"Ay!" is a song by American rappers Machine Gun Kelly and

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 ...

. It was released on March 4, 2022 as the third single from the former's sixth studio album '' Mainstream Sellout'' (2022). The song was produced by

Travis Barker Travis Landon Barker (born November 14, 1975) is an American musician, songwriter, and music producer who is the drummer for the rock band Blink-182. He has collaborated with hip hop artists, is a member of the rap rock group Transplants ...

, BazeXX, and SlimXX.

Background

In February 2022, Machine Gun Kelly performed a snippet of the song at

The Late Late Show with James Corden ''The Late Late Show with James Corden'' (also known simply as ''Late Late'') is an American late-night talk show that aired on CBS from 2015 to 2023. It is the fourth and final iteration of '' The Late Late Show'', and aired in the United Sta ...

, in a medley of "Ay!", then-unreleased track " Maybe" and "

Emo Girl "Emo Girl" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by Machine Gun Kelly, featuring Willow. Produced by Travis Barker, the song was released on February 4, 2022, as the second single off of Kelly's sixth studio album '' Mainstream Sellout'', follo ...

". The song has been considered to a return to the

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

genre for Machine Gun Kelly, although it comes from an album that is still largely to the

pop punk Pop-punk (also punk-pop, alternatively spelled without the hyphen) is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop music, pop. It is defined by its fast-paced, energetic tempos, and emphasis on classic pop s ...

genre.

Composition

"Ay!" is an

emo rap Emo rap is a subgenre of Hip hop music, hip hop with influence from emo. Originating in the SoundCloud rap scene in the mid-2010s, the genre fuses characteristics of hip hop music, such as trap-style beats with vocals that are usually sung. Some ...

song that blends elements of pop punk and trap, featuring "brooding but dreamy guitar loop with crisp hip-hop production". Machine Gun Kelly sings about sadness affecting his life, including "his preference for sad playlists, skipping meetings, and sleeping until 7 p.m."; he mentions cutting his hair and compares it to

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

shaving her hair off in 2007 during her breakdown. Lil Wayne's verse has a reference to

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

said "the watery emo-trap track "Ay!" doesn't commit fully enough to any of its stylistic directions, giving Lil Wayne little to work with as he turns in a distracted, Auto-Tune-doused verse." In a review of ''Mainstream Sellout'', ''

BrooklynVegan ''BrooklynVegan'' is an American online music magazine founded in 2004 by David Levine. The company is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, and originally focused on vegan food and the music community in and around New York City, before broadeni ...

'' called the song, along with "Drug Dealer", "among its most forgettable" tracks.

Music video

The music video was released alongside the single. It was filmed in Machine Gun Kelly's home from an

iPhone The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...

, on the night before it was released. It finds Kelly and four friends in a dressing room changing into different flashy outfits. Lil Wayne does not physically appear, but a paper cutout of a drawn Wayne performs in the video.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Lil Wayne singles 2022 singles 2022 songs Machine Gun Kelly (musician) songs Lil Wayne songs Bad Boy Records singles Interscope Records singles Song recordings produced by Travis Barker Songs written by Machine Gun Kelly (musician) Songs written by Travis Barker Songs written by Aldae Emo rap songs Trap music songs