| "Mona Lisa" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Lil Wayne featuring Kendrick Lamar | |
| from the album Tha Carter V | |
| Released | September 28, 2018 |
| Recorded | 2014 |
| Length | 5:24 |
| Label | |
| Songwriter(s) |
|
| Producer(s) |
|
| Music video | |
| "Mona Lisa" on YouTube | |
"Mona Lisa" is a song by American rapper Lil Wayne featuring fellow American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on September 28, 2018, as the eighth track off of Wayne's album Tha Carter V .
Infamous, the producer of the track, began work on it in 2014. [1] He considered leaking the track after a few years, but refrained from the action when he heard Tha Carter V was being released. [2] Former Pharma-CEO and convicted felon Martin Shkreli shared part of the song in 2017 on streaming app Periscope. [3]
 | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2023) |
The track has the longest duration out of any track on the album, with a length of 5:24. [4] At 0:20 of the track, a sample of Wayne's 2008 hit, "Lollipop," is used.
Lil Wayne's song "Mona Lisa," featuring rapper and songwriter Kendrick Lamar, narrates the story of their interactions with a seductive stranger, "Mona Lisa," otherwise referred to as "Liz."
Kendrick is the first to appear in the song intro to let the listener know a story is about to be told. Wayne's verse followed, and he started sharing his side as a tough gangster and co-conspirator, lured by Liz, a captivating seductress. Wayne's verse depicts what transpires when one becomes allured by a stranger, telling a tale of passion, exploitation, and danger. Kendrick's feature in Verse 3 responds to Wayne's perspective, giving the view of Liz's boyfriend and enumerating his actions to show that he loves and cares about her.
The track received critical acclaim. Kevin Goddard of HotNewHipHop called the track a "lyrical onslaught", and said that Wayne and Kendrick had "slick flows & witty metaphors". [5] Israel Daramola of Spin called the track a "fascinating story of deceit and lust". [6]
The track debuted at number two behind Maroon 5 and Cardi B's "Girls Like You" on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the highest-charting song from the album. [7]
| Chart (2018) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA) [8] | 42 |
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100) [9] | 7 |
| Lithuania (AGATA) [10] | 26 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [11] | 39 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [12] | 36 |
| UK Singles (Official Charts Company) [13] | 21 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 [14] | 2 |
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ( Billboard ) [15] | 1 |
| US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard) [16] | 1 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA) [17] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, and widely considered one of the greatest rappers of all time. Born and raised in New Orleans, he was discovered by hometown rapper Birdman in 1993 and signed with the latter's record label, Cash Money Records, at age eleven. He emerged as the flagship artist of the label in the following years until his departure in June 2018.
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.
Tha Carter III is the sixth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released on June 10, 2008, by Cash Money, Universal Motown and Young Money Entertainment. It follows a string of mixtape releases and guest appearances on other hip hop and R&B artists' albums. The album features appearances from Jay-Z, T-Pain, Fabolous, Robin Thicke, Busta Rhymes, Juelz Santana, Babyface, Bobby V, and Kanye West, among others. It also features Static Major, who is credited posthumously following his death in February of that year.
Young Money Entertainment is an American record label founded by rapper Lil Wayne in 2005. It was launched as an imprint of Cash Money Records — a joint venture colloquially branded as Young Money Cash Money Billionaires — and Republic Records until 2018, after which the label operated severally as an imprint of latter. Wayne's longtime affiliate, rapper Mack Maine was appointed the company's president in 2009.
"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, as well as featuring new verses from Lil Wayne, was released as 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.
"Mr. Carter" is a song by American rapper Lil Wayne featuring fellow American rapper Jay-Z, released on July 1, 2008, as a promotional single from the former's sixth album Tha Carter III (2008). Produced by DJ Infamous and Drew Correa, the title refers to the two artists' shared surname, although the two are not related. In the song, Wayne borrows lyrics from Jay-Z's song "Lucky Me", from his 1997 album In My Lifetime, Vol. 1. Lil Wayne had said that this track is his favorite from Tha Carter III.
"Mrs. Officer" is the fourth single from Lil Wayne's album Tha Carter III. Its lyrics explore the tension between criminal suspects and police officers by portraying a relationship between Lil Wayne and a female police officer; it goes so far as to reference the famous N.W.A rap song "Fuck tha Police". The song features Bobby Valentino and Kidd Kidd, and is produced by Deezle. The Music video officially debuted on September 9, 2008 It was ranked the No. 25 Hip-Hop song of 2008 by MTV.
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.
