"John" is a song by American rapper

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

, 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 Cash Money Records, Universal Republic Records and Young Money Entertainment. Recording sessions for the album began in late 2008, sho ...

''. The song features rapper

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...

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

. The song uses the hook from Rick Ross' song "I'm Not a Star" from his album '' Teflon Don''. 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 activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

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

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...

song,

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

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, pr ...

, 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), known professionally Ace Hood, is an American rapper. Born in Port St. Lucie and raised in Deerfield Beach, Florida, he was discovered by DJ Khaled and became the first act to sign with his rec ...

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. Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he signed with the local independent label Rostrum Records to re ...

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 began his career in Houston's hip hop scene in the late 1990s. He was briefly signed with the local record label Swishah ...

freestyled a verse along with the original lyrics on his ''Badass Freemixes 2'' mixtape. On December 26,

Lil Wyte Patrick Dhane Lanshaw (born October 6, 1982), better known by his stage name Lil Wyte, is an American rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. Lanshaw is a member of the rap collective Hypnotize Minds and owner of the independent label Wyte Music. Ea ...

also released his own version on his Wyte Christmas mixtape.

Tyga Micheal Ray 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 cult leader, preacher and mass murderer who founded and led the Peoples Temple between 1955 and 1978. Jones and the members of his inner circle planned and orchestrat ...

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