In the bleakest days of January 2025, as we all nursed holiday hangovers and contemplated another year of existential dread, LiAngelo Ball—yes, that LiAngelo Ball—dropped Tweaker and inadvertently created the most gloriously confusing rap moment in recent memory.
The middle Ball brother, perpetually trapped between his NBA-star siblings, somehow managed to release a track that sounds like it was unearthed from a 2003 Cash Money Records time capsule.
What “Tweaker” Actually Means (No, Not That Kind of Tweaking)
First things first: despite the title’s pharmaceutical implications, Ball isn’t singing about crystal meth.
When GELO raps “I might swerve, bend that corner, woah” or “You wanna tweak? Get up with me and I’ma show you how that go,” he’s talking about erratic behavior—specifically the kind that happens when you’re flexing in luxury vehicles or confronting enemies.
It’s standard-issue rap braggadocio delivered with the delightfully unexpected cadence of someone who’s studied every Juvenile track ever made.
The hook’s elongated “woah” is delivered with such earnest commitment that it’s impossible not to find it endearing.
It’s like watching your awkward cousin absolutely murder karaoke night with unexpected confidence—you’re caught between mockery and genuine admiration.
The Unlikely Rise of G3
@rezedits7 W song #n3on #n3onclips #liangeloball #fyp ♬ original sound – REZ EDITS
If you’d told me in December that LiAngelo Ball—the same guy whose biggest claim to fame was getting arrested for shoplifting in China during a UCLA basketball tour—would drop 2025’s first viral hit, I’d have laughed you out of the room.
Yet here we are, with Tweaker debuting at #29 on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming a viral sensation.
The song’s journey is a masterclass in accidental virality. Ball previewed a snippet on N3on’s livestream, and it immediately caught fire online—not because it was groundbreaking, but because it was so unexpectedly listenable.
His singsong flow paired with production that screams “Lil Wayne circa Tha Carter I” created an instant earworm that had people simultaneously asking “Is this good?” and “Why can’t I stop listening to this?”
The Music Video: Hummers, Club Scenes, and a Family Affair
The Tweaker music video, directed by HPLA and dropped on January 30, is exactly what you’d expect—and that’s part of its charm.
GELO cruises around in a blinding yellow Hummer with brothers Lonzo and LaMelo before hitting a nightclub to flex amidst a sea of beautiful women and champagne bottles.
It’s 2025 through a 2003 lens, complete with all the familiar rap video tropes we thought had died with BET’s Uncut.
What makes the video work is its complete lack of irony. There’s no winking at the camera, no meta-commentary on the throwback aesthetic.
GELO and his brothers are fully committed to the bit, treating this like a legitimate music video from the era they’re sonically referencing.
The final scene—GELO being asked “So, what’s next?” before teasing 10 seconds of his follow-up track, Can You Please?—suggests this isn’t just a one-off lark.
The Sonic Time Machine
Tweaker sounds like it was produced by someone who’s studied the DNA of every bounce-heavy New Orleans track from the early 2000s.
The piano keys sound accidentally drunk, the percussion pattern echoes Big Tymers at their peak, and the synthesiser pads create a sonic environment that’s so deliberately dated it somehow loops back around to feeling fresh.
The track’s production, handled by Kunica and Glockie Cheez (names that sound generated by an AI prompt for “Southern rap producers”), creates the perfect backdrop for Ball’s unpolished delivery.
It’s the sound of Y2K-era Cash Money Records filtered through the sensibilities of someone who was literally a child during that era.
When Ball elongates his “ahhs” and “woahs,” he’s channeling Big Tymers’ Big Ballin’ with such uncanny accuracy that it’s either genius pastiche or the most fortunate musical accident of the year. Either way, it works.
The Verses Don’t Match the Chorus (But Maybe That’s the Point?)
While the chorus of Tweaker is undeniably infectious, the verses veer into more generic territory.
When Ball raps lines like: “Tell me what they talkin’ ’bout, I ain’t fuckin’ listenin’ / Let your thoughts run your mouth, but ain’t touchin’ dividends,”
he sounds like he’s checking boxes on a “Rap Verses 101” worksheet rather than speaking from personal experience.
But perhaps the verses’ relative weakness compared to the hook is part of what makes Tweaker such a perfect encapsulation of early 2000s rap.
That era was defined by unforgettable hooks attached to verses that often served more as connective tissue than standalone poetry.
In that sense, Tweaker isn’t just imitating the sound of that period—it’s replicating its structural DNA.
Is It Good? Does It Matter?
The question of whether Tweaker is actually “good” in any conventional sense feels almost beside the point.
It’s caught in a fascinating liminal space between ironic appreciation and genuine enjoyment, between calculated nostalgia and accidental brilliance.
What’s undeniable is that it’s effective. The track has garnered praise from artists including Drake, Eminem, Cardi B, and T-Pain—a murderer’s row of co-signs that suggests the industry recognises something compelling in Ball’s throwback experiment.
