US rapper Lil’ Wayne will release his first ever rock album on April 7th.

‘Rebirth’, the rapper’s seventh album, will be preceded by the single ‘Prom Queen’.

The song will debut online after Lil’ Wayne’s concert in San Diego on January 27th.

Reports about the rapper’s change in direction first surfaced at the beginning of January.

Hip Hop star Drake said in an interview that Lil’ Wayne’s new record would be “a complete rock album”.

Drake said the rapper had been inspired to try a different direction by Kanye West's latest album '808s and Heartbreak', which sees West favour singing instead rapping.

‘Rebirth’ will arrive less than a year after Lil’ Wayne’s enormously successful ‘Tha Carter III’, which sold over one million copies in a week in the US.

(by Jason Gregory)