Lil Wayne's 5 Best Features of the 2020's
Lil Wayne is about 100 years old and still killing the game. The sheer number of words he’s put into the universe is downright outrageous. I could go on for days about this man’s best songs and bars, and if you’re reading this, you probably could too, but I won’t bore you with backstory. I’m here to talk about his best features since the turn of the decade. These songs are all impressive in their own way, and it was next to impossible getting this down to five, even though there’s only 2-3 years of songs to choose from. Anyways, here’s the list:
Honorable Mentions
5. Drake - You Only Live Twice (with Lil Wanye & Rick Ross)
Lil Wayne has no problem holding his own next to top tier rappers, and this song was no exception. In my humble opinion, he outraps two of the GOATs in the genre, Drake and Rick Ross. Wayne’s wordplay is wild, and his ability to stick to a metaphor is unrivaled, like in this cute little animal reference: “I’m a dog, if you a dog then pull your tail out your a**, on this codeine I’m a turtle, it done shell-shocked my a**”. He sends us off with another cute mental image; “she lick my lollipop and my tear drops,” calling back to his 2008 classic, “Lollipop.”
4. Clever- Call Me Nobody (feat. Lil Wanye & Isaiah Lyric)
This is a really cool song, and Wayne’s feature makes it a hit. The raw emotion Clever puts into his work always amazes me because you can almost feel the pain in his voice. Wayne matches this energy and fits the vibe incredibly well. He changes his tone multiple times and goes from rapping to singing and back again. This variation keeps the listener hooked where they would normally be listening for insane lyrics and creative flows. This feature is more about versatility, and it shows his musical abilities beyond the 100mph bars and crazy punchlines he’s known for.
3. Lil Wayne & Rich The Kid - Headlock
This verse came on a project that hardly got any press. You might not even know their collab mixtape, Trust Fund Babies, exists. I realize this isn’t technically a feature, but it’s not really his own song so it’s close enough. Wayne’s verse starts acapella and still goes incredibly hard. There were lots of one liners in this track too, he claims “I treat the cash like it’s garbage,” and that was great motivation because honestly, I’m trying to get to that point too. He finished out the verse with a clever double entendre, “let me take off this red and get blew on.” If you don’t get that one, I don’t know what to tell you.
2. YoungBoy Never Broke Again - My Window (feat. Lil Wayne)
For this hit, Wayne linked up with everyone’s favorite father of 7, YoungBoy Never Broke Again. I was thrilled when this song came out because the vibes are great, the beat is captivating, and both rappers kill their verses. I was surprised it didn’t end up higher on the charts, especially given YoungBoy’s extremely dedicated (and toxic) fan base. In his verse, Wayne runs circles around the word “window.” He paints the mental picture of a cold world he’s looking at through his window, because he doesn’t want to go out. He talks about being paranoid and thinking people are “looking in [his] window”, but lets haters know not to mess with him when he says “I work the tec like Windows Microsoft.” That’s enough to keep me away.
1. Nicki Minaj - Seeing Green (with Drake & Lil Wayne)
I knew this song would go bananas before I even heard it. Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, and Drake… are you kidding me? These three could make a country song and I’d still love it. The trio’s teamed up several times in the past, so the chemistry was already there, plus this was one of the craziest beats of the year. Wayne starts his verse by saying “let me get this Balenciaga mask off”, an act he actually performed while recording. His first words sound muffled, then after saying the line (and removing the mask), his vocals sound clean again. This was so meta and I’m so here for it. Every time you think his verse is ending, he just takes another breath and keeps going. It’s unreal. We also learn something new about him when he says “I’m a badonkadonk and bikini fiend.” Who would’ve thought.
Did you agree with this list? Maybe get a little offended? Hit me up and let me know what you think.
