Funeral (Lil Wayne album) explained

Funeral
Type:Studio
Artist:Lil Wayne
Cover:Funeral (Lil Wayne album).jpg
Released:January 31, 2020
Recorded:2016–2019
Genre:Hip hop[1]
Length:76:04
Label:
Producer:
Prev Title:Tha Carter V
Prev Year:2018
Next Title:No Ceilings 3
Next Year:2020

Funeral is the thirteenth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was released on January 31, 2020, by Young Money Entertainment and Republic Records.[2] It features guest appearances by Big Sean, Lil Baby, Jay Rock, Adam Levine, 2 Chainz, Takeoff, The-Dream, Lil Twist, the late XXXTentacion and O.T. Genasis. On May 29, the deluxe edition of the album was released with guest appearances from Doja Cat, Tory Lanez, Lil Uzi Vert, Benny the Butcher, Conway the Machine, and Jessie Reyez.[3]

"I Do It" featuring Big Sean and Lil Baby was released as a single the same day as the album.[4] "Shimmy" featuring Doja Cat was sent to rhythmic contemporary radio on July 28, 2020, as the album's second single.[5]

The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, while charting moderately in other territories. It was relatively overlooked by professional review outlets, although several critics were somewhat positive in appraising the album.

Recording and production

In 2016, while Lil Wayne was in the midst of the legal battle with Cash Money Records over contractual disputes, it was announced that his next album would be titled Funeral.[6] The album was completed in 2019, as Wayne started promoting the album again.[7] [8] In an interview with Vibe, Lil Wayne spoke on how his recording process changed throughout his career, saying:

The track "Bing James" concludes with 24 seconds of silence, paying tribute to the death of Kobe Bryant. The album also contains 24 tracks on the standard edition and 8 tracks on the deluxe edition, honoring Kobe Bryant's jersey numbers with the Los Angeles Lakers.[9]

Marketing and sales

In an interview leading up to the album's release, Lil Wayne explained the title Funeral as a continuation of his album Rebirth in 2010, to follow-up on the series.[10] [11] The calligraphic text on the cover features a rotational ambigram. It reads Funeral right side up and Lil Wayne upside down.[12] On January 23, 2020, Lil Wayne revealed the album's release date and artwork.[13] With the announcement, he also teased a snippet of the album's title track.[14] [15] [16]

Funeral debuted atop the US Billboard 200 for the week of February 15, 2020, recording 139,000 album-equivalent units, 38,000 of which were pure album sales. It is Lil Wayne's fifth US number-one album.[17]

Critical reception

Funeral was met with a mixed to positive response from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 62, based on 10 reviews. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 5.9 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[18] According to Robert Christgau, the album was "downplayed by most of the few outlets that bothered to review it at all—five mostly kindish notices are nonetheless stuck down in Metacritic’s dread 50-60 zone, with only Rolling Stones a takedown pan."

Reviewing in February 2020 for Consequence of Sound, Christopher Thiessen said that "Funeral plays less like an album and more like a mixtape" and wrote of Lil Wayne: "He still has endless punchlines to punctuate his effortless flow. He still has clear vision and awareness of his place in the hip-hop game. However, Wayne is not a great editor, and thus listening to Funeral can become exhausting about halfway through."[19] Jacob Carey of Exclaim! also criticized the length of the album and concluded that, "overall, Funeral lacks replay value compared to the multiple 'best of the year' albums that Wayne has proven capable of creating."[20] NMEs Thomas Hobbs felt that the songs lack a unifying quality within the context of an album, while interpreting the large number of tracks as "an attempt to play into streaming politics". He added that, "it's a real shame that the ambitious druggy swirl of some of the earlier material is replaced with more formulaic songwriting".[21] Danny Schwartz wrote in Rolling Stone: "Funeral is wildly uneven, a landscape of pronounced highs and lows. In truth, it peaks early, on 'Mahogany'." Schwartz called "Trust Nobody" the worst song on the album, labeling it a "sunk by a banal and out-of-place Adam Levine hook, while noting that "Get Out Of My Head" is "soured by the great rap pedant XXXTentacion" and called "Sights and Silencers" a "surprisingly limp The-Dream ballad that he should have just given to Jeremih". While applauding the parental neglect-themed "Bastard (Satan's Kid)", he ultimately found Funeral to be "emotionally adrift".[22]

