Lil Wayne fans have been in this position before. In July of 2011, the prolific rapper dropped Sorry 4 The Wait, an apology of sorts for the numerous delays of his ninth studio album Tha Carter IV. On that tape, Weezy flew off into rap tangents on various popular songs at the time. Nearly four years later, listeners are having déjà vu. But this series of pushbacks for his double-disc Tha Carter V has Wayne fed up. After publicly revealing on Twitter that he wants nothing to do with Cash Money anymore, the 32-year-old emcee is doing everything in his power to remove the preverbal CMB chains on his creativity. The answer is Sorry 4 The Wait 2, released this week, that finds him trying to show he’s still the best at what he does: rapping. Although they’re some bright sparks of creativity that remind us of his formidable days, Weezy’s lazy punchlines, tired subject matter, and poor attempts at song remakes is an uneasy indicator that Tha Carter V might not be worth the wait after all.
It’s a known fact that Tunechi has built most of his considerable name and reputation off of mixtapes. From 2006 to 2007 his tapes Dedication 2 and Da Drought 3 were events in Rap, and Wayne ran a clinic on other rappers by taking their songs, remixing them, and making them unrecognizably better. His relentless output earned him the nickname Mixtape Weezy; however, it’s become noticeable that he’s lost the brilliance we used to be in awe of throughout the years. This character is different than Guest Feature Weezy or Album Weezy, where his performances on 2014 bangers “Loyal,” “My Nigga” and “Believe Me” shut down any talk that he fell off. Even his other promotional singles for CV—“Krazy,” “Grindin’” and “Gotti”—displayed shades of the 2006 Lil Wayne that was damn near untouchable. On S4TW2, he attempts to stick to his bulletproof method of stream of consciousness rhymes over 2014s most inescapable tracks, often blacking out behind the mic to spew some fire rhymes: “I can’t swim, but I’m throwing pool parties” (“Trap House”); “Got the yay locked down like Kim K” (“Selsun Blue”); “Tunechi in this bitch I’m tighter than a pinched nerve” (“Fingers Hurting”). The tape definitely has its share of memorable lines, but the problem lies in the fact that there are far more misses than hits.
In retrospect, S4TW2 is better suited as a keyhole view of the turmoil within Cash Money. Just about every track here has either a subliminal or direct shot at his father/mentor/label CEO Birdman. There’s speculation as to whether their tension is actually serious or if this is all a ploy to recreate anticipation for Tha Carter V. Whatever the case may be, Weezy doesn’t hold anything back on opener “Coco,” rehashing OT Genasis’ viral hit into a public service announcement of what he’s going through. “Cash Money is an army, I’m a one-man army/And if them niggas coming for me, I’m going out like Tony,” he declares. “I ain’t trippin’, I got Barbie, I got Drake too,” he claims later. The Young Money boss continues the jabs on OG Maco’s “You Guessed It:” “I couldn’t be Jr. forever I don’t mean to ruffle your feathers/But I had to spread my wings, ain’t trying to get lemon peppered.” If he didn’t take it far enough, Wayne puts the nail in the coffin on “Hot Nigga:” “Yeah, got me on my Young Money shit/No Cash Money just Young Money shit!”
What will disappoint Wayne fans on S4TW2 is his predictable beat selection. Back then, when he was exploding on Jay Z songs to prove he’s the “best rapper alive since the best rapper retired,” there was an insatiable hunger to make his now artistic comparisons to only Kanye West and Beyoncé valid. Now, it’s exhausting to hear Wayne rap over another Atlanta beatmaker’s hit or a Meek Mill single without giving us a better reason to just replay the original. It was once a clever technique of his to borrow lines from rappers and to hear him really take off in pocket with his own flow. Also, when you have songs like “HollyWeezy” and “Admit It” that are vaguely similar to Drake’s song structure, it’s a concern that Wayne might be losing his edge.
