Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz officially reigned in a new joint album cycle last week, formally announcing their upcoming album Welcome 2 Collegrove, which both artists had been hinting at for months now. It’ll be a sequel to the original Collegrove, now creeping up on its 8th anniversary, and alongside the news they gave us a new single, “Presha.”
Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz Get the Band Back Together for “Presha”
Over a whistle-heavy, retro beat, the pair trade their sections back and forth. 2 Chainz begins, chipping in the hook and a reference-heavy 16 bars, with allusions to 42 Dugg (“I done took a shroom with the ’42 / I done start whistlin’ like 42”) and a callback to 50 Cent’s early catalog, as he borrows a line from “In Da Club” when he raps, “You know I been trappin’ since the dial-up / If they hate, then let ’em hate, the money pile up.”
The contrast works as well here as it did back in 2016—the Atlanta rapper carries the song on the charisma front before Lil Wayne slides in with pure lyricism and wordplay. It’s more high-tempo, machine gun fire from Weezy when he punches in: “I’m on that pressure, she on that bass / I’m on that treble, I’m on her level / She say her brother, he got them birds / We ruffle his feathers.” Outside of this single being an opportunity for the rappers to reunite, “Presha” also brings together Weezy and producer Bangladesh, the hitmaker responsible for one of Wayne’s most iconic: “A Milli.”
A Looming A-List Entry into a Legendary Catalog for Both Artists
For 2 Chainz’s side of the equation, this marks his first official release in about a year and a half, as it’s been all quiet since he dropped his 2022 album Dope Don’t Sell Itself. It’s been a busy year already for Lil Wayne—he took to the VMAs stage a few months back to play a central part in their celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip hop. And, on the music side of things, this project will be his third release of 2023, with Welcome 2 Collegrove presumably following his long-anticipated Carter VI, and its own prelude mixtape, Fix Before Tha VI.
And when we say “promo cycle,” we mean it—the pair have begun teasing a few key media appearances they’ve taken on in order to build hype for the project. One came this past weekend when they took to Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show for both an interview and a live performance of “Presha.” And, if you need more Wayne & 2 Chainz afterwards, you can always brush up on the original Collegrove album, which you can find on all streaming platforms.
