Funeral has long been in the works  after Weezy first announced he was working on the record before it was shelved amid his label issues with Cash Money Records. Last week, the Young Money honcho teased on Twitter that the project was officially on its way to the elation of fans worldwide. He followed that up with a short preview of the album’s lead single accompanied by a graphic artwork. “Soon,” he promised with a casket emoji. Weezy followed up with the album’s January 31 release date in a second tweet where he revealed that he’ll be rolling out merchandise in conjunction with the album’s release.

Thus, the 24-track project finally arrived on streaming platforms as promised.“Get ya roses ready!” Weezy toasted to his 34 million followers. Rising ATL producer London on Da Track along with LoopHoles, Rio, Academics, MonstaBeatz were named in the album's production credits along with features from 2 Chainz, Big Sean, Lil Baby, Jay Rock, The-Dream and more. Within hours of its release, cuts from the album became trending topics on Twitter, such as the album’s third track, “Mama Mia” and “Mahogany.”

With the album’s release, the Twittersphere is in an uproar.

“Listening to Lil Wayne rap his a** off like it’s still 2009 on Funeral,” one fan commented.

“A [G.O.A.T. is] back!!” another celebrated. 

Fans also noticed the release came with a few  tributes to the lost NBA great Kobe Bryant, beginning with its tracklist. Fans understand the album’s 24-song total as a nod to Bryant and his signature jersey number. On the Jay Rock-assisted “Bing James,” which also happens to be the eighth track on the album, the song’s outro ends with 24 seconds of silence. There also appeared to be a reference to the Los Angeles Lakers in the track’s lyrics, where Weezy raps “Yellow pill, purple drank, I'm Laker geeked, mane.”
Check out the best fan reactions to Lil Wayne’s newest release below.