# Free Weezy Album
**Free Weezy Album** (abbreviated **FWA**) is an album by the American rapper [Lil Wayne](https://www.edgepedia.org/lil-wayne), released on July 4, 2015 as an exclusive on the streaming service Tidal, where it was labeled simply FWA.[1](https://pitchfork.com/news/58474-lil-wayne-releases-fwa/) The title carries a double meaning: the album was free to hear, and "free Weezy" referred to Wayne's effort to leave his label, [Cash Money Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/cash-money-records), amid a legal battle over the long-delayed release of his album *Tha Carter V*.[2](https://www.nylon.com/articles/lil-wayne-fwa-tidal) It was his first project released outside the Cash Money machine after nearly two decades with the label.[3](https://thepopbreak.com/2015/07/14/a-tale-of-two-reviews-lil-wayne-fwa-free-weezy-album/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | July 4, 2015, exclusively on Tidal, labeled FWA[1](https://pitchfork.com/news/58474-lil-wayne-releases-fwa/) |
| Format | 15 tracks, about 65 minutes; described by the Los Angeles Times as a fully realized album in the form of a free mixtape[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-lil-wayne-releases-free-weezy-album-on-tidal-20150706-story.html) • [5](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/20796-fwa/) |
| Guests | Young Jeezy, Wiz Khalifa, Cory Gunz, Bibi Bourelly, Junior Reid, Euro, and others[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-lil-wayne-releases-free-weezy-album-on-tidal-20150706-story.html) • [6](https://www.tvanouvelles.ca/2015/07/04/le-rappeur-lil-wayne-sort-un-album-en-streaming) |
| Lead single | "Glory", released June 3, 2015, also as a Tidal exclusive[7](https://courthousenews.com/lil-wayne-at-heart-of-50m-suit-against-tidal/) • [1](https://pitchfork.com/news/58474-lil-wayne-releases-fwa/) |
| First-week streams | Over 10 million streams on Tidal in the first week[7](https://courthousenews.com/lil-wayne-at-heart-of-50m-suit-against-tidal/) |
| Critical reception | Metascore 61 on Metacritic from 10 critic reviews; user score 7.4 from 178 ratings[8](https://www.metacritic.com/music/fwa-free-weezy-album/lil-wayne/critic-reviews) |
| 2020 re-release | Reissued as *FWA* in July 2020 on wider streaming services, with some songs dropped and new material added[9](https://www.allmusic.com/album/fwa-mw0003405567) |
## Background: the Cash Money dispute
The album exists because of a contract fight. In December 2014, Wayne said publicly that Cash Money Records and its co-founder Bryan "[Birdman](https://www.edgepedia.org/birdman-rapper)" Williams were withholding *Tha Carter V*, an album he had worked toward since *Tha Carter IV* was released in 2011 and which he had said would be his last.[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-lil-wayne-releases-free-weezy-album-on-tidal-20150706-story.html) • [9](https://www.allmusic.com/album/fwa-mw0003405567) Earlier in 2015 he sued Cash Money for $51 million, alleging withheld payments; the suit claimed he was owed $10 million for *Tha Carter V* under a 2012 contract extension that provided an $8 million advance at the start of recording and $2 million on delivery.[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-lil-wayne-releases-free-weezy-album-on-tidal-20150706-story.html)
Because the legal battle was unresolved, Wayne could not legally sell albums, but he could release music for free. Instead of using [SoundCloud](https://www.edgepedia.org/soundcloud) or a mixtape site such as DatPiff, he became the first artist to release an entire project on Tidal, the Jay Z-backed streaming service that had debuted in late March 2015 and in which Wayne had just become a co-owner.[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-lil-wayne-releases-free-weezy-album-on-tidal-20150706-story.html) • [2](https://www.nylon.com/articles/lil-wayne-fwa-tidal) Tidal had been launched on March 30, 2015, after Jay Z bought it for $56.2 million from the Swedish company [Aspiro](https://www.edgepedia.org/aspiro).[6](https://www.tvanouvelles.ca/2015/07/04/le-rappeur-lil-wayne-sort-un-album-en-streaming)
## Release and reach
FWA arrived as a surprise drop over the Fourth of July weekend with little advance marketing, in line with Tidal's exclusives strategy.[2](https://www.nylon.com/articles/lil-wayne-fwa-tidal) Tidal reported that the album was streamed 10 million times in its first week.[7](https://courthousenews.com/lil-wayne-at-heart-of-50m-suit-against-tidal/) Commentators noted that the service's small subscriber base limited the album's reach; Nylon observed that a surprise Wayne release would once have "broke the internet", but the Tidal exclusivity meant it made little splash.[2](https://www.nylon.com/articles/lil-wayne-fwa-tidal) • [10](https://djbooth.net/features/2015-07-07-lil-wayne-free-weezy-album-review/)
The release also drew legal crossfire. Cash Money sued Tidal for $50 million, claiming its exclusive 1998 recording contract with Wayne was violated by the release of "Glory" and the FWA album, and that the label was being wrongfully associated with a product it had nothing to do with; the complaint noted that the publisher of the [James Brown](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-brown) song "I Got You (I Feel Good)" had contacted the label about an allegedly unauthorized sample on the album.[7](https://courthousenews.com/lil-wayne-at-heart-of-50m-suit-against-tidal/) • [11](https://www.thewrap.com/jay-zs-tidal-slapped-with-50-million-lawsuit-by-cash-money-records-over-lil-wayne/) Tidal later stated that Cash Money never actually filed a lawsuit over the album, after TMZ had initially reported that one was being filed.[12](https://pitchfork.com/news/64458-tidal-says-cash-money-never-filed-lawsuit-over-lil-waynes-free-weezy-album/)
