The 25 Best Lil Wayne Verses of 2011

He's Lil Tunechi. He's a nuisance. And on these songs he goes dumb like the Three Stooges.

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead

While most of his 2010 was wasted away in a 11 x 13 cell on Rikers Island, Wayne seemed determined to get that time (and a half) back by hitting 2011 with a bang. After completing his skid bid, he immediately hit the studio, only leaving to visit the occasional skate park.

Wayne's 2011 was typically prolific—releasing both a mixtape (<em>Sorry 4 The Wait</em>) and an album (<em>Tha Carter IV</em>), not to mention blessing the world with upwards of 30 guest appearances. A staggering output to say the least.

But while the MC was busy churning out verses and features for half the music industry, many critics felt his feverish pace left a lot to be desired. Accusations from the peanut gallery ran rampant: Wayne was unfocused, or he phoned in most of 2011.

Whatever.

Despite a few missteps, Weezy low-key dominated 2011. Between moving almost a milli units of <em>C4</em> in its first week, spawning five charting singles, and selling out a cross-country tour—2011 was truly Wayne’s World.

Just getting Birdman Jr. to grace a track was enough to resurrect a career on life support. (Ahem, Kelly Rowland). And for the right price, he can even make your shit tighter. (What up Ace Hood?) In honor of Weezy’s stellar 365, Complex has compiled his top 25 verses of the year. Recognize.

Written by Andrew Barber (@Fakeshoredrive)

25. Lil Wayne “Abortion” [Verse Two]

Not Available Interstitial


Best Line: “Life is a gamble, better check the point spread”
Producer: The Commission, StreetRunner
Album: Tha Carter IV
Label: Young Money/Cash Money/Universal

Not only did Wayne have the gall to name a song after one of America's most taboo topics, to make matters worse he failed to even touch on the subject throughout the song. Sure, the concept might have been half baked, but even when he's reaching, Weezy shines bright. To let him tell it, your name is not important, but neither is the song title. Even when he's in free-association mode, he's still better than any rapper on your roster.

24. Lil Wayne “Gucci, Gucci (Freestyle)” [Verse Two]

Not Available Interstitial


Best Line: “Til the wheels fall off, I can fix a flat/If you're scared go to church and get a scripture tat”
Producer: DJ Two Stacks, Adeptus
Album: Sorry 4 The Wait
Label: N/A

Wayne gets into full 2007 mode over Kreayshawn's infectious beat, while pulling from the most random patches of his brain. The always colorful rhymesmith compares his burner to the color of the plaques hanging on his wall, brags about rolling with dirty hoes, and claims to have guns the size of small children. But if you're feeling froggy, please don't leap. Weezy keeps a sweet potato over the barrel—just to prove ain't shit sweet, I guess?

23. Ke$ha f/ Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, TI & Andre 3000 “Sleazy 2.0 (Remix)”

Not Available Interstitial


Best Line: “Smoke that neon/Kings of Leon/Dynamite, Napoleon”
Producer: Bangladesh, Dr. Luke
Album: Single
Label: RCA

You're probably scratching your head trying to figure out how Ke$ha landed all of these rappers on the same song. Even more dizzying is trying to clock Wayne's race-car bars here. Displaying an energetic delivery reminiscent of his masterpiece, “A Milli,” Wayne shreds the track to pieces, using his voice as an instrument as he rhymes words that have no business being paired together.

22. Drake f/ Lil Wayne “HYFR (Hell Ya Fuckin Right)”

Not Available Interstitial


Best Line: “My nuts hang like ain't no curfew”
Producer: T-Minus
Album: Take Care
Label: Young Money/Cash Money/Universal

Wayne's contribution to Drake's “HYFR” finds him at his most vulnerable, opening up about his love life and sexcapades with a certain someone. Whoever the lady may be, she was quite the inquisitor who struck enough of a chord with the Birdman Jr. that he dedicated an entire verse to her. On “HYFR,” Wayne plays a more serious, grown-and-sexy role, while sticking to an actual storyline for a change. Wayne even revisits his double-time flow on the track, seamlessly bouncing back and forth between that and his standard issue rhyme pattern.

Also, shouts to Wayne for bringing the whole “letting your nuts hang” slang back to hip-hop. Pause?

