“I’m sorry for the wait. Tha Carter gon’ be late, so I cooked up a tape.” -Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr.

After a little hiatus, we finally get substance from Mr. Carter aka Lil’ Wayne. The artist’s 2011 mixtape Sorry 4 the Wait was released as a sort of apology for Tha Carter IV‘s delay. Now, since Tha Carter V has been similarly pushed back thanks to an ongoing battle between the New Orleans rapper and his old label Cash Money Records, he has delivered Sorry 4 the Wait 2. The 17-track mixtape features Drake (on an original track), Christina Milian, 2 Chainz, Mack Maine, and Shanell. Here is my track-by-track breakdown review of the brand new project:

1. CoCo
Weezy opens the project with a remix of O.T. Genasis’ 2014 viral hit “CoCo” and immediately catches the ear of his listeners by saying “I’m sorry for the wait. Tha Carter gon’ be late, so I cooked up a tape.” Wayne compares his ex-father figure Birdman to the Ugly Duckling, since he is responsible for his departure from Cash Money and delay of his album, Tha Carter 5. This track definitely opens up the tape with attitude and lets his listeners know that he is not playing around anymore, now that he is on his own.

2. Sh!t
This track was released as a preview for the full mixtape on January 12th and brings the lyrical heat from the New Orleans rapper. Holding nothing back on the first leak off his Sorry 4 The Wait 2 mixtape, Weezy once again apologizes for making listeners wait for new music from him because of his known dilemma with Cash Money Records. Personally, this song’s version featuring recording artists Drake and Juicy is overall a more lyrically challenging track. Listen here to see for yourself.

3. Trap House
With a remix of trio Migos’ song “Jumping Like Jordan,” Wayne spits bars about still being on top of the rap game even after 20 years. He also controversially references the recent tragedies of Eric Garner and Michael Brown by saying that we need a “real” president in the office. Weezy ends the track with a shoutout to Nicki Minaj saying that he would be very available for a ménage (referencing the word in a sexual connotation). Yet another cocky track of the mixtape, adding to the heat of this mixtape.

 4. Selsun Blue
As most people know, the title refers to the anti-dandruff shampoo. However, in this track, Weezy refers to dandruff as cocaine and uses the shampoo to “get rid of all the white like Selsun Blue” in order to get rid of any clue of him doing anything with it. We’re all used to Wayne’s metaphors and allusions to a whole plethora of things you can only imagine and this song only confirms this statement. Sampling Troy Ave’s “All About Money,” I would have to say causes this song to be one of the weakest tracks off the tape.

5. Used To (ft. Drake)
One of the highlights from the mixtape is the fifth track featuring rapper Drake. While there are a variety of remixes that can be highlighted on the project, this one has really been getting recognition as an all new original cut. Similar to last year’s “Believe Me”, the two YMCMB superstars hop on the major hype production from WondaGurl and deliver another strong addition to their great collection of hits. Drizzy’s appearance on this album suggests he sides with Wayne in his feud with Birdman. Some have even speculated (I repeat, speculated) Wayne and Drake will leave CMB together. I definitely got way too excited when the beat dropped at the beginning of this track!

6. No Type
If you don’t know what song Weezy remixed on this next track, then you must have been living in a cave during 2014 (Hint: it’s Rae Sremmurd’s “No Type”). Talking about drugs, alcohol, money, and girls, Wayne once again uses his catchy punchlines to deliver another solid remix of a viral hit from the previous year.

7. Fingers Hurting
Weezy first teased a snippet of “Fingers Hurting” on January 17th, before releasing the full song later on the same day. Using ILoveMakonnen’s “Maneuvering”, the rapper delivers strong verses over the super juiced up beat, making this track one of my favorite’s of the entire project. Wayne’s tonal energy in this track is essentially what makes it one of the strongest tracks.

8. Hot N***a
The eighth track off Wayne’s Sorry 4 The Wait 2 mixtape is a remix of Bobby Shmurda’s hugely-popular hit with the same name. By now, we’ve become accustomed to Weezy’s common staple as he repeats the tape’s title to reiterate it’s importance and meaning. He kills the beat, making some fans question whether or not this version is even better than Bobby’s original banger.

