US rapper Lil’ Wayne has been compared to Outkast and Freddie Mercury by the producers of his new rock album 'Rebirth'.

Cool and Dre also denied that the rapper had turned his back on hip-hop roots by experimenting with guitars.

The rapper’s seventh album, the follow-up to 2008’s ‘Tha Carter III’, is released in June.

Producer Cool told MTV: "It's almost like where Outkast was when they made ‘Aquemini’.

"It's still a rap album, but was it really a rap album compared to all the other rap albums at that time?

"André Benjamin was evolving artistically to where he's at now — Wayne is doing the same thing, and he's not afraid to show you his growth.”

Dre added: "We wanted to create music for him that could stand beside his performance, which is tough.

"The way he was performing, I can only compare him to Freddie Mercury or Jim Morrison, guys that put it all out onstage."

Lil’ Wayne’s decision to move into rock has been criticised by some of his peers and critics.

But the producers argued that the rapper had earned the right to experiment.

"He paid his dues, he put out a million mixtapes and he put out classic albums ... Rebirth is going to be another classic album," Cool said.

Lil’ Wayne’s last album sold one million copies in its first release in America.

(by Jason Gregory)