## Music and reception
The album opens with "Glory", which HipHopDX's reviewer called a "hoodwinking lyrical onslaught" that surpasses most of what follows.[13](https://hiphopdx.com/reviews/id.2490/title.lil-wayne-free-weezy-album) On "He's Dead", Wayne raps "rest in peace to the Cash Money Weezy, gone but not forgotten", framing the project as a farewell to his Cash Money identity.[5](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/20796-fwa/) "I Feel Good" samples James Brown, and "My Heart Races On" touches on police brutality.[14](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2015/07/review-lil-wayne-longs-for-true-independence-on-free-weezy-album/)
Critical response was mixed. The album scored 61 on Metacritic, with 3 of 10 critic reviews positive, 6 mixed, and 1 negative; users gave it 7.4.[8](https://www.metacritic.com/music/fwa-free-weezy-album/lil-wayne/critic-reviews) HipHopDX scored it 70 but wrote that "Wayne is merely drawing in the spaces on a coloring book rather than in unique hues".[13](https://hiphopdx.com/reviews/id.2490/title.lil-wayne-free-weezy-album) Spin gave it 60, finding that "FWA is slicker than most mixtapes" but that Wayne seemed to be playing it safe.[8](https://www.metacritic.com/music/fwa-free-weezy-album/lil-wayne/critic-reviews) The Guardian later ranked it 11th of Wayne's albums, calling it a set of leftovers that "unsurprisingly lacks cohesion".[15](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/oct/04/lil-waynes-albums-ranked) Recurring criticisms included over-produced vocals and instrumentals and weak slow-tempo production.[16](https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/32974-review-lil-waynes-free-weezy-album-news) • [17](https://www.rockthebodyelectric.com/2015/11/album-review-lil-wayne-free-weezy-album.html)
## The 2020 re-release
Five years after the original, in July 2020, Wayne re-released the project as *FWA* with much wider availability across streaming services.[9](https://www.allmusic.com/album/fwa-mw0003405567) The re-release was markedly different: some tracks were omitted entirely, including "I Feel Good", which was built on a James Brown sample, and "Without You", which featured Bibi Bourelly, while new material from the same era was added, with the new track "We Livin' Like That" closing the project.[9](https://www.allmusic.com/album/fwa-mw0003405567)
## References
1. [Lil Wayne Releases FWA, Pitchfork (Corban Goble, July 3, 2015)](https://pitchfork.com/news/58474-lil-wayne-releases-fwa/)
2. [Here's Why You're Not Listening To Lil Wayne's New Album, "FWA", Nylon (Gabriel Bell, July 6, 2015)](https://www.nylon.com/articles/lil-wayne-fwa-tidal)
3. [A Tale of Two Reviews: Lil' Wayne, 'FWA (Free Weezy Album)', The Pop Break (July 14, 2015)](https://thepopbreak.com/2015/07/14/a-tale-of-two-reviews-lil-wayne-fwa-free-weezy-album/)
4. [Lil Wayne releases 'Free Weezy Album' on Tidal, Los Angeles Times (Gerrick D. Kennedy, July 6, 2015)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-lil-wayne-releases-free-weezy-album-on-tidal-20150706-story.html)
5. [Lil Wayne: FWA Album Review, Pitchfork (Matthew Ramirez, July 9, 2015)](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/20796-fwa/)
6. [Le rappeur Lil Wayne sort un album en streaming, TVA Nouvelles (July 4, 2015)](https://www.tvanouvelles.ca/2015/07/04/le-rappeur-lil-wayne-sort-un-album-en-streaming)
7. [Lil Wayne at Heart of $50M Suit Against Tidal, Courthouse News Service (2015)](https://courthousenews.com/lil-wayne-at-heart-of-50m-suit-against-tidal/)
8. [Critic Reviews for FWA (Free Weezy Album), Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/music/fwa-free-weezy-album/lil-wayne/critic-reviews)
9. [Lil Wayne: FWA Tracks & Reviews, AllMusic (Fred Thomas)](https://www.allmusic.com/album/fwa-mw0003405567)
10. [Weezy's Free & Less Important Than Ever, DJBooth (July 7, 2015)](https://djbooth.net/features/2015-07-07-lil-wayne-free-weezy-album-review/)
11. [Jay Z's Tidal Slapped With $50 Million Lawsuit by Cash Money Records Over Lil Wayne, TheWrap (2015)](https://www.thewrap.com/jay-zs-tidal-slapped-with-50-million-lawsuit-by-cash-money-records-over-lil-wayne/)
12. [Tidal Says Cash Money Never Filed Lawsuit Over Lil Wayne's Free Weezy Album, Pitchfork (2016)](https://pitchfork.com/news/64458-tidal-says-cash-money-never-filed-lawsuit-over-lil-waynes-free-weezy-album/)
13. [Lil Wayne - Free Weezy Album, HipHopDX (July 2015)](https://hiphopdx.com/reviews/id.2490/title.lil-wayne-free-weezy-album)
14. [Review: Lil Wayne Longs for True Independence on 'Free Weezy Album', Spin (July 2015)](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2015/07/review-lil-wayne-longs-for-true-independence-on-free-weezy-album/)
15. [Lil Wayne's albums – ranked!, The Guardian (October 4, 2018)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/oct/04/lil-waynes-albums-ranked)
16. [Review: Lil Wayne's "Free Weezy Album", HotNewHipHop (2015)](https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/32974-review-lil-waynes-free-weezy-album-news)
17. [Album Review: Lil Wayne - Free Weezy Album, Rock the Body Electric (November 2015)](https://www.rockthebodyelectric.com/2015/11/album-review-lil-wayne-free-weezy-album.html)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Hip hop albums › Trap and melodic rap albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license