Other reviewers were more enthusiastic. In The Observer, Kitty Empire wrote that Lil Wayne's "flow can still be fearsome, even if his edit function remains iffy", and that songs such as "Clap for Em" are more than lively enough to render the album's title "nonsense".[23] Pitchfork's Sheldon Pearce credited him for "experimenting with an array of styles and a dizzying maze of wordplay", while comparing his raps to thrilling romps: "Wayne raps with a lightning ferocity that will often conceal his more direct revelations." Similarly, RapReviews critic Ryan Feyre said that "Wayne, much like in his mixtape days, is finally having fun again. And when he does that, the results are captivating."[24] In his Substack-published "Consumer Guide" column, Christgau regarded the album as the rapper's best since No Ceilings (2009) and explained: "Cherishing no vested interest in hip-hop's musical progress, if any, I enjoy the shit out of it while admitting it's more a collection than an album, its parts more impressive than what they add up to. But it had me from the superb lead/title track: 'Welcome to the funeral/Closed casket as usual/Soul snatching, that’s usual/Amen, hallelujah though/Whole family delusional/Niggas cryin’ like two-year-olds.'"

Track listing

Notes

Sample credits

Personnel

Musicians

Technical

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart performance for Funeral
Chart (2020)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[31] 68
French Albums (SNEP)[32] 110

Year-end charts

2020 year-end chart performance for Funeral
Chart (2020)Position
US Billboard 200[33] 127
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[34] 54

