Cool & Dre are a record production and songwriting duo from North Miami, Florida, consisting of Marcello "Cool" Antonio Valenzano and Andre "Dre" Christopher Lyon. The duo were first discovered by New York rapper Fat Joe and began their careers working in tandem to produce his albums Jealous Ones Still Envy (2001) and Loyalty (2002). Two years later, they produced the hit song "New York" by Ja Rule, and "Hate It or Love It" by the Game the following year, which peaked at numbers 27 and two on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Cool & Dre were later credited on the Billboard 200 number-one albums Tha Carter III (2008), Tha Carter IV (2011), and Tha Carter V (2018) by Lil Wayne, as well as the collaborative album, Everything Is Love (2018) by Jay-Z and Beyoncé, which won a Grammy Award.
"Gettin' Some" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Shawnna. It was released on December 3, 2005, via Disturbing tha Peace/Def Jam Recordings as a single from her second studio album Block Music. The original version of "Gettin' Some" appears on Block Music as a hidden track. The song samples Too Short's "Blowjob Betty".
"Make It Rain" is a song by American rapper Fat Joe, released in 2006 as the first single from his seventh album Me, Myself & I. It features American rapper Lil Wayne, who only raps the chorus, and was produced by Scott Storch. The song peaked at number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was released through EMI, Virgin Records, and Fat Joe's Terror Squad Entertainment.
"New York" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Ja Rule, released October 27, 2004 as the second single from his sixth studio album R.U.L.E. (2004). The track, produced by Cool & Dre, features fellow New York rappers Fat Joe and Jadakiss. The song's chorus is based on Boogie Down Productions' 1990 song, "100 Guns".
"We Takin' Over" is the first single from DJ Khaled's second album, We the Best. Akon, T.I., Rick Ross, Fat Joe, Baby, and Lil Wayne are all featured on this hip hop track. Nate "Danja" Hills assisted the artists in writing the song and is also the producer.
5 * Stunna is the third studio album by American rapper Birdman. It was released on December 11, 2007, by Cash Money Records and Universal Records. The album includes the productions from Kane Beatz, T-Mix, Cool & Dre, Young Yonny, DJ Tone, the Fliptones, Tommy Gunnz, Drumma Boy, Steve Morales and Raymond "Sarom" Diaz, among others. Rapper Lil Wayne has featured 7 out of 22 tracks throughout the whole album. The album debuted at number 18 on the US Billboard 200, selling 80,000 copies in the first week. To date, the album has sold 372,000 copies in the United States.
"100 Million" is the second single from Birdman's third studio album, 5 * Stunna. The track features Young Jeezy, Rick Ross and Lil Wayne, and was produced by Cool & Dre. Dre performs the chorus and DJ Khaled performs the intro and outro, but neither of the two are credited. The song discusses what Birdman believes is a major accomplishment: spending 100 million dollars. The song reached number sixty-nine on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and number eighteen on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. The song samples Ozzy Osbourne's "Mr. Crowley".
"Lollipop" is a song by American rapper and singer Lil Wayne posthumously featuring fellow American singer Static Major, issued on March 13, 2008, as the lead single from the former's sixth studio album, Tha Carter III (2008). The track, which heavily utilizes the Auto-Tune vocal effect, was produced by American record producers Deezle and Jim Jonsin. A remixed version with a guest appearance from American rapper Kanye West was released a bonus track for the album on iTunes.
"A Milli", abbreviated occasionally as "Milli", is a song by American rapper Lil Wayne. The song was released April 23, 2008, as the second official single from his sixth album Tha Carter III.
"My Life" is the third single from The Game's third studio album, LAX which was released on July 22, 2008. The song, produced by Cool & Dre, features Lil Wayne.
"Swagga Like Us" is a song by American rappers Jay-Z and T.I. featuring fellow American rappers Lil Wayne and Kanye West, the latter of whom also produced the song, constructed primarily around a vocal sample of "Paper Planes" by British musician M.I.A. It was released on September 6, 2008, in the United States as the fifth single from T.I.'s sixth album Paper Trail (2008). The track was also initially slated for inclusion on Jay-Z's eleventh album The Blueprint 3 (2009), however it ultimately failed to make the final track listing.
Rebirth is the seventh studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released February 2, 2010, on Cash Money Records, Young Money Entertainment and Universal Motown. The album's production was primarily handled by Cool & Dre, DJ Infamous, DJ Nasty & LVM, Kevin Rudolf, and J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League. Rebirth was promoted as Wayne's rock music debut, though it includes some hip hop tracks. The album features guest appearances from Eminem, Kevin Rudolf, Shanell and Nicki Minaj.
