The song became Lil Wayne's 18th top ten hit, peaking at number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100. It also became Future's first top ten hit and most successful single until his 2017 single "Mask Off."[1]
The song, described as "sexual, braggadocios, [and] heavily Auto-Tuned",[citation needed] serves as an ode to Wayne's polyamory, while also expressing his distrust for such women. Despite commercial success, "Love Me" was largely panned by critics.[2]
Background
The song leaked online in late December 2012 when Cash Money's in-house DJ's, DJ Stevie J and E-Feezy premiered I Am Not a Human Being II's lead single on December 29, 2012.[3] The artwork for the single was designed by Kanye West, who had a longtime desire to do so for a Wayne record. Regarding his involvement, Wayne told The Times-Picayune:
"[Kanye] said, you know, man, let me do your cover. I saw the cover and I approved it…He had an explanation behind it - he said, he chose the moth butterfly thing because it has so many different stages of life, and it goes through so many forms and changes, and no one can figure it out, and it's always beautiful."[4]
On January 30, 2013, an animated version of the cover was released.[5]
On December 23, 2013, the songs producer, Mike WiLL Made It released the original version on his mixtape, #MikeWillBeenTrill, which omitted Wayne and was only performed by Future and Drake—the former of whom replaced Wayne's two verses.[6]
Music video
The music video was directed by Hannah Lux Davis[7] and shot on January 30, 2013, in Los Angeles. The teaser trailer was released on February 12, 2013.[8] The music video premiered on February 14, 2013, on MTV Jams.[9] It currently has over 508 million views on YouTube.