Tweaker feels like the first genuine surprise of 2025’s musical landscape—a track that shouldn’t work but somehow does, from an artist no one expected to make an impact.
In a musical environment increasingly driven by algorithmic precision and careful calculation, there’s something refreshing about a song that feels like it succeeded despite itself.
What’s Next for GELO?
At the end of the Tweaker video, Ball teases his follow-up track Can You Please? which, based on the brief snippet, suggests he’s not abandoning the throwback sound that made his debut a success.
Whether he has the artistic range to build a sustainable career or is destined to be 2025’s most unexpected one-hit wonder remains to be seen.
What we do know is that Ball has managed to carve out his own cultural lane separate from his basketball-star brothers—something few would have predicted even months ago.
In a family defined by athletic achievement, LiAngelo has found success by zigging while everyone else zagged, creating a musical identity that, while deeply derivative of a specific era, is nonetheless distinctly his own.
Tweaker might be more meme than masterpiece, but in 2025’s fragmented cultural landscape, that distinction hardly matters. Ball has our attention—now let’s see what he does with it.
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GELO Tweaker Lyrics
Intro
(Glizock, pop your shit, boy)
Watch over your shoulder, nigga
Shit get real out here, fool
Ah
(KUNICA on the beat)
Chorus
I might swerve, bend that corner, woah
Bitch, hold on tight ’cause I’ll tweak in this bitch, start lettin’ shit go
And I heard that she wanna show
Me who she be, I’m kinda fuckin’ with it, show me some more
Bitch, we tatted head to toe, could give a fuck, the story wrote
You wanna tweak? Get up with me and I’ma show you how that go
Like the money in my pockets, blow
They havin’ convos about me, these pussy niggas don’t know
Verse 1
Tell me what they talkin’ ’bout, I ain’t fuckin’ listenin’
Let your thoughts run your mouth, but ain’t touchin’ dividends
Nigga, I ain’t from the South, but kick it with my Memphis twin
Nigga, I can’t take a loss, I’m always goin’ for the win (For the win)
I been geeked up in this booth, I got my blunt packed for the starter
Nigga, don’t be here actin’ new, they’ll put some holes all through your body
I’m like “Oh, them hoes is cool, let ’em in if that shit water” (Water)
See a nigga actin’ bothered, got my green light to red dot ’em(Red dot, red dot)
If you spot me, ho, I’m sorry, I can’t take you, it get gnarly (Get gnarly)
Look like your nigga want smoke, well, we gon’ do this shit regardless (Regardless)
And I started from the bottom, just like you, but I was harder (Way harder)
I came up a fuckin’ soldier, nigga, shout out to my father (Shout out my father)
Ah-ah
He made sure I’ll make it farther
Ah-ah (Ah-ah-ah-ah)
My trust in God, Glocks, and dollars
Chorus
I might swerve, bend that corner, woah
Bitch, hold on tight ’cause I’ll tweak in this bitch, start lettin’ shit go
And I heard that she wanna show
Me who she be, I’m kinda fuckin’ with it, show me some more
Bitch, we tatted head to toe, could give a fuck, the story wrote
You wanna tweak? Get up with me and I’ma show you how that go
Like the money in my pockets, blow
They havin’ convos about me, these pussy niggas don’t know
Verse 2
With my evil twin, all black hoodies, we hit the streets again (Hoodies)
He don’t like attention, he’ll tweak and get to reapin’ shit
What your ass expect? We drove the whole way in a Demon, bitch (Demon)
He’ll pop out, won’t think twice and make you greet the switch (Pop out)
Ah-ha-ha, is you sure you wanna meet that bitch?
If I see ill intentions, we’ll make sure you get to bleedin’ quick (Bleedin’)
All exotic whips, the whole damn gang be in some rocket ships (Rocket ship)
Pull up to the scene, my best advice is to hide your bitch (Hide your bitch)
I can see the lies all on your face because your eyes’ll twitch (Twitchy, twitchy)
The black ski mask all on our fuckin’ faces be disguisin’ shit (Disguise)
I might have my way with your bay-bay, you wanna cry and shit
Rest my Glock against her fuckin’ waist, I got some pottery
Ah-ah, ah-ah
She my bitch now, my apologies
Don’t need no more enemies, you rock with me? Then rock with me
But I’ma keep it real, she lost respect when you said, “Follow me”
Chorus
I might swerve, bend that corner, woah
Bitch, hold on tight ’cause I’ll tweak in this bitch, start lettin’ shit go
And I heard that she wanna show
Me who she be, I’m kinda fuckin’ with it, show me some more
Bitch, we tatted head to toe, could give a fuck, the story wrote
You wanna tweak? Get up with me and I’ma show you how that go
Like the money in my pockets, blow
They havin’ convos about me, these pussy niggas don’t know
