"Transparency" is a song by American rappers

2 Chainz Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (or Tity Boi), is an American rapper. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he initially gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip hop duo Playaz Circle, a ...

and

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 ...

, featuring R&B singer Usher. It was released on November 17, 2023, as the third single from their collaborative studio album '' Welcome 2 Collegrove'' (2023).

Background

"Transparency" was originally a Chris Brown song featuring 2 Chainz, that was supposed to be included on his tenth studio album '' Breezy'' (2022), and sampled

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

's 1982 song "The Lady In My Life". However, the song wasn't released, with Brown stating in 2022: "We couldn't clear the sample and we felt it took away from the song if that music wasn't there", unofficially releasing a solo version of it on his Instagram account. The track was later taken by 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne for their 2023 collaborative studio album '' Welcome 2 Collegrove'', enlisting Fridayy,

Hitmaka Christian J. Ward (born September 9, 1985), professionally known as Hitmaka, is an American record producer and former rapper from Chicago, Illinois. Ward began his career as a rapper under the name Yung Berg, having released his debut album ''L ...

, Mike Dean, Paul Cabbin and Tarik Beats to rearrange its instrumental, and Usher to perform the song's chorus.

Critical reception

Slant Slant can refer to: Bias *Bias or other non-objectivity in journalism, politics, academia or other fields Technical * Slant range, in telecommunications, the line-of-sight distance between two points which are not at the same level * Slant d ...

'' commented the song saying that it's "a repurposing of a previously leaked Chris Brown song. It’s supposedly a somewhat serious song about integrity, but the two rappers groaningly take the titular concept literally, making cracks about, among other things, see-through garments". ''

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...

'' stated that the song "feel dated and slapdash", adding that it "rips lyrics from the chorus of a 2021 Chris Brown song of the same name, sounds like a lazy reach for radio play".

Music video

The music video for "Transparency" was released alongside the song.

Charts

References

{{Usher singles 2023 singles 2023 songs 2 Chainz songs Lil Wayne songs Usher (musician) songs Songs written by 2 Chainz Songs written by Lil Wayne Songs written by Hitmaka Songs written by Mike Dean (record producer)