't all aspire to be LeBron or Lil Wayne!"
"Uproar" doesn't have any guests per se, but it does hear producer Swizz Beatz reworking the melody from G-Dep's 2001 track "Special Delivery." Wayne previously rapped over the same instrumental on his Dedication 4 cut "Green Ranger," which featured J. Cole.
"Let It Fly" hears Wayne sharing bars with hip-hop phenom Travis Scott, before going it alone on "Can't Be Broken."
Nicki Minaj — who isn't on friendly terms with Scott — puts aside her differences with Wayne's collaborators and appears on "Dark Side of the Moon." Hell, she even mines some of his "Sicko Mode" moon-related imagery, rapping: "Tell me will I see you soon / Meet you on the moon?
Kendrick Lamar, meanwhile, hops on "Mona Lisa." If the song sounds familiar, you have evil pharma-villain Martin Shkreli to that for that; he leaked it last year.
"What About Me" features Taylor Gang's Sosamann, but he brings it back into the family on "Famous," enlisting his daughter Reginae Carter to sing the hook.
Another hip-hop heavyweight, Snoop Dogg, appears on "Dope Niggaz," enlightening listeners with lines like, "You are what you smoke."
Ashanti, Mack Maine and Mannie Fresh all hop on "Start This Shit Off Right" (towards the end of the album), while Nivea provides the chorus on "Dope New Gospel."
Finally, the 23-song offering comes to an end with a cameo from UK crooner Sampha. The chorus comes courtesy of the singer's 2013 track "Indecision."
The record also features production credits from the likes of Metro Boomin, Mannie Fresh, Zaytoven, Ben Billions, Cool & Dre and more.
Hear the whole thing for yourself over here.