The most talked about songs since the tape’s release have been from his guest features Drake and 2 Chainz. Wayne sounds competitively focused and revitalized when he’s bouncing verses with and off of them. It’s a hint that he might be running thin on creativity and is using his peers to re-energize him. With that said, the final track “Dreams & Nightmares” addresses this with a poise only a rap veteran could pull off: “Y’all ask me to spit now I’m drooling on my chain/What happened to Wayne?/I’m like ‘hold up wait a second’/Y’all that I was second?/Hatin’ on a champ, throwing salt on that confetti.” Even if there’s more doubters on Wayne’s comeback after this tape, when he’s backed in a corner you can guarantee he’s coming out swinging.
Fuck the auto tune off
“..often blacking out behind the mic to spew some fire rhymes:” Completely fabricated SMH C’mon Eric, were you there???
I wish
indeed makes me look less forward to carter 5, still gonna bump that dusse, gotti and side bitch tho
shit
Why do so many people hate on Wayne? Nobody will ever do what he is doing and has done. Stop hating people smh
S4TW2 is dope! No d*** riding
YO THIS SHIT WACK SON! Its officially inducted on to my hall of fame trash can. Wayne needs to hang it up..
If your a Wayne fan, you’ll probably like it because it’s very stereotypical Wayne.
But for me it was really bad, as per usual from him.
This is vintage Weezy. Got it on repeat.
Face it THE GAY ERA is over. The so called greatest rapper ever is idolize by 14 year old boys and his daddy Birdman. Fuck YMCMB and die slow! I wish he had shot himself dead when he was 13 years old.
YMCB have destroyed hip-hop.
Jumpin going hard
Whatever he’s just killin time before carter V. He did a good job goin over the beats.
haha yall gave wayne a 2.5 tho
u niggaz is gay as hell….
ya rap pass is revolved
Wait, I thought that was young thug, Who was that rapping lil wayne or young thug????
Niggaz is hating, this nigga went in.
This shit goes hard only song suck is drunk in love other than that this shit slaps
Weezy went in on this one
Nice fuck cash money!
I wonder how birdman feels about this
That boy said I hope she ant strictly dickly so we can minaj with nicki haha
I cant give wayne a pass for this garbage. I listened to it twice and deleted it. Shit just lame. Sound like some young thug shit to me. I hope he dont do this with the carter 5.
He’s washed up face it
terrible
Carter 2 Dedication 1 and 2 and Da Drought Series is the only wayne music you need he been fuckin trash since carter 3 and everything he does is corny and embarrassing from kissing birdman skateboarding wearing leggings jeans tighter than a bitch’s his live show performances are a joke and still claiming blood gang smfh he just looks like a fuck-boy 24/7
pretty much
Seriously? Shit review. Don’t matter though, the whole world is listening to it and CV will sell a milli. Be mad
I was thinking the same thing. There is a whole bunch of people bumping this right now. This whole review is flagrant.
cause a lot of people are bumping it that means the review is bad? lol. wayne fans stay the most delusional in the game.
He had some dope lines. Hopefully the album will have a few more topics w/ standout beats.
HORRIBLE REVIEW bruh!!! Weezy went hard on this. My man said “I was a match made in Heaven when hell was a pile of wood!!” #bars
Weezy spit fire y’all funny y’all don’t want win anymore
hard on this one!
Good
Wait, dude trashed the album throughout the review, and then gave it a 5/5? Am I missing something?
yeh you are. they gave it a generous 2.5/5
why would ‘carter v be worth the wait afterall’ anyway? it’s been 8 years since this guy was decent.
YEAH, WAYNE BEEN GARBAGE FOR A COUPLE YEARS
HE MIGHT NEED TO GET BACK WITH GILLIE
dope
bars!!!!!
Wayne has been garbo for a long time. 05-07 was the only years where he was not complete unadulterated crap. He has been around for like 16 years and was decent for like 2.
Can someone answer why HHDX is giving every album 5 stars?! Am I missing something?
