Mixtape Review:

Reviewed by Loose Cannon. ---------------------------------------------------------- The most sought-out free agent on the hip-hop market, Lil Wayne, joints DJ Drama for a mixtape that should set straight all that “Miss My Dogs” dedication shit. First he’s goin to Hov’s Rocafella, then to here and there, but homie is a straight ridah always loyal to the men who got him here in the first place (and the millions from Universal helps). With “My DJ” and other joints in 2004, Tha Carter was a success, both critically and commercially. Who really would’ve thought? I mean Lil Wayne? But now in the days where cats like T.I. and Trillville get New York respect, Lil Wayne appears like the Hova of the south. I won’t go that far yet—as some others have—but this is the first instance where basically emulating your idol’s style earns you points instead of hate. Lil Wayne sticks to the style that made people love Ca$h Money in the first place, still seemingly so comfortable over that mic (remind you of someone?) while advancing the same lyrical grit and humor. Running through the gamut, Weezy carries the concerns of his mama yet grips the pistol through many of the laid-back synths that lay out Gangsta Grizzillz: “You can get it catered, I’m at your service like a waiter / When there’s beef, I become a nigga’ neighbor.” Check his perfect flow to T.I.’s “Motivation,” as Weezy let’s you know the old Lil Wayne is only passé now: “I’m better than I ever been, that other shit was weak / Fuck makin’ it in this industry I made it in the streets / Now my eyes is arms and I’m takin’ what I see.” It sounds even better heard from the skim milk flow and confident delivery, even going so far to saying he “down with the King” as T.I. his dawg no matter what. DJ Drama makes sure the right beats—that could’ve easily been Wayne’s as much as anyone’s—are the true setting for his raps. “U Gon Love Me” sounds like it could’ve been off Tha Carter. Many times that’s the problem. Lil Wayne gets almost too comfortable behind the mic. Sometimes, so much that if samples get too loud on the production, hearing Weezy outward often becomes a task. “Down and Out” even reminds me of a southern Cam’Ron with the amount of silly punchlines flexed: “how many dicks she gon bench-press”; Wayne obliterates “Like Dat,” just amazing to see how far this 22-year old veteran has come; and funny to see the originator of “drop it like its hot” rhyming over the remix to Snoop’s revived version: “I can get a lot of bitches, but my bitch can give me mo / Different hoes, got em walkin on they tippy toes, talkin’ with they pussy holes / Conversation, ruler nation.” You can bet the original hook is there as well. While most of the disc is Wayne’s World, he briefly sidesteps for the crew signed to his imprint, Young Money, and they got a hell of a long way to go before they come close to the boss’s level. But at least the beats knock on the jazzy “Young Money Property” and the electric-guitar twanged “So Smooth.” Not that Lil Wayne is perfect. His rhymes are all over the place throughout “Much More” and “I’m A Ridah,” and “D-Boyz” is a ton over the top. Drama is what it is but give me a break, Weez. Rocking beats from The Roots always gains points, and rocking the new joint “Everybody Wants To Be a Star” as deep as Wayne does on the mixtape is an accomplishment far too little reach. His rhymes even save the worst beat of the year in “Weezie F Baby.” It’s so bad it’s got to be heard to be believed. Luckily, this Ca$h Money millionaire has no problem displaying the singsong on “Please Say the Baby” and the rapid-fire on “Stilletos,” lettin y’all know this ain’t no one dimensional foo. Like Weezy? This Dedication is a no-brainer.

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