Lil Wayne redeems himself with “Dedication 5” mixtape

Reagan Harvey
MC301-01 Writer

As the fifth entry in the “Dedication” series, New Orleans bred rapper Lil Wayne released “Dedication 5” on Sept. 1, 2013. In recent years, we have seen Wayne’s transition from a leading title-holder in the rap industry to a guy that references skateboarding and his clothing label, Trukfit, in every verse he spits.

After hearing “Dedication 4” in 2012, I was not up for being reminded that my once favorite rapper was not what he used to be. I mean, I had not even heard of anyone anticipating the mixtape’s release.
I went to Live Mixtapes for the download (it’s free), sat down with a notebook, and pressed play for track one. Instantly, you hear that it’s a DJ Drama production. The Weeknd proves to be a nice feature for the first track, and if you’ve listened to previous works in the “Dedication” series, you will notice that this one has a slightly different vibe.

Patrick Lane, a junior mass communications major from Meridian, Miss. said, “Dedication 5” is a good starting point for Wayne to rework himself and become an industry leader again.”

Preceding tracks are pretty standard of Lil Wayne mixtapes—revamped industry beats from other artists. I have always had the mentality that if an artist is going to rap over another artist’s beat, they should bring something innovative with the flow and essentially “kill it”, or at least do it better than the original rapper. His beat sampling of Kendrick Lamar’s “Don’t Kill My Vibe,” and Kanye West’s “New Slaves” was definitely not innovative.

Nicole Williams, a junior theatre major from Ridgeland, Miss., was pleased with the latest offering from Lil Wayne.

“This isn’t his best production, but it is so much better than “D4” was. You can tell he put more of himself into this one,” said Williams.

Other than the signature repetitive similes and basic rhyme schemes I noticed throughout “D5,” Lil Wayne seems more engaged with his listeners. It has a spectrum of material from fresher sounding tracks like “You Song” featuring up-and-coming Chicago artist, Chance the Rapper, to a grittier David Banner produced, “Thinkin About You” which is dedicated to Hollygrove, the 17th Ward of New Orleans.

In a Hip-hopDX.com review, William Ketchum III states, “To Wayne’s credit, Dedication 5 is the best the series has showcased since its legendary sequel from seven years ago, even if it pales in comparison. Occasionally, the YMCMB head honcho shows that he still has a portion of the skills that earned him his spot among rap’s elite.”
Ashlee Brown, a senior political science major from Jackson, Miss. said, “This mixtape sort of reminds me of the old Wayne. I respect his ability to be diverse and appease a larger audience, but this is more of the style that I like.”

Top industry names like T.I, 2Chainz, and Cash Money’s own artists Gudda Gudda and Lil Chuckee are among the featured artists on “Dedication 5.”