"Make It Rain" is a song by American rapper
Fat Joe
Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper. He began recording as a member of Hip-hop, hip hop group D.I.T.C., Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.) in 1992, and pursued a sol ...
, released in 2006 as the first single from his seventh album ''
Me, Myself & I''. It features 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 ...
, who only raps the chorus (but contributes a verse on the remix), and was produced by
Scott Storch. The song peaked at number 13 on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100.
It was released through
EMI
EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
,
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...
, and Fat Joe's
Terror Squad Entertainment
Terror Squad Productions (later Terror Squad Entertainment) is an American hip hop and rap record company founded by Fat Joe in 1997. The label has been distributed by Atlantic, Virgin Records, and Columbia Records. The label's flagship artist ...
.
It was nominated for a
Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the
50th Annual Grammy Awards. The Exclusive Def Jam Version, which does not feature Lil Wayne and instead has a hook by Fat Joe, is featured in the game ''
Def Jam: Icon'' and is Fat Joe's fighting song.
Composition
Fat Joe was on a tour stop in Memphis, he decided he wanted to make a southern style hip-hop song after hearing what the local clubs were playing. He also realized there was no popular songs for strip clubs with lyrics of throwing money. Fat Joe enlisted Storch to make a southern sounding beat which the producer was initially opposed to. Producer
Irv Gotti
Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr. (June 26, 1970 – February 5, 2025), professionally known as Irv Gotti or DJ Irv, was an American record producer and music executive. Gotti started off as a New York hip-hop DJ in the 1980s, then becoming an A&R t ...
recommended to have
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 ...
, who was from the southern U.S, instead to match the regional sound of the record. Fat Joe having already written the chorus, sent the demo to Lil Wayne who sent back the final version of the song the next day.
Chart performance
''Make It Rain'' debuted at number 55 on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, on the week of November 18, 2006. After climbing the chart for 13 weeks, the song reached its peak at number 13 on the chart dated February 17, 2007.
On May 15, 2007, the single was certified
platinum
Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
by the
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA) for sales of over a million downloads in the United States.
Music video
DJ Khaled
Khaled Mohammed Khaled (; born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ and record producer. Originally a Miami-based radio personality, Khaled has since become known for enlisting high-profile music industry ar ...
,
Cool & Dre,
Scott Storch,
Birdman,
Diddy,
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 ...
,
Trina
Katrina Laverne Kearse (née Taylor; born December 3, 1974), is an American rapper. She rose to prominence in the late 1990s for her collaborations with Trick Daddy on the singles " Nann Nigga", " Shut Up", and " Take It to da House". In 2000, ...
, Oliver Coats, Triple C, Hennessi, Emry L Moore and
Young Money make cameo appearances in the video. Some of the scenes of the video pay homage to the late
Big Pun
Christopher Lee Rios (November 10, 1971 – February 7, 2000), better known by his stage name Big Pun (short for Big Punisher), was an American rapper. Emerging from the underground hip hop scene in the Bronx, he came to prominence upon discover ...
's classic video "
Still Not a Player
A still is an apparatus used to distillation, distill liquid mixtures by heating to selectively Boiling, boil and then cooling to Condensation, condense the vapor. A still uses the same concepts as a basic Distillation#Laboratory_procedures, ...
". The video was directed by
Chris Robinson and VinCock and produced by Nicole Acacio for production company Robot Films.
Remix
A remix was recorded in December 2006 and released as a single in 2007. It features American singer
R. Kelly and American rappers
T.I.
Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (born September 25, 1980), known professionally as T.I. or Tip, is an American rapper and singer raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Harris is credited as a pioneer of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Georgi ...
,
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 ...
,
Birdman,
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 Ace Mac, as well as uncredited vocals by
DJ Khaled
Khaled Mohammed Khaled (; born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ and record producer. Originally a Miami-based radio personality, Khaled has since become known for enlisting high-profile music industry ar ...
, and was produced by Scott Storch. There is also an official video for the remix.
Sean Kingston has made his own version.
Music video
The video was directed by
R. Malcolm Jones and features guest appearances by
Fonzworth Bentley,
Scott Storch,
DJ Khaled
Khaled Mohammed Khaled (; born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ and record producer. Originally a Miami-based radio personality, Khaled has since become known for enlisting high-profile music industry ar ...
and
Trina
Katrina Laverne Kearse (née Taylor; born December 3, 1974), is an American rapper. She rose to prominence in the late 1990s for her collaborations with Trick Daddy on the singles " Nann Nigga", " Shut Up", and " Take It to da House". In 2000, ...
.
Track listing
Promo CD single
# "Make It Rain" (remix; edited)
# "Make It Rain" (remix; explicit)
Digital download single
# "Make It Rain" (remix)
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
{{Rick Ross
2006 songs
2006 singles
Birdman (rapper) songs
Fat Joe songs
Lil Wayne songs
R. Kelly songs
Rick Ross songs
T.I. songs
Song recordings produced by Scott Storch
Songs written by Lil Wayne
Songs written by R. Kelly
Songs written by Scott Storch
Music videos directed by Chris Robinson (director)
Songs written by Fat Joe
Remix singles