21. Lil Wayne “Hands Up (Freestyle)”

Not Available Interstitial


Best Line: “Up in some fine dime, then she gives me Einstein”
Producer: No I.D.
Album: Sorry 4 The Wait
Label: N/A

Weezy jumped on Big Sean's instrumental for “My Last” as if it was the last beat on earth. Interpreting Big Sean's flow, pattern, and even flawlessly recreating Sean's “Beni-Han-Han” sequence, Wayne made his version a hit in its own right—one that has us all hoping for a proper Wayne and No I.D. collaboration. If only everything on Sorry 4 The Wait was this great.

20. Birdman f/ Lil Wayne & Nicki Minaj “Y.U. Mad”

Not Available Interstitial


Best Line: “Tonight I'll probably fuck another nigga girl/Party time, excellent, Wayne's World”
Producer: JMIKE, Mad Max
Album: Bigga Than Life
Label: Cash Money/Universal

In 2011, Wayne was a creature of habit. There was nothing out of the ordinary about this verse—the usual suspects are all here: drugs, gangs, sex, beasts, movie references, bodily waste.

But Wayne should be given an award for churning out consistently fresh and dope verses using the same formula over and over again. He's bar-none the best at it in hip-hop. Wayne can make a lot of things sound very good with very little effort. Yeah, you wish you could do it, but that's Y.U. mad.

19. Tech N9ne f/ Lil Wayne & T-Pain “Fuck Food”

Not Available Interstitial


Best Line: “I eat that pussy like the Last Supper”
Producer: Seven
Album: All 6's & 7's
Label: Strange Music

Wayne was famously quoted as saying that he studied much of Tecca Nina's catalog while doing his stretch at Rikers Island. So it was no surprise that Wayne put on his best Tech costume, when Tech tapped him to appear on “Fuck Food.”

Talking sex while citing Bible passages, Wayne gets into “nasty motherfucker” mode and explains why he's the real superman lover—in an almost demonic fashion. And his Tech-inspired double-time flow towards the end is the cherry on top.

18. Lil Wayne f/ Rick Ross “John” [Verse One]

Not Available Interstitial


Best Line: “I get pussy, mouth, ass/Call that bitch triple threat”
Producer: Polow Da Don, Rob Holladay, Yung Berg
Album: Tha Carter IV
Label: Young Money/Cash Money/Universal

The tandem of Rick Ross and Lil Wayne were omnipresent this year. You couldn't keep them off radio—be it together or separate—and “John” was just another notch in their belts.

Rozay never had a chance to steal the show on “John,” as Wayne absolutely destroyed the first verse, raising the overall voltage of the song. Weezy's bars were full of his typical tough talk, admitting he called chicks collect from jail, and not-so-subtly letting you know he has a bed on his plane. Wayne also discloses his home address as AK-47, which is perhaps how these douchebags located him.

17. Lil Wayne “Megaman” [Verse Two]

Not Available Interstitial

https://www.complex.com/music/2011/12/the-25-best-lil-wayne-verses-of-2011/


Best Line: “It's a crazy world and life is shorter than Bushwick”
Producer: Megaman
Album: Tha Carter IV
Label: Young Money/Cash Money/Universal

If for no other reason, the sheer ridiculousness of this verse earns it a spot on the list. Weezy tapped into his stream-of-consciousness flow, and in the process tossed everything including the kitchen sink in here.

Whether it be gang references that take it a step too far (“Boy I'll send them bloods at your ass like a tampon”), rappers shorter than him (“It's a crazy world and life is shorter than Bushwick”), or shouting out the over-the-counter pain-reliever Ibuprofen; Wayne was on some completely other shit.

16. Enrique Iglesias f/ Lil Wayne & Usher "Dirty Dancer"

Not Available Interstitial


Best Line: “Skinny leather pants, I'm on my Eddie Murphy”
Producer: RedOne
Album: Euphoria
Label: Universal

Sure, this was a corny mess of a club record. One where Enrique's A&R obviously threw a dart at the pop-star feature board (WAYNE! USHER!) to pick the guests, who seem devoid of creative chemistry. But who says Weezy can't spazz out over an uhnz-uhnz-uhnz beat?

Poking fun at his tight leather pants, Dwayne Carter kicks his usual sexual innuendo; but when Wayne suggests that he likes his Mary “bloody,” we can only hope it was a gang reference, not a hat tip to earning your red wings.

