No Ceilings 2 was always going to be stacked up to the first one. The classic 2009 tape is often regarded as Lil Wayne's last great project, with each album and mixtape since falling below the bar he set with his classic run of releases in the late '00s.
One thing that is noticeable right off the bat is how much Lil Wayne used Drake and Future instrumentals for this second rendition of No Ceilings. What A Time To Be Alive was nice, especially on the production tip, but it feels a little lopsided to have that many of the duo's collaborative works used for instrumentals.
In the coming galleries, we compare the production, lyrics and flow with the two No Ceilings releases. Can you guess the outcome? Head to the last slide to cast your vote.
Production
Production
No Ceilings, both parts one and two, are mixtapes where Lil Wayne takes other artists’ beats and raps over them. When the first installment was released on Halloween of 2009, trending sounds belonged to Jay Z, Kanye West, Drake, and Gucci Mane. “D.O.A.,” Jay Z’s auto-tune-killing track was chosen, as was instrumental for “Ice Cream Paint Job.” “Run This Town,” “Wasted,” and a couple David Guetta tunes help to capture the vibe of where that tape was headed, from a production standpoint anyways.
The beats chosen on No Ceilings 2 are further proof that Drake is at the top of this game. (The game of mainstream, relatively substance-less rap music, anyways). There are six Drake/Future collaborations picked, along with a solo Drake cut (“Back to Back”), a Bryson Tiller joint and a Weeknd track, all of which at least stem from the OVO sound. Fetty Wap and Post Malone are artists that didn’t really exist back in ’09, while Eminem’s “My Name Is” beat is fairly random and out of place.
The worst part about the beats is that they don’t even sound like the proper instrumentals. “Diamonds Dancing” lacks the richness that Metro Boomin laced the original with, as do most of the other beats. The “White Iverson” isn’t the same, and neither is “Jumpman;” it’s close but something's a little off. Why couldn’t Wayne get the proper instrumentals? Were the instrumentals on the first No Ceilings just more banging to begin with, thus creating a more exciting end product? Let us know.
Lyrics
Lyrics
Wayne used to be everything on the mic. He could get abstract, or keep it too real. He could be very, very serious, or absolutely hilarious. Depending on when you caught him, he could do almost anything that anyone else in the game could do.
No Ceilings spiced up the songs of yesterday with his super-charged flows. On “Run This Town,” Lil Wayne was quick to put up his YMCMB empire, which, at the time, seemed to be poised to be the next big things (the ones known as Nicki Minaj and Drake did become the next big things). With “Throw It In The Bag,” Wayne named off luxury brands and basketball players, but with the unbeatable swagger that was ’09 Wayne.
With “Wasted,” Wayne has more than one memorable punchline. "Oh she a good girl; I got her transforming / She give me hot head, I call it global warming," was a good one. “Your flow never wet, like grandma pussy / I’m always good, like Grandma cookies,” earned a few laughs. It isn’t that the subject matter has changed on the sequel; it’s stayed the same. But like so many sequels, it’s just not quite as good the next time around.
Flow / Delivery
Flow / Delivery
Lil Wayne has lost some of the oomph that made him a candidate for Greatest Rapper Alive 6-7 years ago. There’s no questioning that. On No Ceilings 2, the MC simply doesn’t command your attention like he once did. He’s trying to emulate Future, or whoever's song he happens to be freestyling.
On “Hotline Bling” Wayne shows us why Drake doesn’t need him for much of anything in 2015. He sings along a bit too closely to melodies that Drake created, without bringing much of a new spin to the record, equally so on "Jumpman" where he follows the crescendo of the original artists' vocals to a T. His lines almost act as a blueprint for what’s wrong with the selfie generation. It’s superficial, and probably not worth a second listen.
“But ever since you got them titties you
Talkin' 'bout you thinkin' 'bout some ass shots
Taking all these snapshots, different backdrops”
It’s understandable that, since these instrumentals are other people’s tracks, Wayne is going to take a bit of the artist’s original flow and/or vocal delivery; he did it on No Ceilings, too. However it seems more obvious this time around, more repetitive, and it's not quite stacking up to the original songs, unlike his No Ceilings takes, which often surpassed the originals.
Overall
Overall
No Ceilings 2 doesn’t match up to No Ceilings in the same way that Lil Wayne these days doesn’t really match up to Weezy ’09 (and before). Was there really a competition between the two? We had to break it down at least for debate's sake, but it seems, where No Ceilings gave us re-energized takes on popular records, No Ceilings 2 seems to follow all too closely the blueprint of those current records-- thus, where No Ceilings brought new life and replay value to old records, No Ceilings 2 serves as a constant reminder of another song.
Cast your vote below, and expand on your vote in the comment section.