A remix of Lil Wayne's "She Will," featuring Drake and a fresh verse from Rick Ross, hit the web on Sunday, along with questions about how the MC's Tha Carter IV album will sound. David Banner, one of the hopeful producers on Wayne's next record, shared some insight with Rolling Stone.
"Hopefully we got the next single," says Banner, who submitted an unnamed song for Tha Carter IV that is still under consideration for the track list. "It's definitely for the club, it's beating. It's a bit different than the approach most producers have taken to club music, because I think a lot of producers try to stay safe and do what everyone else is doing. I don't think Wayne accepted that at all."
Banner produced "La La" on Wayne's last album, Tha Carter III. He admires the MC's vigor.
"I always compare Wayne to Kobe Bryant, because of the fierceness he has for the recording process and his love for the music," Banner says. "He always wants to take music to the next level, from learning to play the guitar to venturing out into rock."
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The Mississippi native adds that although Wayne is fearless enough to experiment with softer pop songs like "How To Love," he still knows how to satisfy his diehard fans.
"Lyrically, he's a beast, and he's allowed himself to grow," Banner says. "A lot of music is stagnant right now, but I think the way he reels people back in is that his songs are banging. The beats are so big that it doesn't matter what the acoustic guitar or keyboards are doing, because when the drums come in, he brings it right back home."
"I don't think any two songs on Wayne's album sound alike," Banner continues. "For the most part, every song has its own place. I think they're all going to have their own personalities."
The producer routinely saves instrumentals just for the Young Money leader.
"Wayne has a lot of songs, and on Tha Carter IV, we didn't know until the last moment [that we made the cut]," Banner says. "Because of our relationship, the beats I give to Wayne are just for Wayne. Those beats aren't released to anyone else until after his album comes out, but it's definitely worth the wait. The last time I waited on Wayne, I got a Grammy."
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