9. HollyWeezy
The next track off the project is about how Weezy will never go to Hollywood since he grew up in a district of New Orleans called Hollygrove; hence, why he’s says “too Hollygrove to go Hollywood”. Wayne even makes a shoutout to our very own city of Houston, Texas and says that one of his girls mentions that “if it ain’t chopped and screwed, it ain’t music”, making a reference to the popular chopped and screwed genre that originated in our beautiful city.

10. Drunk In Love (ft. Christina Milian)
After months of speculation on whether he is dating Christina Milian, the two fuel the romance rumors further by collaborating on this sexy jam. Making a shift in the project, the R&B singer appears on this steamy track and changes up some of the lyrics in the hook and verse saying that they “ain’t makin’ love,” just strictly messing around for the fun of it. Milian’s voice with Weezy’s strong verse combine to make one hot track to create a great tone shift in the project.

11. You Guessed It
Using the instrumental from OG Maco’s “U Guessed It”, Wayne takes more shots at Birdman and Cash Money Records by saying “my CMB days are dead, I ain’t worried about ghost.” Another track with a similar theme to what we have seen before, forcing it to not stand out amongst the other tracks on this project.

12.Try Me (ft. Mack Maine)
On this track, Wayne goes over the beat from Dej Loaf’s breakout single “Try Me”. Rapper and current president of Young Money Entertainment, Mack Maine, is featured on this track and definitely outshines Wayne on this beat. However, the upbeat track adds to the tone shift found after the tenth track on this project.

13. Preach (ft. 2 Chainz)
Sampling Young Dolph’s “Preach”, this track includes 2 Chainz who doesn’t always have strong verses in the songs he’s featured in. However, the “No Lie” artist brings his A-game to the verse he delivers on this track stating, “let your next work be your best work.” Wayne’s verse also stands out amongst other tracks because of the fortunate lack of autotune, unlike the rest of the project.

14. Alphabet
On the fourteenth track, Wayne goes over iLoveMakonnen’s 2014 hit “Tuesday” instrumental. In this song, Wayne raps about his abundance of women, naming a different one for each letter of the alphabet with amusing descriptions for each. Interestingly enough, Wayne already has a song with the exact same concept called “Alphabet B*****s”, where he uses a significantly smaller amount of autotune. Sorry, Weezy. We can do without the autotune!

15. No Haters
With a beat produced by London on da Track, Wayne talks about how he is not afraid of killing rappers in the game (this might be figuratively or literally…) and alludes to other rappers in the game including Eminem. Again, not a stand out track on the project so not too much to say about this one.

16. Admit It (ft. Shanell)
Slowly closing in on the end of the mixtape, Lil’ Wayne teams up with Young Money’s own Shanell aka SNL for the sixteenth track. The theme of the track is an attempt by Wayne to come clean on some of his inner workings, so he feels as though honesty is the best policy in this case. Shanell’s feature really makes this songs stand out amongst other tracks because of her unique choice of words and placement among Wayne’s verses. It’s safe to say that every feature on the project is a hit and definitely adds spark to Weezy’s verses.

17. Dreams and Nightmares
Last but not least, Weezy closes out Sorry 4 Wait 2 with a track sampling Meek Mill’s “Dreams and Nightmares”. He talks about how everyone Wayne knows, including himself, have changed because of the money they have earned through their fame and success. The beat drop around the 2 minute mark allows the rapper to add energy to the last verse of the entire tape. Dropping very real words, Wayne definitely finishes his mixtape on a high note.

Sorry 4 the Wait has 17 new sounds from Lil’ Wayne that undoubtedly builds a lot of anticipation for his indefinitely delayed album, Tha Carter V. This mixtape, however, falls slightly short of what we have come to expect from the Young Money rapper. Lil Wayne’s classic style that attracts the super wave of listeners to his music is not quite felt on this mixtape, and hasn’t particularly been that way for the past few years. The songs are great, but the lyrics have become sort of mundane for a Weezy song. Many fans are tired of the same predictable lines while referring to women, drugs, and skateboards. All we can do now is hope that he has saved the best content for his album, and that this mixtape was just meant to give the fans new sounds from Mr. Carter himself.

Give Weezy a chance and download Sorry 4 The Wait 2 here!

Rating: 3/5

By Rupal Mehta