When Lil Wayne finally dropped Tha Carter V in 2018, the world wasn't just looking for bangers. We were looking for closure. After years of legal purgatory and "Free Weezy" hashtags, the album needed a finale that felt like a deep exhale. That exhale came in the form of the outro, a track that has since become legendary in the Wayne canon. But if you’ve ever found yourself humming that haunting, soulful hook and wondering who sings let it all work out with lil wayne, the answer isn't a guest feature in the traditional sense.
It’s a sample. A brilliant, perfectly placed sample of British soul singer Sampha.
The vocals you hear repeating "Let it all work out" belong to Sampha Sisay, known mononymously as Sampha. The specific recording is pulled from his 2013 song "Indecision," a track from his Dual EP. Honestly, the way producers Myles William, Jordan, and Reefa flipped this track is a masterclass in mood-setting. They didn't just loop a beat; they captured a feeling of spiritual exhaustion and eventual peace.
The Voice Behind the Sample: Who Is Sampha?
If you don't know Sampha by name, you definitely know his voice. He’s the guy who makes every song 40% more emotional just by showing up. Before he was the "Let It All Work Out" voice, he was the secret weapon for some of the biggest names in music.
- Drake: You probably remember him from "Too Much" on Nothing Was the Same.
- Kanye West: He lent his distinct, crackling tenor to "Saint Pablo."
- Solange: He was all over A Seat at the Table, most notably on "Don't Touch My Hair."
Sampha has this unique quality where his voice sounds like it’s about to break, but it never quite does. On "Indecision"—the source for the Wayne track—he’s singing about the paralyzing weight of making choices. When Wayne’s team sped that up and layered it over a hip-hop breakbeat, the meaning shifted. It turned from a song about being stuck into a song about moving forward.
Why "Let It All Work Out" Was the Most Important Song on the Album
Usually, an outro is just a place to put the credits and some "thank yous." Not here. For years, Lil Wayne had told a story about a "suicide attempt" when he was twelve years old, but he’d always framed it as an accident. He told people he was playing with a gun and it went off.
On the final verse of "Let It All Work Out," he finally told the truth.
He rapped about the day he aimed the gun at his chest because he was scared his mother was going to tell him he couldn't rap anymore. It was a heavy, jarring moment of honesty that caught everyone off guard. The Sampha sample acts as the emotional glue for this confession. Every time Wayne finishes a devastating bar about that afternoon in New Orleans, Sampha’s voice comes back in like a mantra: Let it all work out.
It’s sort of like a conversation between a man in pain and a voice of hope.
The Production Mystery: Wayne vs. Young Thug
Interestingly, there’s a bit of hip-hop lore attached to this beat. If you’re a deep-diver, you might have heard a Young Thug version of this exact same song. It leaked years ago, produced by London On Da Track. It turns out that both rappers had recorded to a Sampha-sampled beat around the same time—likely back in 2014 when Tha Carter V was originally supposed to come out.
While Thug’s version is a vibe, Wayne’s version carries the weight of history. It feels earned.
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The Technical Side of the Sound
The track isn't just about the lyrics; it's about the texture. The producers didn't just take the Sampha vocal and leave it raw. They manipulated it.
- Pitch Shifting: The vocal is pitched up slightly, giving it that "chipmunk soul" feel that Kanye West made famous in the early 2000s, but with a modern, more polished sheen.
- Rhythmic Gating: Notice how the sample cuts in and out? It follows the drums. It creates this staccato effect that keeps the energy high even though the subject matter is low.
- Atmospheric Padding: There are layers of reverb and delay that make Sampha sound like he’s singing from the back of a cathedral.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Creators
If you're a fan of this track, there's a lot more to explore than just the one song.
- Listen to the Source: Go back and play Sampha’s "Indecision." It’s a piano-driven ballad that is much more somber than the Wayne version. It gives you a whole new appreciation for how producers "hear" potential in a song.
- Explore the "Process": Sampha’s debut album, Process, won the Mercury Prize for a reason. If you like the vulnerability in "Let It All Work Out," that album is the gold standard for emotional R&B.
- Study the Credits: If you’re a producer, look at the work of Myles William. He’s the one who helped bridge the gap between Sampha’s indie-soul world and Wayne’s legendary rap status.
Ultimately, "Let It All Work Out" works because it feels human. It’s a song about the worst day of someone's life, backed by a voice that sounds like it’s praying for them. Whether you call it a feature or a sample, Sampha’s contribution is the heartbeat of the track.
To truly appreciate the artistry, try listening to "Indecision" and then immediately jumping into "Let It All Work Out." You'll hear exactly how a piece of music can be reborn into something entirely new.