Monday. 9.4.06 8:43 pm
Dedication 2
Review By: Leon Bailey
Dedication 2The mixtape that was donned a classic before it was even released to the public. Lil Wayne is the hardest working artist in the south right now with a barrage of mixtapes released and unreleased tracks leaked. Many consider the first Dedication a classic, but to internet savvy users most of them heard the tracks from Lil Wayne’s Young Money web site. To satisfy those people Lil Wayne teamed up with DJ Drama once again to present to you Dedication 2 Gangsta Grillz. Dedication 2 is a 25-track mixtape of brand new tracks of lyrical coldness that not many can compete with.
Beginning with a voice saying, “You’re watching a master at work”, “Get ‘Em” is a perfect way to begin the mixtape. DJ Drama shows off his DJ skills and hypes you up by bringing back Wayne’s lyrical assault “My Block pumpin' and I’m tryin 2 keep that O pumpin’/If niggas snitchin’ then I let dem niggas hold sumthin/” twice. Switching up his flow when the beat kicks in is genius. When listening to the track it seems like a preview to what is to come during the mixtape.
There are some hilarious one-liners such as “Bitches on my stick, but my name ain’t Harry Potter” from “Workin’ Em” and "My pockets on Raven Simone...that's fat," which is on “What U Know.” Wayne is not one of those artists that force punch lines on you. He always gives consistent freestyles. “Spitter” is a track that Wayne completely bodies with fierce bars like “That's blood all over your Rover/blood all over your chauffer/blood all over your loafers/if I get any closer...There's blood all over my toaster/blood all over my holster/I'm in them S Dots, that's blood all over my Hovas/.” Hearing Wayne spit like that is a treat to the listeners and there is a lot more to hear.
The mixtape turns it down a notch midway when Wayne’s Young Money artists Currency & Mac Maine are showcased. “Poppin’ Them Bottles” and “Ridin Wit The AK” both Young Money artists verses are lackluster with dreary flows and are outshined by the beats. They do not impress at all, but them being on the mix serves its purpose. Wayne was very average on Rick Ross' “Hustlin.” Not to say it was not a good cover, but compared to everything else on the mixtape it could have been better.
As said, the mixtape did turn it down a notch, but it did pick back up. On “No Other”, he and Juelz Santana collaborate again over Jay-Z's "Dynasty Intro." The two definitely hold a good chemistry together and more music collectively is something to look forward to. “Georgia….Bush” is an enormous surprise to the conclusion of the mixtape. Wayne addresses President George Bush regarding Hurricane Katrina. In interviews, it seemed as Wayne was not critical or showed any sympathy for Hurricane Katrina, but he let it all out on this one. You have to respect the man as an artist for this track and all that you can say when you are finished listening is that he saved the best for last.
Dedication 2 a classic mixtape? You be the judge. With heat all throughout the mixtape, quotables for days, flows that switch up right through every single track, then how can you argue? DJ Drama continues a run of mixtapes that the south has never seen before and Lil Wayne continues to improve every time that you hear him. When it has been all said and done maybe, he will be “The Best Rapper Alive.”
Categories: REVIEWS [t]
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