Lil Wayne – Dedication 4 (Mixtape Review)

    Many Rap listeners are perpetually paranoid that their favorite emcees will lose touch with the hungrier side once they abandon the mixtape circuit, and Lil Wayne is often cited as an example. His Gangsta Grillz: The Dedication and The Drought mixtape series captured the hearts of fans around the world, using original productions and well-known beats as a playground for his athletic lyrical wizardry. But some fans feel that his later retail projects focused too much on radio-ready singles, and lacked the urgency and individuality showcased in his free downloads. On Gangsta Grillz: Dedication 4, Lil Wayne shows glimpses of former glory while simultaneously confirming listeners’ worst fears.

    At the beginning of Dedication 4, DJ Drama proclaims that latest edition of he and Wayne’s seminal mixtape quartet “is for sport,” and Wayne lives up to the announcement for better and for worse. While Tha Carter IV seemed like YMCMB’s flagship rhymer was bored with formulaic and half-hearted lyrics, D4 sees him having fun with the random association style that built his reputation. Though he doesn’t sound as hungry to prove his spot anymore, bars like “that presidential double R, call it Ronald Reagan” and “give that bitch nigga the blues, till he’s fuckin’ navy” on the tape-opening “So Dedicated” showcase the wit that his fans fell in love with, as do his rhymes over a pair of Meek Mill records, “Burn” and “Amen.”

    In previous mixtapes, Dedication and otherwise, Wayne’s his calling card was adding original, creative flows over industry beats and making them his own. Here, his reinterpretations of hits such as “I Don’t Like” and “Mercy” come across as imitation—a weak point for an artist as unique as him. Also, the guest appearances on Dedication 4 seem to lack the conviction of Wayne’s previous tapes. J. Cole spews enjoyable bars about his adolescence on “Green Ranger,” but cameos from Lil Mouse, Jae Millz, and even established names like Nicki Minaj and Young Jeezy come up short.

    Dedication 4
    won’t have the iconic, game-changing longevity that the series’ first two did, but it’s still a snack-sized offering that offers glimpses of the New Orleans youngster who proclaimed himself as the “Best Rapper Alive” Regardless, seeing “Dedication” in the title will likely inspire listeners to turn up previous classics like “Cannon,” “Georgia…Bush” and “Motivation.”

    DX Consensus: “EP-worthy”

    Listen to Dedication 4 by Lil Wayne

    177 thoughts on “Lil Wayne – Dedication 4 (Mixtape Review)

    1. very generous review. and i used to be a huge fan of lil wayne. the best track was the last one where hes just talking. there were some lines that mirrored the old weezy but not one entire song was worthy of a second listen.

    2. WAYNE IS MULTITALENTED DUDE, HE SHOULD GO AND GET IN LES MISERABLES BROADWAY CAST, HE WOULD IMPROVE THE MUSICAL SCENE A LOT, BECAUSE HE TOUCHED EVERYTHING IN HIP HOP, POP, JAZZ, METAL, TECHNO, PUNK, DUBSTEP AND ROCK, ONLY THING REMAINING ARE THE MUSICALS (AND OPERA). EVEN IN SKATEBOARDING HE IS THE NEW TONY HAWK.

      REBIRTH WAS THE BEST ROCK RECORD EVER RELEASED (AT THE SAME TIME THE WORST WAYNE ALBUM BUT STILL GREAT) SHOWING THAT WEEZY IS MORE THAN JUST A RAPPER. IT SHITS ON WHOLE AC/DC, QUEEN, GUNS N ROSES AND SEX PISTOLS DISCOGRAPHIES.

      THIS MIXTAPE IS AN ANOTHER INSANT CLASSIC FROM WEEZY, LYRICALY ON THE SAME LEVEL AS ILLMATIC, I HOPE HE’LL MAKE CARTER V, IT WILL BE ONE OF THE BEST RECORDS EVER.

