by Ore Fakorede

Diminutive dreadlocked rapper Lil Wayne is a prodigy of some sort. Born Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr., the New Orleans native was signed onto Cash Money Records label at age nine. At seventeen, he released his debut solo album, The Block Is Hot, which sold over a million copies worldwide. Although his sophomore and third albums failed to live up to the standards Lil Wayne had set for himself on his debut, the rapper had become a fixture on the world hip hop map.

In 2008, Lil Wayne released his most successful album ever, Tha Carter III. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 200 chart, selling over a million copies in the first week of its release. Certified three times platinum, the album went on to spawn four hit singles (including the innuendo-ridden Lollipop) and won Wayne three Grammy Awards in 2009.

After the diversions posed by the experimental Rebirth and I Am Not A Human albums as well as his eight-month incarceration for attempted criminal possession of a weapon, Lil Wayne has once again set his sights on releasing a masterpiece on the level of Tha Carter III. John is the second single (after the successful 6 Foot 7 Foot ) off his highly anticipated ninth studio album, Tha Carter IV. The song features fellow rapper Rick Ross and contains samples of Ross’ I Am Not A Star. With a heavy presence of synths and banging snares, the Polow Da Don-produced single easily falls into the arena rap sub-genre. A dark-themed accompanying video was released recently. Watch it here and share your thoughts below.

Warning: the song explores explicit lyrical themes.

Oluwapelumi