Almost exactly nine years and one month ago, Lil Wayne and Jay-Z both appeared on "Mr. Carter," a track from the former's Carter III album built around the fact that they share the same last name. Both artists' output have slowed in the years that have followed, with Wayne's breakneck mixtape run ending and label troubles hampering his album release schedule, and Jay's business ventures cutting his output frequency to barely a trickle in the past seven years. This past week though, their increasingly elusive stars aligned, with Jay dropping 4:44 and Wayne delivering In Tune We Trust. As far as Top Tracks goes, no one's coming close to touching them.
Jay leads the pack this week with three appearances to his name, with Wayne being the only other artist notching more than one. New tracks barely missing out on spots this week include Lil Wayne's "Loyalty" (#13), Joey Bada$$' "Love is Only a Feeling" (#14), DJ Kay Slay's "Wild Ones" (#15), and 21 Savage's "Close My Eyes" (#17).
10. Future Feat. YG - Extra Luv
The only holdover from last week's list (despite there being one other week-old track that made its way into the top ten this week), Future's addition to his self-titled album from earlier this year barely hangs on towards the bottom this week. The YG-assisted "Extra Luv" is down three spots from #7 to #10 in its second week out.
9. Dave East - No Back and Forth
The clear Black Sheep in a 2017 XXL Freshman class otherwise dominated by Soundcloud mavens, Harlem's Dave East returned this past week with a new track entitled "No Back and Forth." True to his "real rap" NY roots, the song contains references to Jay-Z and Nas. The track debuts at #9.
8. Kodak Black - Just a Wrap (Freestyle)
Since being released from jail and being placed under house arrest earlier this year, Kodak Black's been on a recording tear, dropping what seems like a new loosie every week. THis one's among the least successful, as far as user approval goes (53%), but people clearly still flocked to this one, perhaps due to its Southside beat. "Just a Wrap" debuts at #8.
7. Meek Mill - Bag Talk
Meek recently announced a new album, Wins and Losses, so it definitely seemed like that'd be his next release, but surprise, surprise: last week he dropped off a sequel to this Spring's Meekend Music EP. The second edition concludes with this Street Runner-produced gem, which makes its debut at #7.
6. Young Thug Feat. Quavo - You Said
Young Thug's been pulling a Life of Pablo with Beautiful Thugger Girls as of late, retroactively adding features to songs we thought were already completed. Travis Scott and Gunna were the first to be added, and the latest post-release feature is Migos' Quavo on the Wheezy-produced highlight "You Said." This one debuts at #6.
5. Jay-Z Feat. Beyonce - Family Feud
Jay-Z delivered 4:44 just at the start of Fourth of July weekend, and almost a week on from the holiday, it seems to at least have short-term staying power. The second track from it that we posted on our tracks list, the Beyonce-assisted "Family Feud," was slow to start out with, but has eventually climbed into the top five. In its second week out, the song is up 23 places from #28 to #5.
4. Jay-Z - Kill Jay Z
The hookless opener to 4:44 is debatably the album's most ferocious moment, containing the headline-grabbing Kanye West diss, among other things. We didn't post it until after last weekend, but especially with the album remaining Tidal-exclusive, people were clearly hungering to find it online well into this week. "Kill Jay Z" debuts at #4.
3. Jay-Z - The Story of O.J.
Up next is the very next track on 4:44, "The Story of O.J." Next to "Kill Jay Z," it might be the second-most controversial song on the album, as it contains a line that the Anti-Defamation League has deemed derogatory towards Jewish Americans. Nevertheless, it debuts at #3.
2. Lil Wayne Feat. Jeezy - Fireworks
Among the entirely original tracks on In Tune We Trust, the Jeezy-assisted, Mike Will Made It-produced "Fireworks" is the most noteworthy, especially because of its apt title for its Fourth of July release date. This one may have considerably less views than the following track, but its user rating (87%) is only trailing by two points. "Fireworks" debuts at #2.
1. Lil Wayne - Magnolia (Remix)
It's been a while since we heard Weezy freestyle over a hot track, but as the city of New Orleans' best representative (at least if you took away the football and basketball teams), he pretty much had to hop on Playboi Carti's viral hit that references the city's notorious Magnolia projects. As Wayne says in this freestyle, he didn't actually grow up there, but fittingly he pays tribute to his deceased former labelmate who did, Soulja Slim. His take on "Magnolia" debuts at #1.