      I SAW SOME PEOPLE MENTIONING HOPSIN’S NAME IN THIS DISCUSSION. ARE YOU ON DRUGS? HOPSIN IS NOTHING MORE THAN JUST AN ATTENTION BITCH AND POSER DISSING EVERYBODY, ESPECIALLY PEOPLE WHO MAKE REAL HIP HOP, NOT HIS RIDICOLOUS SHIT.

      1. Rebirth was the best rock album ever made? Are you even paying attention to what you are writing? Just NAME 20 rock albums. They don’t even have to be good. Just name me 20 rock albums period before you start calling Lil Wayne the best rock artist fucking ever.

      2. Did Wayne himself write this? Best rock album ever? Same lyrical skill as illmatic? I hope that is Wayne or a 10 year old that wrote that.

    3. The only people who will like this mixtape is ignorant hood rat faggets who think lines like “She LETTUCE hit it like a SALAD bar” is “FIREEE BRUH”. Be real here, listen to the damn words lil wayne is saying, actually listen, dont bob your head to the beat like fkn waka flocka, if you can seriously believe that Lil Wayne is saying some real shit, (btw real shit isnt anything about getting head, eating pussy, fuckin hoes, buying shit and skateboarding), then you are a lost cause because you simply have bad taste in rap music and thats fine, not everyone appreciates pure hiphop. If you agree that its just some ignorant shit talkin rap and you like it then im ok, but if your gunna tell me this is GOOD rap music then you may need ur head checked. READ THIS IF YOU WANT AN ACCURATE ANALYSIS OF THIS MIXTAPE AND ITS FANS.

    4. I have been a Wayne fan since 1997 when he was rapping with Big Tymers and B.G. I followed and witnessed his flow mature. So to say he is not the best out there is hatin. If you hate then dont listen, dont bother to comment. Best rappers flows always mature over time, Wayne is a perfect example. Top 5 to ever do it:

      2pac
      Jay-Z
      Big L
      Lil Wayne
      50 Cent (not lyrical but makes the most PERFECT MUSIC ever for a rapper)

    5. K why does everyone have to be either a TROLL or A DICKSUCKER, SO ANNOYING..FROM A NON BIASED PERSON this is the best tape Wayne has dropped since No Ceilings, Hes actually rhyming and the wordplay is back on point, good features etc..4.5/5

    6. niggas call wayne a pop star.. like no ceilings was pop? carter 2 was pop? lil wayne is pop when he shows up on every kids bob, and i don’t think his lyrics gonna make the disney channel cut. it sounds cute when y’all say it.. but it doesn’t make sense.. wayne is no where near pop

    7. This fag is all over MTV wearing skin tight leopard pants, with his ass hangin out! that is not hip hop! That’s pop candy rap!

    8. This shit isn’t even EP worthy! This is the truth! No Ceilings, drought 3, and dedication 1 and 2 were really his best work. I’m not a big Wayne fan but I like those tapes and the carter 2 which was his highest quality album to date before he went pop and his albums were slick and less real. I’ve just come to the understanding that people can’t recognize quality when they see or hear it. They add someone’s money to something that isn’t determined by it. Being rich doesn’t mean you will sound good on a song. If you are wack you are wack and sorry 4 the wait and D4 are trash!

    9. Wayne was probably scared that Ja Rule was going to roast his ass on his own mixtape. Don’t fuck with the mighty Ja!

    10. I’ve always been a Lil Wayne supporter, from his Cash Money days on up through the Carter 4 (which, for the majority, I didn’t like, but I gave Wayne the benefit of the doubt for). But this…this is indefensible. It’s terrible. One of the worse collection of songs I’ve ever heard put together.

    11. Honestly,(coming from an average fan of Wayne’s work all the way up to Carter4) this is pure garbage. Here’s why
      Content-we all know (or atleast u should) that Wayne isnt the most “deep” rapper. He usually doesnt have songs that have any substance or great meaning to them.(He’s not incapable tho, see songs like Tie my hands & Mirror)Wayne decideds on this mixtape to emphasis one thing; he loves pussy & woman wanna fuck him. On almost every song, this is wat he’s rappin about. Idk how ppl dnt get annoyed by that but I guess they love hearing Wayne brag about how much pussy he’s gettin on every song.