It clearly says 2.5 stars. Get new glasses, Herman.
this shit was straight booty buttcheeks
The games has changed. Wayne needs the new Carter to be really innovative and fresh. Yeezus changed the game, Drake’s Nothing Was the Same modified the template for what rap music is. Future also had a big influence on the new sound, Iggy Azalea made a bridge between EDM and rap, and lot of other trends happened… Wayne needs to make sure his new album takes all of that into account and flips it. The Carter III was his last epic album and that was in 2008 man, he needs to step his game up.
Good Insight!! chuuch
Raw Raw and more raw. Go weezy f baby.
Didnt think S4TW2 was all that bad actually his best shit since, C4… D5 was average D4 was ok, and I am not a human being 2 was garbage besides like 4 songs.
Let’s get the version with the god damn auto tune turned the fuck off tho!!
Not his best work
It’s always the same thing with reviews on Wayne they focused on the bad and negative things. Like they just said he had some awesome lines but never go in and talk about it, while the negative is always talked about. Goes for the die hard haters to, they are dedicated to find something negative about this nigga.
Wayne was dope back in 03-06. That was his peak. Since 2008 dude has been absolutely TERRIBLE. Embarassingly bad.
Sup
fire
Shallow & pedantic.
not bad but nothing special
dope
niggas is buggin this shit is fire
Just got done explaining all of the Young Money history and beef to my mom so we could listen to this on the car ride tomorrow.
son this shit is straight fire
fire
[ x ] pussy reference
[ x ] own dick reference
[ x ] gun reference
[ x ] menage a trois reference
[ x ] “his bitch” vs. yours reference
[ x ] cash money emancipation reference
[ x ] apology for being late
[ x ] drug game reference
[ x ] got money reference
but will it blend?
took the word outta my fuckin mouth. Nothing but scratch records from fuckers who lack effort.
What else is there to rap about smartass? Answer: not much.
lots
2.5 for a free Lil Wayne album? (yes I said album). This site has gotten to the point where it’s just trying to appease all those people complaining about low ratings for J cole and Lupe Fiasco albums. 4 years ago they would’ve given this at least 4 stars, I’m giving it 5.
5*
Dude is played now, his punches are horrible, delivery is suspect and his subject matter is below average. 2 starz.
So much is fake about the game its hard to believe anything you her and read now hiphop is over saturated with homo crap real men out here we hardly have any rappers to say this dude 100% now skinny jeans and skirts make up painted nails throwing up devil signs its crazy but you can take this to the bank the devil power and control is over the public not buying music or going to the movies baby is broke and wayne is going to find he is to all his work he doesn’t own and its been sold by his fake daddy baby !
★★★★★
Fire!
Why is he still using autotune constantly? Seriously, is it just added by default or does he tell his mixers/producers to add it on specifically – like it’s a really good idea?
Wack as hell
I Wanna eat waynes booty
SO I GUESS WAYNE FANS ARE GAY TOO?
LISTEN TO MAYBE DEDICATIION 1 OR 2. AND TELL ME HOW YOU CAN EVEN CONSIDER GIVNG THIS BETTER THAN 2 STARS.
RIGHT NOW, YOUNG THUG IS BETTER THAN LIL WAYNE. AND THAT IS BEYOND PATHETIC.
I’m like ‘hold up wait a second’/Y’all that I was second?/Hatin’ on a champ, throwing salt and not confetti.” those are the lyrics not
I’m like ‘hold up wait a second’/Y’all that I was second?/Hatin’ on a champ, throwing salt on that confetti.”
fix it
ok that’s what I said
Terrible!
31 people deserve to get bitch-slapped. How the fuck is this a 5? It’s a 2 at most. Wayne’s been terrible since 07/08.
This was trash
S4W2….. I’m phucking wit it #wayniac…..Young Thug wack as hell & could NEVER & will NEVER be WAYNE or be Better than Wayne #thatsahunnid #dropsmicrophone #isweratodrunkimnotGod
Wayne at his worst! I can’t take anyone serious that feels this is an acceptable offering to HipHop…. What track on here does he give you anything that remotely compares to 1 bar from Carter 1 or 2? He has fallen off and I can almost understand why Baby put his ass on the shelf! If Carter 5 sounds anything like this.. smh… HOT GARBAGE!!!!