"John" is a song by American rapper Lil Wayne, and the second single from his album Tha Carter IV. The song features rapper Rick Ross, and it peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100. "John" was released on March 24, 2011, on iTunes. The song uses the hook from Rick Ross' song "I'm Not a Star" from his album Teflon Don. The song title is a reference to English musician John Lennon. Lil Wayne performed the song at 2011's MTV Video Music Awards to the riff of Black Sabbath song, Iron Man.
"She Will" is a song by American rapper Lil Wayne featuring Canadian rapper Drake. Written alongside producer T-Minus, it was released on August 16, 2011 as the fourth single from the former's ninth studio album Tha Carter IV. It was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales exceeding 4 million units on September 27, 2022.
"Mirror" is a song by American rapper Lil Wayne featuring American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars. The second bonus track on the deluxe edition of Tha Carter IV (2011), was released to urban contemporary radio stations as the sixth and final single on September 13, 2011, through Young Money, Cash Money, and Universal Republic Records. The artists wrote the song alongside Phillip Lawrence and producer Ramon "REO" Owen of the Soundkillers, with co-production from the Smeezingtons. The song was produced three years before its release. Owen, with Mike Caren's help, was able to get the track to several rappers, who rejected it. Lil Wayne liked the song after hearing it, however, and his verses were added to Mars's hook vocals already on the track.
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.
"Fuckin' Problems" is a song by American rapper ASAP Rocky, featuring Canadian rapper Drake and fellow American rappers 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar. It was released on October 24, 2012, as the second single from Rocky's debut studio album Long. Live. ASAP (2013), and was later released to radio on November 27, 2012.
Tha Carter V is the twelfth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was released on September 27, 2018, by Young Money Entertainment and Republic Records. The album's release date coincided with the day of Lil Wayne's 36th birthday. The album's features include Swizz Beatz, Kendrick Lamar, Sosamann, Lil Wayne's daughter Reginae Carter, Snoop Dogg, Nicki Minaj, Ashanti, Mack Maine, Travis Scott, Nivea, and the late XXXTentacion, with bonus tracks and the deluxe edition featuring additional appearances from Post Malone, Gucci Mane, Raekwon, and 2 Chainz.
American rapper Lil Wayne has released 286 singles including 19 promotional singles. Lil Wayne attained his first singles chart entry in 1999 as a featured artist on Hot Boys member Juvenile's single "Back That Azz Up", which peaked at number 19 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 and became a top ten hit on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts. Wayne later released his debut solo studio album Tha Block Is Hot in November 1999. Its title track and lead single, which features B.G. and Juvenile, reached number 72 on the Billboard Hot 100. Lights Out followed in December 2000 and produced the singles "Get Off the Corner", "Everything" and "Shine". "Way of Life", the lead single from Wayne's third studio album 500 Degreez, peaked at number 71 on the Hot 100 and became a top 20 hit on the Hot Rap Songs chart. In 2004, Wayne was featured on the single "Soldier" by American girl group Destiny's Child, which became his first top ten hit on the Hot 100 and enjoyed commercial success internationally.
"Believe Me" is a song by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was serviced to urban contemporary radio stations on May 6, 2014, in the United States and was released as a digital download on May 28, 2014. The song features a guest appearance by Canadian rapper Drake. It was released as the intended lead single from Wayne's twelfth studio album, Tha Carter V, however the song was omitted from the tracklist upon the album's delayed release in September 2018.
"New Freezer" is a song by American rapper Rich the Kid featuring fellow American rapper Kendrick Lamar, released on September 26. 2017. Written alongside producer Ben Jayne, it was released as the lead single from Rich the Kid's debut album The World Is Yours (2018). The original version featured A$AP Ferg and MadeinTYO. A$AP Ferg revealed in 2019 that Lamar agreed to feature on the track on the condition that he would be the only feature.
"Don't Cry" is a song by American rapper Lil Wayne featuring fellow American rapper XXXTentacion. "Don't Cry" was released as the second single from Lil Wayne's twelfth album Tha Carter V. The song uses vocals recorded by XXXTentacion prior to his death on June 18, 2018. It debuted and peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it became the second-highest charting song from the album and in XXXTentacion's discography.
"Wacced Out Murals" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released through PGLang and Interscope Records from his sixth studio album, GNX, on November 22, 2024. The song was produced by Sounwave, Jack Antonoff, Craig Balmoris, Dahi, Frano, and Tyler Reese, with additional production by M-Tech and Tim Maxey. The song features vocals by Mexican mariachi-singer Deyra Barrera.