Post by StevePulaski on Jan 22, 2015 18:51:01 GMT -5
Sorry 4 The Wait 2 (2015)
By: Lil Wayne
By: Lil Wayne
Rating: ★★★½
Lil Wayne has long made public his recent dissatisfaction with his Cash Money Records label and his frequent collaborator and mentor Birdman, who he blames for delaying the release of his long-awaited, presumed swan-song album Tha Carter V with numerous interviews and derogatory statements about the matter on Twitter. If you questioned Wayne's sincerity or truthfulness in his regretful tone about Tha Carter V's many release dates never materializing, Wayne makes sure he apologizes enough to make you believe him in his most recent mixtape, Sorry 4 The Wait 2. The mixtape is something of a zealous miracle, for, in one seventeen-track mixtape, Wayne calls out Birdman and Cash Money Records, blatantly disses President Barack Obama, gives a shoutout to Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, states that the FBI is the one liking all your Instagram photos, names his twenty-six different bitches, with each one representing a letter in the alphabet, and changes up his style so much so that you swear you were listening to a compilation CD of his work over the years. This is the strongest piece of work Wayne has put out since Tha Carter III, and that's a statement I do not say lightly.
Sorry 4 The Wait 2 is the complete package, with Wayne taking on a multitude of different sounds and slaying each and every one. He goes for breakneck and cut-throat on "Try Me," with the help of Mack Maine, soulful and sensual on "Drunk in Love," with the help of Christina Milian's bold vocals, a trap-influenced style in "Trap House," Bobby Shmurda coldness in his own rendition to "Hot N****," simply jives with the flow of the instrumental in "Fingers Hurting," and even seems to be aiming for some kind of rapper Mad Libs on "No Haters." Scarcely has Wayne beared so much variety, nonetheless on a mixtape or all in one convenient and winning compilation. Even Wayne's introductory track "Coco," a cover of the monstrous success that stemmed from OT Genasis's single, doesn't head in the incessant and redundant direction the original song took; Wayne's ability to surprise here is uncanny.
"Hot N****" finds itself being my most replayed song on the tape, mainly because the instrumentation loans itself for being the background noise to a fantastic rap freestyle and Wayne doesn't hold back on the track. His clear, self-aware silliness (which was also apparent on Dedication 4's cut "Don't Like," the cover of the Chief Keef and Lil Reese song) makes the song that much more fun, and the fact that, again, the instrumental is so addicting only assists in making Wayne's flow so much fun to listen to. "Fingers Hurting" serves as a close second, with the song taking on a free-form approach in the best possible way, with Wayne grooving to the music in a way that can't be explained and should just be embraced with no reservations. He experiences with a variety of autotune tones and production subtleties, making for a remarkable fun and creative song all the more.
Wayne takes at least four or five opportunities on each song to remind us how sorry he is for Tha Carter V's delay (often he seems to be finding the most creative ways to say such a phrase, like spelling it out in "Alphabet"), but with a mixtape this solid and plentiful, Tha Carter V's delay doesn't seem that bad if it means quality music like this is on the horizon.
Recommended tracks: "Hot N****," "Fingers Hurting," "Trap House," "Try Me," "No Haters," and "Coco."