      Flow-This is how Wayne became so popular as one of the top rappers in the game. Most of his past mixtapes were top notch in punchlines/metaphors. This mixtape however, falls way short in comparison to the others. He’s fallen in love w/the “#hashtag, Supadupaflow” to the point where it just sounds stupid.”Like all my niggaz strapped, backpacks” or just something dat jus doesnt need to be said especially in that form.

      I decided to give Wayne a chance on this mixtape & was past dissappointed. He’s fallen off,washed up or watever u wanna call it.(He’s not the only. Jay & Ye arent far behind same w/Em) U listen to old Wayne mixtapes & than compare it to this & there’s no comparison(Yes, even Srry4theWait had better punchlines than this). Done w/Wayne & Nicki but I think Drake can still spit, he jus needs to tone it down w/the singing & tough guy act.

    12. HAHA U DUDES INTO LIL GAYNE ARE FAKE HIP HOP KIDS WITH NO CLUE>>>
      THIS SHIT IS HORRIBLE
      GO N KISS BIRDMAN U FOOLS
      U RETARTED FOOLS
      MF 4 LIFE

    13. 1. No More feat. The Weeknd (Produced by Noah “40” Shebib, add. Drake
      2. Day Dreamin’ (Produced by Cool & Dre)
      3. Smoke feat. Game (Produced by Kanye West, add. Mike Dean, add. Jeff Bhasker)
      4. Political Shit (Produced by StreetRunner, co. Sarom)
      5. Gotta Get It feat. Drake & Rick Ross (Produced by Cool & Dre)
      6. Pop A Pill feat. Young Jeezy (Produced by Hit-Boy, add. Kanye West, add. Emile)
      7. Case Dismissed (Produced by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League)
      8. Terrorist feat. Cory Gunz (Produced by Jim Jonsin)
      9. My Homies Still feat. Big Sean (Produced by StreetRunner, co. Sarom)
      10. I’m Fresh (Produced by Bangladesh)
      11. You Can Get It Too (Produced by Kanye West, co. No I.D., co. Mike Dean)
      12. Move It Like I Do feat. B.o.B & T.I. (Produced by Boi-1da, co. Matthew Burnett)
      13. Oooh Nooo (Produced by Cool & Dre)
      14. Don’t Make Me Hurt You (Produced by StreetRunner)
      15. Heavenly Father (Produced by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League)
      16. Cheers feat. Drake (Produced by T-Minus)

    14. 0.0000000000000000000000000000000005/5
      this gay ass nigga deserve death his fanbase a bunch of ( gays and white kids)

    15. guys seriously embaressing carter 2 was so dope dedication 1 and 2 were crazy da drought series was quality no ceilings was decent then everything went completly out the fucking window the whole skate thing the jeggings everything bout this guy is corny these days i seen him on the mtv awards and felt sorry for anyone who was even standing near him guy makes me cringe a complete dickhead fuck this nigga

    16. why are you motherfucker on this to hate. he brings something new on every album and you shold respect that unlike most people that just recycle the same shit

    17. The Good: He’s rapping… for real!
      The Bad: Says SOME retarted thigs if you listen closely.

      MY CONSENSUS: Good > Bad

    18. pretty bad for Wayne. I’m still a fan of a lot of his older stuff and even up to No Ceilings but since, his punchlines have just gotten bad and at times just don’t make sense. He just doesn’t care about the music anymore, he said it himself.

    19. it’s come to a point where I have such low expectations for this guy.. that I didn’t find the EP to be that bad. well no ok it was shit, but like the review said he brought back some of that old-school wit of his, there’s smidgens of his 07 delivery in there and as such it’s bearable

    20. It was fucking hard as shit. Weezy Back. These stupid mother fuckers hating still download the mixtape and thats where Waynes caring ends. You love him enough to download his shit to just hate on him, hate comes from love Psychological fact. So when you understand whatever the fuck the real problem is in your life that Wayne accentuates; figure that out, but stop hating on a man for being him. Every single rapper evolves in this game, Wayne is becoming a brand like Jay-z and Eminem, it takes time to balance that with leaving it all on the mic the way you did when you were hungry. You cant fucking judge him based off anything in the past you past tense living mother fuckers. 1

    21. Lil Mouse go harder than half the niggaz in the game right now, sign that kid Weezy Wee. Everything else, fucking spotless. 5/5.