15. N.O.R.E. f/ Lil Wayne & Pharrell “Finito”

Not Available Interstitial


Best Line: “They say numbers don't lie, except one time”
Producer: The Neptunes
Album: S.U.P.E.R.T.H.U.G.
Label: SMC

N.O.R.E. called in some big favors when he recruited both Wayne and Skateboard P for his animal anthem, “Finito.” On the track, Weezy pretty much runs through his daily activities, which consist of, but are not limited to: punking dumb chicks, smoking Swishers, avoiding thirsty rappers, and leaving holes the size of the Grand Canyon in people's heads. He does find time to mention his son bragging about Daddy having a race car. Must be nice.

Despite Wayne tooting his own horn all over the track, he sounds right at home over this bouncy beat courtesy of Chad and Pharrell.

14. Lil Wayne “Nightmares of the Bottom” [First Verse]

Not Available Interstitial


Best Line: “Everybody wanna be fly 'til you swat 'em”
Producer: Keshown "Golden Child" Cassell
Album: Tha Carter IV
Label: Young Money/Cash Money/Universal

Slowing things down a bit, Wayne rehashed his sing-songy style (no Auto-Tune!) for the introspective “Nightmares of the Bottom.” Nobody wants to fall off, as Wayne makes evident in his first verse.

While we're big fans of this lead-off verse, Wayne seemed to cherish it even more, as he performed it all summer long throughout the I Am Still Music Tour, months prior to C4 dropping. Heck, he even premiered it for the masses during his MTV Unplugged performance. Great minds think alike!

13. Rick Ross f/ Lil Wayne “9 Piece”

Not Available Interstitial


Best Line: “I put my pistol to his head, and tell that nigga to have a blast”
Producer: Lex Luger
Album: God Forgives, I Don't
Label: Def Jam

Wayne was on his d-boy shit when he joined Rozay for the remix of his hit, “9 Piece.” In keeping with Ross's kingpin theme, Wayne brought his best drug talk to the track, dropping his knowledge of coke prices (soft and hard) and openly bragging about having keys like Ray Charles. Oh, and if you're curious, the Birdman Jr. keeps his birds on the pool table. Rack 'em up.

Although the chances of Wayne pushing anything other than rhymes are slim at this point, his tenacity bleeds through the track, sounding rather authentic and sincere.

12. Meek Mill f/ Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, T.I., Swizz Beatz, Baby & DJ Khaled “Ima Boss (Remix)”

Not Available Interstitial


Best Line: “Fuck! I had to say fuck one time”
Producer: Jahlil Beats
Album: N/A
Label: MMG/Warner Bros.

Lil Wayne might've apologized for making us wait, but it should've been Meek Mill, who made us wait even longer for the all-star remix of “Ima Boss.”

Luckily it was well worth the wait, especially for Wayne's contribution. Weezy has to be the first rapper to speak openly about skateboarding and gang-banging in the same 16. Other ridiculousness here: fucking an Avatar, daffodils, and Mark Cuban. Wayne also wins the award for rapper most obsessed with fecal matter (“The world is an asshole, and we're the next big shit”)

11. Lil Wayne “Sorry 4 The Wait”

Not Available Interstitial


Best Line: “She pops X, I smoke O's/Tic-tac-toe”
Producer: Paul Epworth
Album: Sorry 4 The Wait
Label: N/A

While Adele's beat builds, Wayne spazzes out for 2:39 without so much as a chorus, rarely coming up for air. Wayne's at his best here, threatening to turn you chick out (“bought your girl some kneepads”) and dropping some out-of-this-world imagery (“And I reach for the stars, got stuck in the clouds/Got high as a bitch and left my love on the ground”).

Wayne was apologizing for keeping the fans waiting, but we should've been thanking him for blessing us with sinister bars like these.

10. Lil Wayne “President Carter” [Verse 2]

Not Available Interstitial


Best Line: “Smoking weed, getting head in the Oval Office/I changed the stars on the flag into crosses”
Producer: Angel "Onhel" Aponte, Infamous
Album: Tha Carter IV
Label: Young Money/Cash Money/Universal

Wayne rarely incorporates themes into his records these days—he sticks with a standard formula, and typically rolls with the “If it ain't broke...” mantra. But Wayne tackled his presidential role head-on with “President Carter,” keeping it all the way political. The entire song was a departure from the traditional Wayne talk, and the second verse finds Wayne at this most radical.

