Maps of Music

Funeral (2020)

Where the lyrics of Funeral take you, and where it was really made.

Lil Wayne's thirteenth studio album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, even though professional review outlets largely overlooked it.

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Funeral: thirteenth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne
Released January 31, 2020 by Young Money Entertainment and UMG Recordings
Guest appearances from Big Sean, Lil Baby, Jay Rock, Adam Levine, 2 Chainz, Takeoff, The-Dream, Lil Twist, O.T. Genasis, and the late XXXTentacion
Standard edition track listing has 24 tracks
Lead single "I Do It" featuring Big Sean and Lil Baby, released together with the album
"Shimmy" featuring Doja Cat sent to rhythmic contemporary radio on July 28, 2020 as the second single

Title announced in 2016, while Lil Wayne was in a legal battle with Cash Money Records over contract disputes
Album completed in 2019, as Wayne started promoting it again
Title explained as a continuation of his 2010 album Rebirth, following up on that series
Calligraphic cover text uses a rotational ambigram: it reads Funeral right side up and Lil Wayne upside down
Release date and artwork revealed on January 23, 2020, with a snippet of the title track

In a Vibe interview, Wayne described how his recording process changed over his career
He said he now looks forward to going to the studio each night to see what he can come up with
Track "Bing James" ends with 24 seconds of silence honoring Kobe Bryant's death
The track count honors Kobe Bryant's jersey numbers with the Los Angeles Lakers

Born Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. on September 27, 1982, in New Orleans; signed to Cash Money Records at age 11 after being discovered by Birdman in 1993.
Early career as B.G.'z and then Hot Boys (formed 1997) with Juvenile, B.G. and Turk; the group reached mainstream success with Guerrilla Warfare (1999).
Solo breakthrough with Tha Block Is Hot (1999), certified platinum within a month of release.
Tha Carter III (2008) sold over 1 million copies in its first week and won the Grammy for Best Rap Album; its single "Lollipop" topped the Billboard Hot 100.
Founded Young Money Entertainment in 2005; the label signed Drake, Tyga and Nicki Minaj.
Has sold over 120 million records worldwide and won five Grammy Awards.
Released Tha Carter VI in 2025 and was named the first male artist to surpass Elvis Presley in Hot 100 entries.

Often described as one of the most influential artists of the 21st century.
His style and use of Auto-Tune influenced modern hip-hop, especially the development of trap.

Mixed to positive response from critics
Metacritic average score 62 from 10 reviews, normalized out of 100
Consequence of Sound, Christopher Thiessen: album "plays less like an album and more like a mixtape" and listening becomes exhausting about halfway through
Rolling Stone, Danny Schwartz: "wildly uneven" with its peak early on "Mahogany"
Pitchfork, Sheldon Pearce: praised experimentation with an array of styles and wordplay
The Observer, Kitty Empire: said his flow can still be fearsome
NME, Thomas Hobbs: songs lack a unifying quality as an album
Exclaim!, Jacob Carey: criticized the album's length and lack of replay value
Robert Christgau, Consumer Guide: rated it the rapper's best since No Ceilings (2009)

Relatively overlooked by professional review outlets
AnyDecentMusic? aggregate score 5.9 out of 10
Christgau noted most outlets downplayed it, with only Rolling Stone's review a takedown

Track "Bing James" ends with 24 seconds of silence paying tribute to Kobe Bryant's death
The track count honors Kobe Bryant's jersey numbers with the Los Angeles Lakers
The cover's calligraphic ambigram reads Funeral upright and Lil Wayne upside down
Wayne explained the title as a continuation of Rebirth (2010)
The album's title track was teased with a snippet when the release date was announced on January 23, 2020
Metacritic gave the album an average score of 62 from 10 reviews