Lil Wayne Feat. Rick Ross John (2011)

It could have been his emotional swansong, and much of this long-delayed record is an elegiac homage to Lil Wayne’s outlier status as an elder statesman of hip-hop. Yet he cheapens himself on ‘Tha Carter V’. Dwayne Carter Jr.’s long-delayed ‘Tha Carter V’ begins with a monologue from his mother, Jacida Carter. Entitled ‘I Love You Dwayne’, it opens with an emotional Jacida saying, “Lil Wayne, mama proud of you – you done come so far.” She continues, “Thank the lord, because I know you have been through a lot that I don’t even know about.” It’s true that Wayne has had a rough – well – near-decade since he won four Grammys in 2009. Overall, he’s graced the Billboard Hot 100 138 times, scored three Number One albums and sold more than 17.2 million records in America alone (more than 100 million worldwide). In recent years, though, he’s been mired in legal wrangles with his mentor Birdman’s Cash Money label – hence the four-year delay for this record – battled addiction with codeine and suffered a series of very serious seizures.

It’s been 10 years since Big Sean released Finally Famous. To celebrate the occasion, he has remixed and remastered his 2011 debut album, which spawned the hit singles “My Last” with Chris Brown and “Dance (A$$) [Remix]” with Nicki Minaj, plus appearances from Kanye West, John Legend, The-Dream, and Pusha-T. “This is the album that changed everything for me. It took me from being a mixtape artist to going from city to city and hearing myself on the radio,” recalled Sean. “My voice was super high. I was just figuring it out, dawg, nervous as hell.”

Rebirth is the 2009 album by Lil Wayne, who was born Dwayne Carter Jr. This was his 7th album, released by Ca$h Money, distributed by Universal Motown.

The 2018 remake of '70s blaxploitation classic Super Fly is about a young hustler trying to escape street life in Atlanta—so who better to helm a soundtrack to such travails than the rapper who’s had the city eating out of his palm for years? Future appears on 10 of these 13 tracks, flexing his usual wide range of dope-boy emotions. He's an unrepentant lothario on “No Shame” (featuring PARTYNEXTDOOR) and a gleeful showboat on “Show My Chain Some Love” with Young Thug. Like any good hero’s tale, the album has tender moments as well: Miguel plays a suave balladeer on “R.A.N.,” and there's a smoldering duet from Khalid and H.E.R. in which the pair hold each responsible for their own shortcomings as lovers.

R&B and soul legend John Legend reports back. Full of vulnerability, praise and healing - his album "Legend" will be released in 2022!

In The City is the 2009 debut album by Kevin Rudolf. Along with his brand of alternative rock, he also brings in a few rappers from the Cash Money stable and reason? He is signed to Cash Money, in association with Universal Republic.