While the always-there subject matter of sex and violence are still included, he delves into other non-traditional topics like and offering up advice (“Nobody gives you a chance, you've gotta take chances”), and changing the American flag to pray instead of pledge. Was this Wayne at his deepest? The jury's still out, but he does offer up some decent food for thought.

9. Lil Wayne “Inkredible (Remix)”

Not Available Interstitial


Best Line: “Ask them bitches, I told them hoes/They back it up like Sonny drivin', Bronx Tale, Calogero”
Producer: Mr. Inkredible
Album: Sorry 4 The Wait
Label: N/A

Even if you thought that Sorry 4 The Wait was a phoned-in, rushed, half-assed mixtape, there's no denying that Wayne murked a handful of verses on the project. Weezy F but both feet in his rendition of Trae Da Truth's “Inkredible.”

Wayne went all the way aggressor on this one, talking that classic street talk, packed with plenty of extravagant similes about his firearms and levels of intoxication. And if you don't think Wayne was spitting on this one, well, you probably weren't listening hard enough—his flow was still tight like aerobics clothes.

8. Chris Brown f/ Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes “Look At Me Now”

Not Available Interstitial


Best Line: “I got a bitch that play in movies, in my jacuzzi/Pussy juicy”
Producer: Diplo, Afrojack, Free School
Album: F.A.M.E.
Label: Jive

Sure, everybody was talking about Busta Rhymes's rapid-fire, high-octane verse; but bar for bar it was Lil Wayne who had the superior contribution to Chris Brown's “Look At Me Now.” While Wayne's delivery is a tad bit slower on the BPM's, he still pulls off an almost flawless verse.

The first :15 seconds are nothing short of spectacular, as Wayne makes everything under the sun rhyme and (somewhat) make sense: nuisance, tunechi, stupid, sushi, 3 stooges, etc. Weezy even takes time to remind us that he's a grown-ass Blood, and gives praise to his Mom, while shouting out his dead Dad. What a son!

7. Kelly Rowland f/ Lil Wayne “Motivation”

Not Available Interstitial


Best Line: “She my motivation, I'm her transportation/'Cause I let her ride, while I drive her crazy”
Producer: Jim Jonsin, Rico Love
Album: Here I Am
Label: Universal Motown

R&B? Yep, Weezy does that, too. With the assistance a simple 16, Wayne helped shake Kelly's image as Beyoncé's red-headed stepchild, giving her a bigger hit than Bey produced all year.

Weezy's verse was chock full of sexual innuendo, comparing Kelly's sugar walls to everything from rain forests to Sweet'N Lo—and capping things off with a dirty automobile comparison. Wayne has the formula down, and makes it seem oh-so-easy with this tailor-made verse for the erotic song of the year. Ear muffs?

6. Ace Hood f/ Lil Wayne & Rick Ross “Hustle Hard”

Not Available Interstitial


Best Line: “Swagger just dumb, call it Kelly Bundy”
Producer: Lex Luger
Album: Blood, Sweat & Tears
Label: We The Best/Def Jam

Wayne breathed new life into Ace Hood's already solidified hit, when he jumped on the “Hustle Hard” remix. It's been a recurring theme with Wayne—jumping on another artist's song, adding his mojo, and essentially creating his own superior version. Cuffing the track, if you will. And there may be no better example than Ace's “Hustle Hard,” which must have confused countless casual rap fans into plugging LIL WAYNE HUSTLE HARD into their iTunes search bar.

Called in as a closer, Wayne stunts about riding around in his Bugatti, discusses his plans for the week (LIV on Sundays! KOD Monday!), and disclosed that he keeps a burner in his boxin' drawers. Throw in a Married with Children and Hannibal Lecter reference and you've got a solid Wayne verse.

5. Lil Wayne f/ Drake “She Will” [Verse One]

Not Available Interstitial


Best Line: “Devil on my shoulder, the Lord as my witness/So on my Libra scale I'm weighing sins and forgiveness”
Producer: T-Minus
Album: Tha Carter IV
Label: Young Money/Cash Money/Universal

In just under one minute, Wayne manages to pack his opening verse of “She Will” full of first-class quotables. But while the vivid imagery of Wayne standing in Hell's Kitchen rocking an apron and a hairnet is hilarious, he's at best here when he puts the silliness aside.