    22. yeah this article basically tells it right. This mixtape is both a good one, and at the same time just a little bit of a disappointment, just a little. That mercy and I wish u would I thought he was gonna kill it on them two tracks, yet he came up very weak on them two, very disappointing

    23. This was good some songs werent as good as they shudve been but in all it was good I like how he went back to his old ways but he still came up short a lil bit but he keeps it up well get 08 weezy back.

    24. Holy shit Lil Wayne is the worst rapper. How can you say give that bitch nigga the blues, till hes fuckin navy is witty or clever?

    25. The mixtape wasn’t the best but it’s his best work since no ceilings, although thats not saying much. For 2012 wayne this mixtape is actually pretty decent. Only tracks I hated was the my homies still rmx, no worries, and No Lie. Other than that the mixtape was straight, he went in on most of the tracks.

    26. you all hateing wasting are waste if you all think his shit why the hell are you download this tape sort your life out and by the way this was for free for fuck sakes

    27. WAYNE IS THE KING
      LOOK AT HIS TRACK RECORD… WHO HAS IMPROVED WITH TIME? WHO ALWAYS TAKE A BIG FAT DUMP ON EVERY SINGLE TRACK HE IS ON?
      WHO HAS NEVER BEEN OUTDONE ON A TRACK?

      1. “There they go, packin’ stadiums as Shady spits his flow”…

        Actually, you can make that every song Eminem was on with Weezy, i.e. “Drop the World”, “No Love”. And Eminem is about 3/4’s the rapper he used to be before he got off drugs (it’s sad, but true. yes, he’s more technical now, but I liked his fluid, goin’ bananas shit more).

    28. Wayne is Chicken shit.This cd is chicken shit.He Sounded Better When He Was A Hot Boy, His Last Hot Verse Was “Bling-Bling” (12 years ago) since then he released 9 Solo albums AND NOT ONE OF THEM ARE CLASSIC.He’s Consistent with Garbage, He Has The Quantity over Quality Complex with his music. Anytime he gets on a track with a more credible MC he loses, Eminem,T.I.,Busta,Luda,etc. Lokk at his subject matter on this release:skateboarding, getting head, eating pussy,braggadocio type flows, lazy predictable metaphors. What do You Learn From It? In Fifteen Years Are We Gonna look back and find greatness in what he said? Hell The fuck No. This Queer Doesn’t Make Sense when he raps.people say they lose brain cells listening to his shit, so what does that tell you.If He is King To You, I forgive you for being lost, If This Is Who You Support, Your choice Just Don’t Go Over The Bridge with him. Bekause his falloff is around the corner, the backlash has been building, since he bekame pop, the clock has been ticking. so enjoy his last minute of fame people.

    29. He’s loosing it. But he even said his self he’s retired from rap….. he’s bowing out now because he knows the next tape will be moreuseful as toilet paper. Used to love wayne… but what happened dude. Just quit n take the bitch nicki minaj wit u.

    30. to me all this bullshit started with prostitute flange. he sounded stupid with that sing-song bullshit and everybody said it was dope. from there he went to the bad autotune phase and weak lyrics and to where he is now. that song was the confirmation he needed that people will buy whatever. he feels like he can say whatever and people will say its hot because his name is wayne. if you feel d4 was hot thats you, but he will keep putting out bullshit as long as people say its hot.

      1. The thing is he went to jail and lost momentum. Only one mc went to jail and came out better. 2pac If you lack substance in your rap you cant loose momentum or you will never gain it back.

    31. This is terrible. To everyone asking what happened to Wayne, I can tell
      You. He died in 2008 and was replaced with this Tunechi faggot. I am a big Wayne fan but Even I wouldn’t have the ball to attempt to defend this mixtape.