This $@#t is WACK Why you mimicking Bird Man New proteg’e..HOT GARBAGE!!! Come on MAAAAAN WEEZY F Im so sorry so sorry for download this S@!t
Young Thug is mimicking Weezy dumb ass. Young Thug admitted that Lil Wayne inspired him to rap. You be must 15 to say some bs like that?
traaaash
sick
SFTW2 is whack man nothing like SFTW1 Or no ceilings. Too much auto tune on his voice
Weak article, you sound like a robot and dont understand boss moves
Weezy is back, fuck u mean
It’s actually SAD how bad Lil Wayne has fallen off. He’s so wack now.
Horrible punch lines, wack content, lazy ass flow, trying to harmonize with that annoying ass voice.
There does NOT need to be a Carter V. We all know what it’s gonna sound like.
Just like Eminem. Those guys are two peas in a pod.
Pretty much. Em has been corny since Encore and I don’t think he needs to make more music either.
Wayne is just HORRIBLE, though. Disgustingly bad.
this dude AR=young thug and baby…this aint for you jethro clampette
So bad it’s actually sad
Me with no money’s like a bunny with no front teeth, fuck me? It’s fuck you if its fuck me, Hit the kush blow it out like a bummed knee
Come out my shell like Raphael and cracks yours like a taco, Lil wayne tougher than John Wayne, make him change his name to John Doe
My CMB days are dead, I aint worried bout those, I married the MOB we divorced, And all that shit is dead without me of course, It’s nothing, a zombie a corpse
This review was a joke, “I can’t swim but I’m throwing pool parties” is one of the best lines you could find? You should hire some new people DX
This album had no good lines. Typical trash freestyles from Lil Wayne with horrible punch lines.
“Be calm, keep a low pro and play the background
Hopin the whack rapper put the mic back down”- Rakim
Weezy is 45% back. He needs to put that authentic shit and just fckin spit. I liked a few songs which still show he has that talent, like Coco, Hollyweezy and No Haters.
Get angry Carter…they fcked you over, now feed it to them
Too many drugs. He ain’t got it no more.
FREE B.GIZZLE
WACK
Impressed
Shit fire
This shit is amazing
The ones saying this album is good, y’all either haven’t heard a lot of hip hop, or your lowering the bar so low for Wayne because he’s been SO BAD since 2009…
I’m guessing it’s the first.
get yo ass outta here hillbilly….he spittin that fire…
Go suck Lil Wayne’s dick, you homosexual groupie.
another tuff ass hillbilly…hiding his hands after throwing rocks….u dont have a clue about rap…listen to the words and energy…sorry about your ratchet ass HIV infected momma. Heard she go hard. Now she’s dying from a rotten pussy like you lil bitch…
Fool, I’ve been listening to rap before you even knew what the fuck it was… Talk any hip hop with me, and I guarantee you I run circles around your dumb ass.
A spade is a spade. Trash is trash. And Lil Wayne has been trash ever since 2009, and that’s not withstanding him kissing other men on the lips, something you clearly support since your down with “swag”, right?
Yall dumb Ass hell if Yall don’t think Wayne snapped…check Yall fucking ears people
This nigga Wayne word play is geniuse…shit going over Yall head
agreed!
weezy back
You mean Weezy’s wack
cant wait for FRRE WEEZY
No disrespect I am not a fan of lil wayne but he killed it his rhyme skills are un matched no more my brother keep it cain and abel
sick album yo
Wack album.
I mean…it’s Weezy. It’s gonna be dope. I was never given the memo that Wayne had ever fallen off. His weakest efforts would be celebrated tracks for any emcee new on the scene in the last year. Album is hip hop comedy genius as usual as Wayne lampoons the reality of a wealthy, bored, rap god. Decadence as art or art as decadence? Who gives a shit. Wayne is a word-smith who right now if put in a ring against anyone would be a problem. What’s really interesting is I really don’t think he’s dropped his best album yet. 3.9/4