After a false promise of being released Friday, the fifth Lil’ Wayne and DJ Drama release was made available to the world in the early hours of Sunday. A lot of hype has gone around as this being Weezy’s last chance of rehabilitation back to the 2004-2008 era version of himself that was considered for “Best Rapper Alive”. The man himself has even said that he was going to take himself more seriously. With all this pressure on him, maybe a resurrection will happen Labor Day Weekend.
1. I’m Good
Featuring The Weeknd
I don’t know how The Weeknd does it. He usually makes his features on other people’s songs seem like his own song, but on here this is his song with Lil’ Wayne playing the background, not delivering a single rhyme.
2. How Dedicated (Interlude)
The first interlude features the artist explaining how he defines, “dedication”. It means to get on the mixtape and enjoy, say things that you normally wouldn’t say on the album.
3. Don’t Kill
Instrumental: Kendrick Lamar – “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe”
The first actual song with Lil’ Wayne has him freestyling over Kendrick Lamar’s “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe”. He sounds like he is re-energized and actually cares about rapping.
4. New Slaves
Instrumental: Kanye West – “New Slaves”
No, no, no! Just skip. This freestyle never happened. Scarface and Batman references can’t even save this.
5. Drama & Weezy (Interlude)
Drama and Weezy are cool.
6. Type Of Way
Featuring T.I.; Instrumental: Rich Homie Quan – “Type of Way”
Lil’ Wayne and T.I. take Rich Homie Quan’s song to another level. Both men from the South take time to talk about the haters, but it’s T.I. with the better verse. The New Orleans native/Miami resident has a verse with questionable lyrics like, “Why would you do something to make your girl have a face like Mr. Miyagi?”.
7. You Song
Featuring Chance The Rapper
Chance The Rapper continues to impress on his latest feature. After delivering an impressive hook and verse, he inspires Wayne to drop one of his most cohesive verses in awhile:
Give you the world if it was for me
My diamond grill make it hard to see I’m lying through my teeth
And now I’m flying on my PJ, looking at the clouds
Thinking about yo ass and how it look like a big smile
I get mental flashbacks of your asscrack
Lemme get back on track…
You say I act like I don’t miss you, that’s because I don’t act
But anyway, we can role-play or get straight to it
Sorry, my mind in the gutter, better yet sewer
And when you say I love you, I stutter “I-I-I love you too”
It’s Wayne’s world, she say “what is this world coming to?”
And she know me and whoever together, she hope we come a loose
She told if she ain’t the one, she gon’ throw up the deuce
I laughed at her, we took a bath together and splashed each other
Then she got serious, she said “Tune I gotta ask you something
Do you really love me?” I tried to change the subject
So I said some crazy shit to her like: “what if you and I were just letters?
That be unfortunate we’d have to rob a fortune teller
But I swear I think I love you, fingers crossed in my pocket
Okay that’s a dead subject, you bring it up that’s a zombie
You remind me, of my memory ain’t what it used to be”
She said she ain’t tripping, I know cause I move my feet
And when she figure out that she been swindled
I’ll be cleaning that love bird shit off my window
I-I-I love you too…
8. Ain’t Worried
Featuring Euro & Jae Millz; Instrumental: French Montana – “Ain’t Worried About Nothin'”
I remember seeing a tweet months ago, that said, “Curren$y releases more albums in a year than Mack Maine, Gudda Gudda, and Jae Millz whole catalog combined”. It was hilarious and true. The Harlem, New York native reminds everyone why people, including myself, anticipated his debut album back in 2003. Wow, “No No No” is that old?
9. Before Tune Gets Back
Featuring Lil’ Chuckee
Lil’ Chuckee sounds way too much like Lil’ Wayne on here. The basis of the song is Chuckee in the studio recording before Wayne gets back. Unfortunately, there is nothing significant in these lines, any Young Money record artist could have said this, it wouldn’t have made a difference. I still remember years ago, I said Lil’ Chuckee is better than Lil’ Twist and deserved more attention. He had a hit song with Kevin Gates last year that never got promoted or had a video like that horrible song, “Da Wop” did. I guess I was right since all Twist does is hang around Justin Bieber now instead of rapping.
10. Started
Instrumental: Drake – “Started from the Bottom”
This song would have been great to hear about Wayne coming up in New Orleans with Cash Money, dealing with the pressure to get back on top before the release of Tha Carter 1, but no, listeners just got to hear him rap the same stuff we’ve already heard five songs ago. SKIP!
11. New Signees To Young Money (Interlude)
I don’t know why people on Twitter are surprised to learn that New Orleans R&B singer, PJ Morton is signed to Young Money. That fact and Bounce Beats is actually how I found out about him.
12. Live Life
Featuring Euro
The beat reminds me of “Ransom” by Drake and Lil’ Wayne and Carter 4‘s “Megaman”. Nothing much going on here except for a few fast flows.
13. Itchin’
Instrumental: DJ Infamous featuring Future – “Itchin'”
Is he really trying to make one of the only songs with Future rapping into a love song? Tunechi tries and fails on here. If he wanted to sing over another Mike Will Made It beat like he did on “Love Me”, he should have used Future’s boo’s song, “Body Party”.
14. Way I’m Ballin’
Featuring Mack Maine & Birdman
Weezy rapping over simple hood/trap production like this is like Jay-Z making songs like “Tom Ford” and “FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt”, of course they sound good lyrically, their expected to kill those songs. Nothing else to write about because no one wants to hear Birdman or Mack Maine rap.
15. Fortune Teller Interlude
Mack Maine “predicted” Miley Cyrus would be out there back on “Every Girl” and now he wants credit. I’m still waiting on her to be fine or at least tell me when Mystikal’s Original album is coming out.
