Lil Wayne has been nothing but prolific in hip hop. At the time of its release, Sorry 4 The Wait was just a footnote to the daunting discography. The mixtape acted as an apology to the constant delays to his ninth album Tha Carter IV. It’s an apology that only Wayne could make, another mixtape. The tape sees him going over some of the hottest trap beats out, a change of pace from what he brought on his last two studio albums (Rebirth & I Am Not a Human Being).
With the mixtape’s addition to streaming brought four new tracks. These tracks are unfortunately not good, the tracks aren’t lost leftovers but rather brand-new tracks. They bring a stark contrast from the rest of the tape, as Wayne’s style & flow has changed. “Cameras” sounds like he ignored the beat itself & recorded acapella, and “Lil Romeo” is an onslaught of nonsensical flexing. “Anti-Hero” is the more enjoyable track of the bunch, but it’s followed up by “Bleu Snappin'” which is infinitely worse. None of the tracks here are necessary & some of his worst in years.
Which is quite different from the tracks on the actual mixtape, which showcase Wayne’s skill of making endless similes & metaphors. “Tunechi Rollin'” has him going over Gunplay’s track “Rollin,” where he provides a nonstop verse filled with gun bars. A prime example of his skills come toward the backend of track, where he finds anyway to “rolling” rhyme with itself. His ability to take what was originally a mindless banger and turn it into a mind-bending rhymefest is impeccable.
While it’s packed with some of the hottest freestyle beats of the time, “One Big Room” hears him going over Kreayshawn “Gucci Gucci,” he goes over some odd picks too. “Tunechi’s Room” takes his own signee & protege’s beat, Drake’s “Marvin’s Room,” removes the sad crooning & replaces it with his sex talk. The track is somewhat funny & feels like a playful jab at the original, but easily the most skippable here. The title track is the complete opposite, it seems him taking Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” & making it his own. Wayne steals the show in such a way it’s easy to forget the origin of the track, proving that he’s the only rapper that can do the mainstream pop features any justice.
Taking “2Pac Back” by Meek Mill & Rick Ross, Wayne reintroduces himself on “Tunechi’s Back.” Using this track can be seen as him viewing himself amongst the greats like Pac, and whether it is or not doesn’t matter since he destroys the beat. His track “Grove St. Party” sees him taking Waka’s track and providing a verse that wouldn’t sound out of place on the original. This track comes from a feature from Lil B, an artist that’s style still drums up controversy. While Lil B can’t compare to Wayne’s lyricism & flows, it is a fun verse if you can dissociate it from Wayne.
Sorry 4 The Wait wasn’t seen as prime Wayne, and not even his best mixtape, but it did show Wayne back on track to making a solid studio release again. Rebirth felt alienating, showing Wayne take his rockstar personality too seriously. I Am Not a Human Being is disappointing coming from a nearly yearlong prison sentence. This mixtape felt like it was made for more than apologizing for the wait, as it felt like he was coming back into his own. Being far removed from the original release adds to the magic of the tape, since we got Wayne over quintessential trap production doing what he does best.