      Wayne. Quit with this gay ass skateboarding shit and go back to the Drought 3 lyrical wizard that made me a fan. This is honestly terrible. Money makes people lazy. Nicki, Drake and Wayne and even legends like Eminem and JayZ Can’t hope to match the lyrical skills of their younger hungrier selves. Nicki is a clown with MPD now and lil Wayne is a Coochi now. I miss 2007.

      1. Why don’t you shut yo mouth, you ol’ one-testicle-havin’ ass, lil’-boy-grabbin’ ass, sour-cuz-Wayne-stole-yo-bitch-and-passed-her-to-lil’ twist ass bitch! Why you only got one ball anyways? Talk about that!

    32. Its something cool to throw in and ride too. Alot of yall taking this rap shit 2 serious. Chillout. If you dont like it dont play it. Yall looking kinda dumb writing long essays arguing about how wack he is. Calm down.

      1. Thats the problem. People think hiphop is suppose to raise their kids or something. I been listening to hiphop for years. Its entertainment. Read a book if you wanna learn something.

      2. TOO SERIOUS THIS IS A FUKIN HIP HOP WEBSITE FOR CHRIST SAKE ANYONE WHO DNT TAKE THIS SERIOUS NEEDS 2 GTFO TO BE HONEST MOST OFF YALL AINT TAKING THIS SHIT SERIOUS ENOUGH.

      3. @killah_casp AYO, TAKE THE CAPS OFF, YA OL’ SHOUTIN ASS, PEEZY ASS, SLEAZY ASS BITCH! You just mad cuz you been fuckin’ round with them fuck arounds (which will eventually fuck around and lead to you ending up with a slug in your frontal lobe).

      4. “Thats the problem. People think hiphop is suppose to raise their kids or something. I been listening to hiphop for years. Its entertainment. Read a book if you wanna learn something.”

    33. Oh man I think I speak for every TRUE weezy fan when I say his quality of his songs sort of went from shit to AWESOME to okay. I mean come on? The only song where I heard the true weezy and not the skater punk from Las Vegas who raps like a little girl was cashed out and even then I still wanted to puke. I really don’t want to listen to any of his new songs anymore I will stick to his older songs from C2 and some C3

    34. YOU GIVE THIS EP WORTHY AND YOU GAVE THE SAME GRADE TO DETROIT! ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?! I’m really questioning your reviewing after this smh

    35. damn i jus came here 2 see how far DX had put there tounge this time but there no rating so let me give this a rating i dnt get the hype ppl have for wayne his lyrics are corny his voice sounds like elmo on steroids and his “fasion” sense looks like a transvestite trying to be butch. he is also extremly ignorant and says things that r completly fake talking about being G then calling cops and pulling out off events if hes called out about it. his music is not rap music at all more any genre that makes him more money and if that dont work out for him he takes ppl to caught over little things when his handbag is already full off doe. to sum up a waynes attempts at music these days are mostly publicity stunts or jus str8 up wack and can not be classed as a mixtape seeing as they end up on amazon for around 15.99 and do not cater for hip hopp fans more anyone who is 14 and doesnt care about the content they listen too. i give this feeble attempt at rap music 1/5 seeing as 1 is the lowest i can go.

    36. Whether people want rappers to save hip hop…….or just want something to listen to……… This mixtape is garbage…… Straight garbage….. not even worth downloading…..

    37. Lil’ Wayne has definitely been slacking in the lyrics department for the last one or 4 years, but anyone who says this shit ain’t hard as my dick when I’m hittin’ that shit is MAD HOMO…

    38. One must respect everyone’s opinion. And I have to agree that Wayne has been slacking for the past two years or so. But in my opinion, he is brilliant in this mixtape. He chose 2012’s must hottest tracks and simply concentrated on delivery on them. So people may focus on his delivery rather than the actual beat. As far as delivery is concerned he is still number one in the game. Dedication 4 is pure delivery. Keep in mind its mixtape quality not LP quality.

