Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz disclose their top picks for Hip Hop producers

After working with some of the best beatmakers in Hip Hop history throughout their careers, Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz have now selected the greatest beatmakers of all time.

The two addressed a series of questions on their own preferences in music and beyond on a new episode of GOAT Talk that went live on Tuesday, December 19. One of the flash cards had the prompt for “G.O.A.T. Producer.”

After giving it some thinking, 2 Chainz remarked, “I’ma say Kanye,” and Tunechi responded, “Yeah, I got Mannie Fresh and Kanye West.”

The follow-up to 2016’s Collegegrove, Welcome 2 Collegrove, was released by Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz in the middle of November.

HipHopDX gave the album a 3.9/5 rating, with Alec Siegel noting that it was “sequenced like a blockbuster film, with five scenes narrated by 50 Cent.” The songs don’t exactly match each scene thematically (‘Crazy Thick’ belongs in “Scene 3: Ladies Man,” for example), but these little digressions work well to set the tone for the large-scale film that is being shown.

“The production credits on the album read like a roster from the Hall of Fame of Southern rap: Mannie Fresh, DJ Toomp, Juicy J, and Mike Dean. The album sounds expensive.” Not to be outdone, ODB tribute song “Shame” and the appropriately named song “Bars” include two of the album’s strongest beats from New York legend Havoc.

Chainz and Wayne obviously put in a lot more effort in the production than they did on their first attempt. The rhythms are brilliant, with the exception of a few duds (the forgettable “Crown Snatcher” and the Miami bass-inspired “Crazy Thick”). Big Diamonds is a song that would sound great on any of the best Big Tymers albums, and “Long Story Short” is a unique blend of boom-bap and codeine that has Project Pat’s voice chopped up.

“Soulful production has always allowed both rappers to thrive, and Welcome 2 Collegrove is no different: the tracks “P.P.A.,” “Oprah & Gayle,” and “Can’t Believe You,” despite having very different subjects, all bring out the best in the somberly toned rappers with instrumentals silkier than mink coats.”