"6 Foot 7 Foot" (also styled as "6'7"") is a song by rapper
Lil Wayne featuring label mate
Cory Gunz. It is taken from Wayne's ninth album, ''
Tha Carter IV'' (2011). It was officially released on
iTunes
iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
on December 16, 2010.
It was produced by "
A Milli" producer
Bangladesh
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
. The song samples "
Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" by
Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte ( ; born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927 – April 25, 2023) was an American singer, actor, and civil rights activist who popularized calypso music with international audiences in the 1950s and 1960s. Belafonte ...
(particularly, as the title implies, the lyric "6 foot, 7 foot, 8 foot bunch".)
Background
"6 Foot 7 Foot" is the first single off ''Tha Carter IV''. The track is the first single Lil Wayne recorded following his release from prison on November 4, 2010, though it is the second song on which he has appeared since his prison release, after the final version of
Birdman's single "
Fire Flame", on which he had 2 verses. In the original version of the single, Lil Wayne is absent due to his prison sentence.
Before the song was officially released,
Shade 45's DJ Drama interviewed Lil Wayne and he talked about the single. He said "It's a monster," and "Hopefully, it shows people where I'm at lyrically."
Mack Maine, president of
Young Money and fellow labelmate, called it "
A Milli on steroids." The track was originally intended for rapper
T.I., but the
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...
manager who also co-managed Lil Wayne decided Lil Wayne would be a better fit. Lil Wayne and producer
Bangladesh
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
reunited for the first time since "A Milli" after the royalty dispute between
Bangladesh
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
and
Cash Money on that song.
It is the second time the trio (Lil Wayne, Cory Gunz, Bangladesh) have worked together, after 2008's "A Milli" (though Cory Gunz was not on the final version of that song). Lil Wayne performed the song on ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' and ''New Year's Eve with Carson Daly''. He also performed it on ''106 & Party Cash Money Young Money New Years''.
Music video
On January 20, 2011, Lil Wayne announced that there would be a music video for the single in the upcoming spring. A picture was uploaded by ''
Rap-Up'' of Lil Wayne portraying a boxer. Birdman as well as the Young Money crew (excluding
Drake,
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...
,
Tyga
Micheal Ray Stevenson[Micheal Ray Stevenson](_blank)
,
Gudda Gudda and
Mack Maine) make cameo appearances in the video. The video made premieres on MTV on March 3, 2011, and on
BET's ''
106 & Park'' on March 4, 2011. The video (directed by
Hype Williams) was inspired by the film ''
Inception'', with Lil Wayne and the Young Money crew portraying several scenarios from the film and consists of numerous scenes which visualize many of the metaphors and similes Wayne says in the song.
The explicit version of the video has received 195 million views as of March 2024
on YouTube, while the clean version of the video has received above 3.5 million views.
Credits and personnel
Recording
*Recorded at CMR South Studios,
Miami, FL by Michael Cadahia. Assisted by Edward Lidow.
Personnel
*Mixing Fabian Marasciullo
*Assistant mixing Seth Waldman
*Mixed at Conway Studios, Los Angeles
*Mastering Dave Kutch (single version);
Brian "Big Bass" Gardner (album version)
Charts and certifications
Commercial performance
"6 Foot 7 Foot" debuted at number 9 in the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart (week of January 1, 2011)
and number 3 on the Digital Songs chart.
By January 2013, the song has sold over 3 million digital downloads in the U.S.
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Covers
On May 10, 2017
Insane Clown Posse released a cover of the song as well as a music video featuring
Psychopathic Records artist Lyte.
References
{{authority control
2010 singles
2010 songs
2011 singles
Lil Wayne songs
Cash Money Records singles
Young Money Entertainment singles
Universal Motown Records singles
Song recordings produced by Bangladesh (record producer)
Songs written by Lil Wayne
Music videos directed by Hype Williams
Songs written by Bangladesh (record producer)
Bananas in popular culture