    39. Yo, anyone else realize that Pharrell Williams started this skateboarding shit YEARS AGO. SKATEBOARD P. It used to be on his mixtapes and shit. All of a sudden Lil Wayne is a skateboarder. Get the fuck outta here.

      1. man hes just doing what he likes. it ain’t about what other people did. people just tend to follow him. all he’s doing is doing what he likes

    40. Wayne has evolved so much as a rapper its crazy. He’s different almost everytime he comes back out but still keeps that same wayne punchlines. I can’t hate on my boy he goes hard in the D4 you cant hate on that.. is he slipping off? some people think so, but i think it’s him changing up and doing different things, but the D4 proved he’s still got the lyrics, just quit hating and listen to them closely..or don’t waste our time listening to your hating comments because he’s nasty if you can keep up

    41. Personally, I think Waynes trash, he’s not even worth listening too. Don’t get me wrong, I “used” to bump Waynes music. Carter #2 Wayne is the Wayne I want to see in the studio. Nowadays, all he does is “pretend”. First he was a blood, now he’s a skater? It’s sad really. I remember when Wayne was fire, in my opinion no one could hold a candle too him; since Eminem left temporarily. A perfect example would be his diss directed at Pusha-T. Really Wayne, really? It sounded like he was talking more or less. Anyway, I think the real problem is Waynes lost his “hunger”.

    42. It’s been about 2-3 years since lil Wayne started to be shit, so as usual I didn’t like the mixtape, BUT I do think it might just possible be a step in the right direction, a small step, but at least something.

    43. But I do have to admit he went hard as fuck on the punchlines, if he keeps going in this direction he might just be able to call his next album “Tha Return.”

    44. If you think his punchlines are good, get your fucking ears checked. for someone who doesn’t even write his own music, which I certainly hope he doesn’t for his sake cuz the lyricism is just God awful, he has a whole lot of dick riders and it amazes me as to how he even has one fan

    45. lil wayne is and has been foR awhile now TRASH……..POINT BLANK PERIOD AND ANYONE WHO THINKS OTHER WISE IS A FUCKEN IDIOT AND DON’T NO MUSIC…….

    46. Lil Wayne will always be good anyone who seriously was putting that this was a one go kill yourself. I think he is coming back to the way he was before when he was releasing Da Drought 3 perfect 5 hands down

    47. ok anyone who says this album is bad simply dosen’t know rap at all… ya hes had somme garbage track hit the airwaves but this mix tape is dirty.. he str8 murders it on Burn.

    48. I could cry right now because the people have spoken twice. Rick Ross gets a bad review now Lil Wayne gets a bad listeners review, people are tired of this radio bullshit and its just not good enough anymore. It’s time for some new shit.

    49. I thought it was solid. Honestly, good beat selection, decent flow…he’s just warming up for I Am Not a Human Being Part 2. December 11th release date

      1. A lot of these new rappers have copied Wayne’s style. Prime Example: Wiz Khalifa. It’s not that I don’t like Wiz but I see A CopyCat

    50. I would give it half a star if I could. There were like 3 good songs maybe. Just not Wayne at his best. Not worth the downlod except for a couple songs.

    51. This ain’t the Carter 1 & 2 Weezy but lyrically he’s still on fire on this mix tape.
      The originality has gone and in its place is an excessive use of profanity and frankly insecure references to pussy!
      But the punch lines are endless and entertaining; some miss the mark but with amount he’s rapidly firing out on each track their r some gems.

      “if we want something we straight jacket like a padded cell”

    52. man wat da fuk. if everbody would pay attention his lyrics then yall understand that nigga is too raw. lil wayne changed rap. people right ass today wanna be like weeezy. whoever say dat his shit was trash yall really dnt music smdh

      1. seriously? ive listened to his lyrics and thats the problem,he sucks especially compared to what he could do before.you sound like a dickrider on some real shit.wayne cant compete with top lyricists like em,nas and jay. there are so many lyricists that make him look terrible that the only thing i can conclude from it is that he is terrible lol

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