Lil Wayne will appear on Weezer's next album, Rivers Cuomo has revealed. The rapper has a cameo on Can't Stop Partying, the rock band's attempt at an "R&B party" song.
"Weezer is always trying something new," Cuomo told MTV News. For the forthcoming Raditude, Weezer have not just worked with members of the All-American Rejects, producer Butch Walker, and Dr Luke (the man who co-wrote Katy Perry's I Kissed a Girl, Avril Lavigne's Girlfriend and Kelly Clarkson's Since U Been Gone), they have teamed with Weezy. Lil Wayne provides just one verse, but it's more than just a token appearance.
"Any other rapper would've just done, 'Yay, we're partying! Let's drink and have fun', but he gave it the edge I was looking for," Cuomo said. "You can hear in his voice, it sounds so dark, like he was gonna get shot or something when he walks out of the studio."
Weezer's last foray into hip-hop was on their 2008 Red Album. For The Greatest Man That Ever Lived, which Cuomo described as "the most ambitious song I've ever attempted", the band dipped their toes into everything from grunge to the baroque, with a spot of rapping as well.
For Can't Stop Partying, instead of calling all the shots, Cuomo got some help. He called Jermaine Dupri, "king of R&B". "It was a real challenge for me," Cuomo said, "taking his ideas, which are slick, R&B party, and giving it some kind of edge, some darkness, making it work with rock, making it work with Weezer."
Lil Wayne, however, has done rock before – with Fall Out Boy last year, and on forthcoming album Rebirth. Of course, that's assuming Rebirth is ever released. The much-hyped rap-rock crossover was originally scheduled for April. After repeated delays, the album is now expected to be released on 24 November.
Raditude, Weezer's seventh studio album, is due 3 November.