"Forever" is a song by Canadian rapper Drake, and American rappers Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Eminem. Written alongside producer Boi-1da, the song was originally released on August 27, 2009, as the third single from the soundtrack to LeBron James's More than a Game documentary, and was placed on the Refill re-release of Eminem's album Relapse (2009).
Tha Carter IV is the ninth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released on August 29, 2011, through Cash Money Records, Universal Republic Records and Young Money Entertainment. Recording sessions for the album began in late 2008, shortly after Lil Wayne's sixth studio album, Tha Carter III (2008) was released to strong sales and critical acclaim: however, the sessions were put on hold, as Lil Wayne claimed he did not want to follow an album he held in high regard so quickly with another, potentially inferior release. In the interim, Lil Wayne released his two other albums in 2010: the largely rock-themed Rebirth, and I Am Not a Human Being. The latter was reportedly composed from unreleased material from the original Tha Carter IV sessions, as the album was released whilst Wayne served a prison sentence at Rikers Island prison for illegal possession of a weapon, and was thus unable to record any new material: this also meant Tha Carter IV's recording sessions were once more put on hold.
"No Love" is a song by American rapper Eminem, featuring fellow American rapper Lil Wayne, from Eminem's seventh studio album Recovery (2010). It was released as the third official single from the album. It impacted radio on October 5, 2010. "No Love" was produced by American hip hop record producer Just Blaze. The song samples "What Is Love" by Haddaway. It features the chorus of the song as the backing vocals. "No Love" reached number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. It has sold more than a million digital downloads in the United States. It was ranked the 8th best song of 2010 by Complex.
"Look at Me Now" is a song by American singer Chris Brown featuring American rappers Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes released as the second single from Brown's fourth studio album F.A.M.E. on February 1, 2011. The artists co-wrote the song with its producers Afrojack, Diplo, and Free School, with additional writing from Ryan Buendia. Musically, "Look at Me Now" is a "dirty south–inspired" hip hop song that features "thumping bass, spacy synth and horn jam sounds."
"Red Nation" is a song by American rapper and West Coast hip hop artist Game featuring vocals from rapper Lil Wayne, from his anticipated fourth studio album The R.E.D. Album. Released as the album's lead single on April 12, 2011, the song was written by Game and Lil Wayne, and it was produced by Miami-based production duo Cool & Dre, noted for producing three of Game's singles including the 2005 smash hit single "Hate It or Love It" which featured vocals from former fellow G-Unit member rapper 50 Cent. The single also marks the second collaboration between Game and Lil Wayne, their first collaboration being on Game's 2008 international hit single "My Life" from his third studio album LAX (2008), which featured vocals from Lil Wayne during the song's chorus. The song features a music sample of the nightclub hit "Kernkraft 400" (2000) performed by German techno and electro band Zombie Nation from their debut album Leichenschmaus (1999).
I Am Not a Human Being II is the tenth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was released on March 26, 2013, by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Republic Records. Recording sessions took place during 2006 to 2012, with Lil Wayne serving as the records executive producers, alongside Ronald "Slim" Williams and Birdman, who enlisted a wide variety of record producers such as Cool & Dre, Mike Will Made It, David Banner, T-Minus, Diplo, Juicy J and Street Runner, among others. The album serves as the sequel to I Am Not a Human Being (2010), incorporating the elements of these hip hop styles. The album was supported by three singles: "No Worries" featuring Detail, "Love Me" featuring Drake and Future, and "Rich As Fuck" featuring 2 Chainz; the latter of which peaked at numbers 29, 9 and 38 respectively, on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was the last album Lil Wayne released under Cash Money Records.
Jesus Piece is the fifth studio album by American rapper the Game, released on December 11, 2012, by DGC Records and Interscope Records, his last release on both labels as he parted ways a year following. The album is also the final DGC Records album to be released as the label became inactive in 2013, before being permanently merged into Interscope's division and Game's previous label, Geffen Records in September 2021.
"Celebration" is a song by American rapper Game featuring fellow American rappers Tyga, Wiz Khalifa, & Lil Wayne and American singer Chris Brown, released as the lead single from the former's fifth studio album Jesus Piece. "Celebration" premiered on Los Angeles' Power 106 on August 22, 2012. The song samples Bone Thugs-n-Harmony's hit single "1st of tha Month", which in return samples the Chapter 8 and Anita Baker song "I Just Want to Be Your Girl".
