Lil Wayne kicks off his 34-city tour on Friday, June 6 at Madison Square Garden.
Courtesy of align PR
“If there’s one thing about this album that’s different, it’s me approaching it like, ‘Man, what would I sound like on something with such and such?’” he said.
When Wayne came to Dallas in 2023, he took fans through his career-defining album series at House of Blues. There was a lot of excitement in seeing the Best Rapper Alive run through his whole catalog, jumping from commercial hits to mixtape songs. Wayne is one of the most prolific rappers of our time, but there is some weariness over him upholding his standard of quality of Tha Carter’s early albums as he approaches the sixth one. Although he continues to deliver lethal guest verses, 2023’s Tha Fix Before Tha VI didn’t instill any confidence in his album-making ability with poor production, inconsistent songwriting and too many experiments that could be left as drafts.
Could this be why Wayne fans aren’t rallying behind Tha Carter VI? You would think after getting snubbed as a Super Bowl LIX halftime performer and playing off his disappointment in a Cetaphi ad, rap fans would be more feverish to see Wayne add another album to his famed series. We’re here to remind everyone of Wayne’s greatness, looking back at some of his otherworldly lyrics and metaphors on mixtape tracks now that his North American tour has been announced. Over the years, he’s shown love to Texas artists by picking their hits and remaking them. Some of these are adored by fans who prefer the remix over the original. Here are 11 of our favorites.
"Sky's the Limit" (2007)
Mike Jones’ “Mr. Jones” was nearly forgotten after Lil Wayne released a better version called “Ride 4 My N***as” (Sky’s the Limit). This was a classic beat jacking that had Wayne at his most focused, devouring every beat he decided to jump on. We learn his favorite movie at age five was Gremlins. He drops politically charged lines about New Orleans still being theirs in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. It’s a motivational anthem, with many MySpace-worthy lines like, “I'm probably in the sky, flying with the fishes / Or maybe in the ocean, swimming with the pigeons.”
"Magic" (2008)
UGK’s fourth studio album Dirty Money had a Pimp C-produced gem in “Wood Wheel.” Off Dedication 3, Lil Wayne, in his peak Auto-Tune days, rambles on about sexing women in a syrupy flow. He is joined by his loyal Young Money lieutenant Gudda Gudda, who goes off.
"My Weezy" (2008)
Lil Wayne often used his Dedication series to introduce new members of Young Money. Over Lil Wil's "My Dougie," the original song of the Dougie before Cali Swag District blew it up, he featured Shanell and Tyga. Wayne pushed Auto-Tune to its limits, sometimes making his voice sound unrecognizable. The bars were still fire, though.
"Ice Cream" (2009)
Dorrough’s “Ice Cream Paint Job” was a top 40 hit for the Dallas rapper in 2009. Naturally, Wayne grabbed the beat for his No Ceilings mixtape and went hard in the paint. For three minutes, Wayne dropped some of the funniest and most clever bars that people quote to this day. “I'm all over this ice cream beat like sprinkles” as the beat drops will forever be legendary.
"Sweet Dreams" (2009)
Beyoncé's “Sweet Dreams” was a big pop song of 2009, featuring a terrible music video that had nothing to do with her ability to sound beautiful and soft yet strong and powerful. “You can be a sweet dream or a beautiful nightmare,” she sings of her lover. In a smart move, Wayne keeps the original and just adds verses by himself and Nicki Minaj, turning it into an unofficial remix. The foresight to put Minaj on a Yonce track this early in her career is proof of Wayne’s vision for his artists, considering Bey and Nic made songs like “Feeling Myself” and “Flawless” (Remix) years later. Wayne saw Minaj was destined for greatness.
"Throwed Off" (2011)
Dallas hip-hop heads will always prefer Treal Lee & Prince Rick’s classic over what Gudda Gudda and Wayne did in their song. However, you can’t deny Wayne snapped on this, especially on this holdover mixtape Sorry 4 the Wait, which was to keep fans happy until the then-delayed Tha Carter IV came out. When you hear the lighter flick, it means he’s in beast mode.
"Too Young" (2015)
It’s crazy to think that 10 years ago, Post Malone was making completely different music than he is right now. Before going country, he became popular off “White Iverson,” his laid-back trap, dreamy R&B track that went viral in 2015. When Wayne decided to remix it, keeping Malone’s original cadences and lyrics as callbacks, he went extremely personal about his first time hustling and starting from nothing (“just some crumbs”) to having a bakery.
"5 Star" feat. Nicki Minaj (2017)
Malone’s chart-topping hit “Rockstar,” which dominated the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks in 2017, was another song that Wayne remixed into a Young Money banger. He grabbed Minaj to match the star power of 21 Savage on the original to create a YM mixtape cut. Fans at the time were excited at Queen Minaj’s performance, who kills it, and Tunechi got real about his vices.
"Main Thing" (2018)
Recently, Arlington rapper Tay-K was sentenced to 80 years, which makes hearing his only hit song, “The Race,” a bit ironic because he didn’t beat the case. Wayne hopped on “The Race” and turned it into a lover boy song, trading side-piece pursuits for cuffin' main things.
"Out West" feat. Young Thug (2020)
Over Travis Scott’s “Out West,” Lil Wayne and Young Thug, who have had a storied feud in the past, set their differences aside for a No Ceilings 3 cut. It’s not as structured as the Houston rapper's version, but hearing Weezy and Thugger together, letting their eccentricities fly was mind-blowing at the time. If they're still cool, fans would love more songs between them.
"Kam" (2020)
Over Scott’s “Sicko Mode,” here’s a taste of a young Kam Carter who says his “flow is harder.” A father-son track on Tha Carter VI will bring back memories of when Birdman and Lil Wayne did it before, releasing their Like Father, Like Son album in 2006. Maybe Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. and Kam Carter are trying to do the same, a very cool full-circle moment for the proud father of four.
With Tha Carter VI out, you can listen to "Rari" featuring Kam Carter. The hook is catchy. He might have a bright future!
