Lil Wayne can still spit. As a reminder, Weezy F borrows one of Jay-Z’s standout 4:44 beats for a head-turning freestyle alongside a similarly-revitalized Drake, returning to the formula that first made him a rap icon. Coming from the second installment of his Dedication 6 mixtape, titled Dedication 6: Reloaded, Wayne’s “Family Feud” freestyle should allay concerns that his time away from the limelight has dulled his skills at all.
Lil Wayne rightfully earned his reputation as one of the top rappers in the game largely through his freestyles on mixtapes like the Dedication series, where he used other MCs’ beats for target practice and often wound up making his versions more memorable than the originals. It only makes sense for him to go back to that as he begins his comeback bid after being stuck in label purgatory for the last several years.
With Drake on the lead-off verse and Wayne batting cleanup, the pair declares “Young Angel and Young Lion” are back, covering topics from ownership of Cash Money (“My n____a spent a lifetime going platinum and gold / He should own half of the label, sh*t out of control”) to Wayne’s money-making proclivities (“If money grow on trees, I climb and rest in that b*tch / Build a treehouse and knock the bird nest out that b*tch”). Drake even takes time out to shout out Meek Mill again and denounce their prior beef.
It’s a sharp reminder that when both of these rappers care, they can spit both insightful wisdom and side-splitting punchlines along with the best in the game. Dedication 6: Reloaded is due out New Year’s Day.
