"John" is a song by American rapper

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman, joining ...

, and the second single from his album ''

Tha Carter IV ''Tha Carter IV'' is the ninth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released on August 29, 2011, through Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Universal Republic Records. Recording sessions for the album began in late 2008, sh ...

''. The song features rapper

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Diddy's Bad ...

, and it peaked at number 22 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "John" was released on March 24, 2011, on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...

. The song uses the hook from Rick Ross' song "I'm Not a Star" from his album ''

Teflon Don John Joseph Gotti Jr.Capeci, Mustain (1996), pp. 25–26 (, ; October 27, 1940 – June 10, 2002) was an American gangster and boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. He ordered and helped to orchestrate the murder of Gambino boss ...

''. The song title is a reference to English musician

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

. Lil Wayne performed the song at 2011's MTV Video Music Awards to the riff of

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped def ...

song,

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The cha ...

Music video

The music video was released on VEVO on May 12, 2011. Birdman makes an appearance in the video, which was directed by

Colin Tilley Colin Tilley (born June 27, 1988) is an American filmmaker, music video director, and television commercial director. Tilley is the CEO and owner of Boy in the Castle Productions. He has directed more than 300 music videos. Tilley directed, pro ...

, who directed Chris Brown's " Look at Me Now," which also featured Wayne.

Remixes

On May 11, rapper

Ace Hood Antoine Franklin McColister (born May 11, 1988), better known by his stage name Ace Hood, is an American rapper. He was born in Port St. Lucie, Florida and raised in Deerfield Beach, Florida. He was signed to record producer DJ Khaled's label W ...

released a freestyle over the beat of "John," which was off his "Body Bag Vol. 1" mixtape. Another rapper

Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He released his debut album, ''Show and Prove'', in 2006 and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 20 ...

released a remix to "John" titled "Chuck". Rapper

Chamillionaire Hakeem Temidayo Seriki (born November 28, 1979), better known by his stage name Chamillionaire (), is an American rapper. He was the founder and an original member of The Color Changin' Click from 2001 until the group split in 2005. He began his ...

freestyled a verse along with the original lyrics on his ''Badass Freemixes 2'' mixtape. On December 26, Lil Wyte also released his own version on his Wyte Christmas mixtape.

Tyga Michael Ray Nguyen-StevensonMicheal Ray Stevenson ...

also released a version of the track titled "Well Done 2" on a mixtape along with the same name.

Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American preacher, political activist and mass murderer. He led the Peoples Temple, a new religious movement, between 1955 and 1978. In what he called "revolutionary suicide ...

also released a freestyle.

Track listing

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Rick Ross 2011 singles Lil Wayne songs Rick Ross songs Songs written by Lil Wayne Cash Money Records singles Music videos directed by Colin Tilley Songs written by Rick Ross Songs written by Hitmaka Songs written by Erik Ortiz Songs written by Kevin Crowe Songs written by Ayo the Producer