Some of the biggest news in the music world towards the end of 2014 was the rift that was growing between two of the biggest moguls in hip-hop, Lil Wayne & Birdman. The Louisiana natives, who were seen as father and son for many years, with the ex Big Tymers rapper taking Weezy under his wing in the early days, were said to have fallen out over some beef to do with the impending arrival of Wayne's eleventh studio album, Tha Carter V. Whilst we still wait the arrival of that album, Weezy dropped a mixtape this week, entitled Sorry For The Wait 2, the second instalment in the series, to keep us ticking over til the LP's later this year.
The standout track, in my opinion, came in the shape of the Drake assisted banger "Used To", produced by Canadian teenage sensation Wondagurl, who's beats have found their way onto records for Jay Z amongst many others. "Used To" shows Wayne's hunger is bigger than ever as he cuts his way through the instrumental with ease. His fellow YMCMB homie Drizzy is perhaps the standout artist on this joint however, with another 'throwaway' verse that sounds better than most rappers album verses. The Toronto native lets rip on the beat, spitting with a venom and hunger that he's become synonymous with in recent years, even managing to give a point towards UK Grime emcee Skepta, specifically his 2014 hit "Thats Not Me". Could a possible Drizzy and Skepta collab be on the cards in the near future? We all know of Drake's love of UK culture!
Social media blew up when the tape dropped, with many talking points being raised. Is this the old Wayne we know and love coming back? Is the relationship between him and Birdman repairable? Just how good will Tha Carter 5 be? Well, SFTW2 gave us answers to the first two questions, whilst hinting towards a definitive answer for the latter one. This genuinely sounded like the pre-Rebirth Wayne coming back, with the hunger in his voice so obvious, which can only mean good things for his next album. It does appear, however, that the relationship between Wayne & Birdman is over, with a few disses towards the Cash Money head honcho being made very apparent, especially on the "Coco" remix, with the line "Birdman Junior? More like ugly duckling", one of the stand out bars. What did you think of the mixtape? Do you think this is the end of Wayne's tenure at Cash Money? Stream "Used To" below and give us your thoughts!
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