Rap Song of the Week breaks down all the hip-hop tracks you need to hear every Friday. Check out the full playlist here. This week, YG and Lil Wayne reunite on “Miss My Dawgs.”

YG and Lil Wayne have been frequent collaborators over the past decade or so, first teaming up on the remix to YG’s breakout hit “My N****.” Earlier this week, YG acknowledged their close relationship by gifting his “favorite rapper” with a red 4Hunnid chain during the video shoot for their new collaboration, “Miss My Dawgs.”

Featuring melancholy, piano-driven production by Gibbo and Ambezza, “Miss My Dawgs” serves as a tribute to YG’s late friend and rapper Slim 400, who was fatally shot one year ago today. The track’s title might be a nod toward Wayne’s 2004 track “I Miss My Dawgs,” too, as the rappers remember all their friends that were taken too soon. The accompanying music video pays further respect with an early shot of a Nipsey Hussle mural.

As dogs bark in the background, YG sets the emotional tone for the track on the chorus, rapping, “Man, I miss my dawgs/ The ones I pick up for, ain’t never missed a call.” Moving on to define “my dawgs,” YG keeps it simple, referring to friends who were with him while they were “making it out of poverty” and still keep it “honest with me.”

On Wayne’s verse, he opens up about “bad-ass memories” before venting about haters who “tryna scratch a n**** off.” With nearly three decades in hip-hop at the age of 40, it’s impossible to imagine what his personal life has been like — let alone how many people he’s lost over the years.

“Miss My Dawgs” joins 2016’s “I Got a Question” and “Trill,” 2020’s “Blood Walk,” and last year’s “Buzzin’” as the latest addition to YG and Lil Wayne’s long collaborative history. With its mournful tone and heartfelt lyrics, it might just be their best yet.

— Eddie Fu
New Music Editor