16. Thinkin’ About You
Produced by David Banner
Wayne attempting to harmonize while off beat for three minutes, boo! David Banner incorporating bounce music into the production at the 1:50 mark and the New Orleans native chanting, “Oops, upside your head” and “Feet don’t fail me now”, yay!. That one bright spot almost makes the song worth it until you get to the end of the song and question, “What was that song about?”. Skip.
17. Pure Colombia
Instrumental: Young Scooter – “Colombia”
Young Scooter’s breakthrough single still has life months later after its all-star remix. With a funny line about changing faces on the Rollie and Lil Kim, this song is alright.
18. Bugatti
Featuring Boo; Instrumental: Ace Hood – “Bugatti”
NO MORE AUTOTONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Autotone voice and mentions of punani are what turned Wayne fans off years ago, continuously doing it is not the right direction or dedication to bring them back. SKIP. Note: Did Boo resign to Young Money or something? He’s been on Dedication 4 and I Am Not A Human Being II in the last year, but never releases his own projects.
19. Still Got That Rock
Produced by Drumma Boy
The last bars of the song are the only thing memorable here:
I’m telling you, shout out Turk, it’s Hot Boys, bitch the block is hot
If I ain’t have the keys to success, I would have picked the lock
Diarrhea shit don’t stop until my fucking casket drop
Still got that crack, maybe one day I’mma pass the rock
20. Competition Interlude
He’s competing for his fan’s attention, nothing else.
21. FuckWitMeYouKnowIGotIt
Featuring T.I.; Instrumental: Jay-Z featuring Rick Ross – “FuckWitMeYouKnowIGotIt”
Cool until I heard “Had a phone in jail, that’s a cellphone”. Really? This is an actual punchline. Fortunately, the rest of his verse featured better punchlines like, “Ain’t nothing free round here but Willy”
and “Celebrate when a rat die, make a nigga fall back like he getting baptized”. I know I’m not the only one noticing T.I. winning best verse on their collaborations.
22. UOENO
Instrumental: Rocko featuring Future & Rick Ross – “U.O.E.N.O.”
While using one of the most over-used instrumentals of the year, Tunechi actually sounds great on here. Surprised he didn’t say, “You Ain’t Even Know It” throughout the song. This is arguably the third best remix of Rocko’s hit behind Wiz Khalifa’s and Black Hippy’s.
23. Levels
Featuring Vado; Instrumental: Meek Mill – “Levels”
I do not like Meek Mill’s song, “Levels”, I understand the message behind the song and see why people put this in their status updates detailing their work days. The Young Money founder details everything that he does to make sure he is on top and stays there. The Harlem, New York representative of DJ Khaled’s We The Best imprint makes an appearance.
24. Living Legend Interlude
He does not know how to be a living legend, he just knows how to be Lil’ Wayne.
25. Cream
Featuring Euro; Instrumental: Wu-Tang Clan – “C.R.E.A.M.”
This actually wasn’t bad, this reminded me of that rapper that actually rode a beat and illustrated a story through music. I guess RZA’s production does that to to rappers.
26. Devastation
Featuring Gudda Gudda
Nothing corny or wack here, just some good rapping. Like Boo, Gudda Gudda always seems to make an appearance on a Lil’ Wayne project.
27. Fuckin’ Problems
Featuring Kidd Kidd & Euro; Instrumental: ASAP Rocky featuring Drake, 2 Chainz, & Kendrick Lamar – “Fuckin’ Problems”
A song about sex addiction, of course this guy would rap on it. Surprisingly, this is the first time I’ve heard red bones mentioned on this project. Maybe he is changing for the better. Euro makes another appearance but it’s Kidd Kidd who steals the show.
28. Feds Watching
Featuring 2 Chainz & T.I.; Instrumental: 2 Chainz featuring Pharrell – “Feds Watching”
The America’s Most Wanted tourmates appear together on 2 Chainz’s latest single. Let me save you some trouble, check for T.I.’s verse at the end, I swear you won’t be disappointed. You’re welcome.
29. Luv
In the tradition of his other mixtape outros on Da Drought 3, Dedication 4, and Sorry 4 The Wait, we treated to eight minutes of Lil’ Wayne thanking everyone and I do mean everyone. Glad to hear S/O’s to his former Cash Money family, but other than thought there is no point for me to listen to this.
Bottom Line:
23 songs whereas three of them don’t feature Wayne at all, 6 interludes that could’ve been left off, 8 instrumentals that have been repeatedly used for other rappers’ freestyles. In all, there are 12 songs that I want to listen to again.
The King of the South, T.I. produced an impressive four out of four on his appearances. Chance The Rapper drastically changed the pace of the project, it’s unfortunate how it never returned to that point. While The Weeknd’s contribution was worthwhile it was a bad indicator of what the mixtape was going to be. We don’t want to hear Lil’ Wayne rap about drugs and sex for an entire hour no more! The project could have benefited from more outside guests like Chance The Rapper. I guess I’ll have to wait longer for those Childish Gambino and Kevin Gates collabos and another reunion with Curren$y. Just like Dedication 3, that featured way too much Gudda Gudda and Jae Millz, Dedication 5 attempts to promote the newest members of the ever growing Young Money roster. Euro is two out of four for his appearances. The M.I.A members of Young Money also try to promote themselves. Jae Millz and Boo have a buzz now, while Gudda Gudda and Lil’ Chuckee fizzled. This is not the return fans have waited for, like his past releases, there are moments of brilliance, but they are buried under piles of BS also known as inferior sequels to his nearly classic works such as Tha Carter albums and Dedication mixtapes.
Download: Lil’ Wayne – Dedication 5 [Mixtape]
