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Music

Watch August Alsina and Lil Wayne's Video for "Why I Do It"

Two of New Orleans' finest explore the whirlwind life of an artist and have a ton of fun.

"I don't ask why you do your job" August Alsina sings at one point on "Why I Do It," a song about, well, why he does his job (as it turns out, according to the song, there are many perks to being a famous musician). But still, to answer that question: One of the reasons any kid from New Orleans might be drawn to a career in music would probably be the prospect of one day performing with one of the city's greatest musical exports, Lil Wayne. And that's what happens here. Wayne turns in the kind of performance that made him one of the New Orleans greats, effortlessly switching up flows, throwing in little melodies, and dropping great off-handed punchlines like "got my bitch ballin' hard / Sheryl Swoopin' on these niggas / mind your fucking business and stop Googlin' on me nigga."

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Lil Wayne's greatest guest verses have always been ones where he sinks so effortlessly into the song that even when he only has eight bars or whatever it feels like he's in control. Too often in recent years, Wayne has felt like a tacked-on accessory brought in by A&Rs desperate to get their single more attention. Here, he and August trade off seamlessly, clearly having a ton of fun with the song's light, bouncy melody. Music just kind of runs in those Louisiana kids' blood. More collaborations from these two would be cool look. The video takes a meta approach, filming stock music video scenes (Wayne staring out the window of an airplane, August being hounded by fans, Wayne and August in a strip club) and then pulling back the camera to show that it's all kind of a facade. The most important thing is the artists' rapport. As it should be! Check out the video below:

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