Lil Wayne unexpectedly dropped a new song on streaming services Thursday, with “Ya Dig” arriving without much fanfare less than a week after the rapper released his collaborative Trust Fund Babies mixtape with Rich the Kid.
However, the new song is anything but: According to Lil Wayne HQ, “Ya Dig” dates back to 2007 or 2008, arguably the peak of his creative powers, putting the track and Wayne’s flow more in line with Tha Carter III than his recent LP.
The song, produced by StreetRunner, is also built around a sample of Margie Joseph’s rendition of “Stop, In the Name of Love,” which Lil Wayne previously employed in “Gossip“; StreetRunner also produced that song from 2007’s The Leak EP.
In addition to Trust Fund Babies, which arrived October 1st, the always-active Lil Wayne also recently appeared on a remix of Run the Jewels’ “Ooh La La.” Prior to that, he teamed up with British rapper KSI for the single “Lose.”