Wayne dives deep into his inner psyche with this verse, battling good vs. evil and showing concern for his reign on top. He later describes bouts with karma and his weariness of jealous foes—all in a song that's supposed to be about a female.

But despite the dark undertones, you can almost guarantee that drooling strip club patron's will soon be asking dancers to “Pop that pussy for a real nigga.”

4. Young Jeezy f/ Lil Wayne “Ballin”

Not Available Interstitial


Best Line: “Last year I made 100 million dollars flat/Run in ya house and get to poppin' at your shower cap”
Producer: Lil Lody
Album: TM103: Hustlerz Ambition
Label: Def Jam

When you need a hit, who you go and get? Struggling to shake his cold streak, Jizzle recruited Wayne to help heat up the demand for TM103, and plopped the cameo king on his first second third single, “Ballin.” While it's debatable if “Ballin” balled out as a single, it's not debatable that Wayne caught a body on it.

While letting everyone know you made “100 million dollars flat” last year isn't quite a humble brag—for some it might be a bit pretentious. But Wayne's threats of toting 12 12 gauges and popping at your shower caps should more than make up for the preposterous money line. It's all in a days work for Weezy, and if you think you're seeing him on the cameo tip, you're hallucinating.

3. Drake f/ Lil Wayne “The Motto”

Not Available Interstitial


Best Line: “Eastside, we in this bitch/I wish a nigga would like a tree in this bitch/And if a leaf fall put some weed in that bitch/That's my M.O. add a B to that shit”
Producer: T-Minus
Album: Take Care
Label: Young Money/Cash Money/Universal

Over a high-energy, Bay Area–inspired slapper, Drake and Weezy showed you the blueprint of how to take the throne. Pound for pound it's hard to compete when these two tag team (pause?) but it was the more experienced Wayne who unequivocally owned the track.

Wayne effortlessly rides the beat, playfully toying with it in a way we didn't see on C4. And even though he revisits the “Supa Dupa” flow he used and abused on C4, he absolutely nails it with the perfect: “I'm Twisted/Doorknob.” Partnering memorable lines from “Baby Got Back” with his typical dirty talk (“Almost drowned in the pussy, so I swam to her butt”) only added to Wayne's tried-and-true formula.

2. DJ Khaled f/ Lil Wayne, Drake & Rick Ross “I'm On One”

Not Available Interstitial


Best Line: “I'm a made nigga, I should dust somethin'/You niggas on the bench, like the bus comin'”
Producer: T-Minus, Nikhil S, & Noah “40” Shebib
Album: We The Best Forever
Label: We The Best/Terror Squad/Cash Money/Universal

Batting cleanup on what was arguably the hottest record of 2011—it owned the summer; that's not debatable—Weezy dropped his most focused and precise verse of the last 365. The song worked for all of the right reasons: infectious beat, impeccable Drake chorus, a slew of Rozay grunts; but it was Wayne who stole the show, as he returned to mixtape Weezy form and reinforced why he should be included in all G.O.A.T discussions.

Weezy went Andre the Giant over the track, displaying his witty wordplay and proclaiming that he'd never fall off. He even took the time to big up Drake's religion. It's a celebration, bitches!

1. Lil Wayne f/ Drake & Jadakiss “It's Good”

Not Available Interstitial


Best Line: “Talkin' 'bout Baby money, I got yo Baby money/Kidnap your bitch get that 'how-much-you-love-your-lady' money”
Producer: Young Ladd, Cool & Dre
Album: Tha Carter IV
Label: Young Money/Cash Money/Universal

Forget the fact that Wayne bodied two lyrical titans—Drake and Jadakiss—on this song; that's only a footnote to the real story: That being Wayne's threat to kidnap and hold Beyoncé for ransom. Yeah, the gloves came all the way off on “It's Good,” proving that absolutely no one was safe from Weezy's crosshairs.

After Jay took an alleged shot at Birdman Sr.'s bank account on The Throne's “H.A.M.,” Wayne clapped back with this vicious verse that's still unanswered by the other Carter. Talking about trunking the current Queen of R&B? That'll get you the top spot. Yep, this is Wayne's World, and y'all are just some tourists. This one had the hip-hop terror alert on RED all summer.

Latest in Music