There was a time not too long ago when Lil Wayne was widely considered the best rapper alive. Since 2009's No Ceilings, Lil Tunechi has left fans scratching their heads and wondering what happened to the once dominant Mixtape Weezy. All that mediocrity recently caught up to the Young Money star. Tunechi wasn't nominated for this year's MTV VMAs or the BET Awards. Instead of complaining, he went to twitter to apologize to his fans and pledged to work harder from there on out. Well, it didn't take much longer until Wayne responded with Dedication 5. Originally scheduled for Friday the 31st, the tape was delayed until early morning September 1st, but that was beyond expected. Ain't no way around it, D5 ruled Labor Day weekend, and is definitely a step in the right direction for Tunechi. What up five.
After an outstanding intro sung by The Weeknd, Tunechi gets straight to the point by telling listeners what to expect on the mixtape. Wayne states that he is having fun, enjoying himself, and rapping about things that he normally wouldn't rap about on his album or anybody else's for that matter. Goofy bars such as "We smoking on that gas, pass it like excuse you" and "No broken mirrors I can't see myself broke" are fine examples of his hilarious yet brilliant wordplay found throughout the tape.
Remixes such as "Pure Columbia" and "CREAM" are impressive, but the best work on D5 is found on the original tracks. Tunechi turns back the clock on songs like "You Song", "Still Got That Rock", and "Devastation". On "You Song" with Chance The Rapper, Wayne revisits an awkward conversation he had with a girl about love. After attempting to change the subject, he ends the verse stuttering "I-I-I love you too". "You Song" was a nice switch from the norm, but Tunechi returned to slaughter mode on "Devastation". Wayne goes off on the Mike Banger-produced beat, rapping "I’ve been a beast since I could remember/ I got too many hoes, that’s my dilemma/ Chop yo fuckin head off and put it on the front of my car like the emblem". Flashes of the ravenous '05-'09 Weezy F Baby appear in small supplements throughout the tape, but certainly not enough as desired.
Dedication 5 is an improvement from D4, but that isn't saying much. The problem with Lil Wayne is that he set the bar so high with exceptional projects like Tha Carter II and Da Drought 3, and anything less than those are considered sub-par. Lil Tunechi may not be as consistent as Weezy F Baby once was, but his wordplay remains second-to-none. D5 isn't anything we haven't heard before, but it surely isn't a disappointment either. Has the beast inside Lil Wayne been reawakened? Only time can tell, but D5 shows signs of resurgence.
Download the tape below. What are your thoughts?