Review: Lil Wayne Apologizes for Carter V Delay with S4TW2

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The rollout campaign for Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter V has been an interesting one to say the least. After Wayne’s original October release date came and passed, the social media shots at his longtime friend and label president Birdman were a huge shock to the hip-hop world. Those jabs have further materialized into Sorry 4 The Wait 2 (DOWNLOAD HERE). The first installment came in 2011 as an interim project for fans waiting for the release of the Carter IV and the second comes in similar fashion. Lil Wayne raps over some of the years hottest records including “CoCo,” “Try Me,” “Drunk In Love,” “Hot N*gga” and “No Type,” embodying the vocal tones and flows of the original artists while delivering his usual witty punch lines. Drake, 2Chainz, Christina Milian, Mack Maine and Shanell also make guest appearances and true to Wayne’s champion career, the seventeen tracks are completely in tune with present-day and popular sounds.

Opening with O.T. Genasis’ “CoCo,” Wayne does not shy away from confrontation and directly calls out Cash Money. “Cash Money is an army/ I’m a one-man army/ And if them n*ggas comin’ for me, I’m goin’ out like Tony.” He further expresses his loyalty to the twenty-year empire, while noting that he doesn’t want any problems, just his money. Aside from directly addressing the Cash Money beef, Lil Wayne profusely apologies throughout the mixtape, constantly switching the melody of the title, “Sorry 4 The Wait” to fit the energy of each song.

Wayne partners up with Drake for a completely original record with “Used To.” Although Tunechi should know by now that letting Drake get the opening verse doesn’t work in his favor, as at this point in his career and definitely in this record, Drake runs laps around his predecessor. Drake spits fire in his “Versace”-esque flow, while Wayne attempts to capitalize on some of those same lines in underwhelming fashion.

Christina Milian’s and Lil Wayne’s rendition of “Drunk In Love” is borderline comical as Christina lacks some serious vocal abilities while Wayne successfully turns skateboard references into sexual ones. Nonetheless, Wayne sounds his best over Dej Loaf’s “Try Me.” Remarkably, he personifies the Detroit Miss’s cadence exceptionally well and provides his own lyricism that still encompasses Dej’s original melody. Mack Maine also produces his blend of singing and rapping, accompanying Wayne without surpassing him.

“Alphabet” is nostalgic of “Lollipop” Wayne, except this time, Weezy shares a story and shorty for every letter of the alphabet. And knowing Wayne, these are just his conquers from last week. To close, Weezy takes his turn at Meek Mill’s “Dreams And Nightmares” and even elevates his vocal levels to Meek’s infamous rapping-like-the-mic-is-in-the-other-room-like-volume. Y’all thought Wayne was finished?!

There has been much debate about Lil Wayne’s material in recent years. His incredible run from Hot Boyz to the Carter series and literally being “the best rapper alive” from roughly 05-08, many people believe he has completely fallen off and hasn’t released a decent album since Tha Carter 3. Never mind your personal opinion of Wayne branching into rock music or not delivering the same cleverness in bars, to undermine what Weezy has contributed to hip-hop and continues to do so today, whether that be as a feature artist, A&R or scout for new talent is a disserve to the culture. S4TW2 is certainly not Wayne’s best, but the lyricism is completely comparable to verses we praise today. More so, Sorry 4 The Wait has me excited for the release of Tha Carter V, whenever that may be and deserves recognition. If you don’t love Lil Wayne, always and forever, you’re doing it wrong.