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Breihan. Tom. January 31, 2020. Stream Lil Wayne's New Album Funeral. Stereogum. July 17, 2020.
  2. Saponara . Michael . Lil Wayne Shares 'Funeral' Album Release Date . Billboard . January 30, 2020.
  3. Web site: Bloom . Madison . Lil Wayne Shares New Songs With Lil Uzi Vert, Doja Cat, More: Listen . Pitchfork. 30 May 2020 .
  4. The new single I Do It ft. @BigSean & @lilbaby4PF off #Funeral is now available.... January 31, 2020. February 27, 2020. LilTunechi. Lil Wayne. 1223495272044679168.
  5. Web site: Top 40 Rhythmic Future Releases. All Access. July 27, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200723180946/https://www.allaccess.com/top40-rhythmic/future-releases. July 23, 2020.
  6. Web site: Lil Wayne's New 'Funeral' Project Is on the Way – XXL. 28 November 2016 . 2020-01-31. https://web.archive.org/web/20200125005226/https://www.xxlmag.com/news/2016/11/lil-waynes-new-funeral-project-on-the-way/. 2020-01-25. live.
  7. Web site: Is Lil Wayne teasing his Funeral album again? . The Fader . January 30, 2020.
  8. Web site: Everything We Know About Lil Wayne's New Album 'Funeral' . Complex . January 30, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200129162303/https://www.complex.com/music/2020/01/lil-wayne-new-album-funeral-everything-we-know/ . January 29, 2020 . live .
  9. Saponara . Michael . Lil Wayne Honors Kobe Bryant With 24 Seconds of Silence on 'Funeral' . Billboard . 2020-06-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200404052347/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/8549776/lil-wayne-kobe-bryant-24-seconds-silence-funeral . 2020-04-04 . live .
  10. Jones . Marcus . Lil Wayne talks new album Funeral: 'If my real funeral was tomorrow, it's still not my last album' . Entertainment Weekly . February 2, 2020.
  11. Web site: First Impressions of Lil Wayne's New Album 'Funeral' . Complex . February 2, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200202002520/https://www.complex.com/music/2020/01/lil-wayne-new-album-funeral-first-impressions . February 2, 2020 . live .
  12. Lil Wayne releases his 13th album, Funeral . Entertainment Weekly . April 16, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200409172257/https://ew.com/music/2020/01/31/lil-wayne-releases-13th-album-funeral/ . April 9, 2020 . live .
  13. Web site: Lil Wayne to Drop New Album Funeral Next Friday . XXL . 23 January 2020 . January 30, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200125000835/https://www.xxlmag.com/news/2020/01/lil-wayne-funeral-album-release-date/ . January 25, 2020 . live .
  14. Lil Wayne Details New Album 'Funeral' . Rolling Stone . 24 January 2020 . January 30, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200125140556/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/lil-wayne-new-album-funeral-942396/ . January 25, 2020 . live .
  15. Web site: Lil Wayne Releasing New Album Funeral Next Week . Pitchfork . 24 January 2020 . January 30, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200125023154/https://pitchfork.com/news/lil-wayne-announces-new-album-teases-new-music-listen/ . January 25, 2020 . live .
  16. Web site: Lil Wayne Previews "Funeral" Song With Russell Westbrook Shoutout . HotNewHipHop . January 30, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200201113811/https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/lil-wayne-previews-funeral-song-with-russell-westbrook-shoutout-news.102383.html . February 1, 2020 . live .
  17. Lil Wayne Achieves Fifth No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'Funeral'. Billboard. Caulfield. Keith. February 9, 2020. February 10, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200313090008/https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/8550510/lil-wayne-funeral-fifth-no-1-billboard-200-album-chart. March 13, 2020. live.
  18. Web site: Funeral by Lil Wayne reviews Any Decent Music. www.anydecentmusic.com. February 4, 2020.
  19. Web site: Album Review: Lil Wayne's Funeral Celebrates a Life That's Far from Over. February 3, 2020. Consequence of Sound. February 5, 2020. February 4, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200204122915/https://consequenceofsound.net/2020/02/album-review-lil-wayne-funeral/. live.
  20. Web site: Lil Wayne Funeral. exclaim.ca. February 5, 2020.
  21. Web site: Lil Wayne – 'Funeral' review. February 2, 2020. NME. February 5, 2020.
  22. Lil Wayne Displays Moments of Genius on the Wildly Uneven 'Funeral'. Schwartz. Danny. February 3, 2020. Rolling Stone. February 5, 2020.
  23. Web site: Lil Wayne: Funeral review – fearsome and full of life. Empire. Kitty. February 9, 2020. The Guardian. February 13, 2020.
  24. Web site: Feyre. Ryan. February 11, 2020. Lil Wayne :: Funeral. RapReviews. July 18, 2020.
  25. Web site: Fuse. on Instagram: "@liltunechi "Know You Know" feat @2chainz prod by @fuse808mafia @javarsaidpickupthatbag @bobby_keyzz #Funeral". https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/B7-in8BJ6Ar . 2021-12-24 . limited. Instagram. January 31, 2020. January 31, 2020.
  26. Web site: Natra on Instagram: "Track 18 prod by @prxzx and me ❗". https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/B7_Mzd7n6Oc . 2021-12-24 . limited. Instagram. January 31, 2020. January 31, 2020.
  27. Web site: STREETRUNNER on Instagram: "New album @liltunechi #Funeral in stores now! #NotMe Produced by @streetrunnermusic x @realkillat x Amos Roddy #Harden Produced by…". https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/B7-ghniHWLo . 2021-12-24 . limited. Instagram. January 31, 2020. February 3, 2020.
  28. Web site: Lil Wayne: Funeral Album Review. Pitchfork. Pearce. Sheldon. February 3, 2020. February 4, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200204231502/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/lil-wayne-funeral/. February 4, 2020. live.
  29. Web site: Lil Wayne's "Clap For Em" Samples The Showboys' "Drag Rap (Triggerman)". Genius. Kelley. Caitlin. February 2, 2020. February 4, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200203122651/https://genius.com/a/lil-waynes-clap-for-em-samples-the-showboys-drag-rap-triggerman. February 3, 2020. live.
  30. Web site: The Tracklib Sample on Lil Wayne's new No. 1 Album 'Funeral' Tracklib Blog. 2020-01-31. Tracklib. en-US. 2020-02-11.
  31. Web site: ARIA Chart Watch #563. auspOp. February 8, 2020. February 8, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200216185818/https://www.auspop.com.au/2020/2/aria-chart-watch-563/. February 16, 2020. dead.
  32. Web site: Top Albums (Week 6, 2020). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. fr. February 11, 2020.
  33. Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2020. Billboard. December 5, 2020.
  34. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2020. Billboard. December 14, 2020.

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