Lil Wayne - Dedication 5 (Mixtape)

Back again with my obligatory Lil Wayne post.  However, this is the first time in a long time that I can say I am genuinely pretty excited about a weezy release.   I'll keep my WAYNE IS BACK testimonies to a minimum, but I will say that this is a substantial improvement from what we've heard from him lately.  I'm willing to admit that we'll likely never see another verse like what he did on the Knuck if you Buck Freestyle, but I don't think Tunechi is quite ready to clumsily ride his skateboard into irrelevancy yet.  I think I got almost half-way through the mix-tape and only heard 2-3 lines about pussy. Baby steps.

Weezy raps with a bit of a chip on his shoulder, and the beats are feugo.  The song with Chance might be his best release in years.

Find the full download and a couple of choice favourites below:

FULL MIXTAPE DOWNLOAD

The Weeknd - Wanderlust (Pharrell Remix)

Arriving a few days earlier than its expected September 10th release, Toronto's own The Weeknd unleashed his deranged drug and sex-filled fantasy world Kiss Land to the masses. While it is an incredibly polished body of work, it is far from digestible on the first few listens. My initial thoughts make notice of a large Portishead influence on the project (which Abel has admitted on numerous occasions). Quite simply, this is one of the most interesting Michael Jackson albums, Michael Jackson never made.

Standout cut, Wanderlust not only provides an incredibly cool word to Tweet out, it gets the remix treatment by none other than legendary producer Pharrell. A big fan of both artists (Pharrell's, In My Mind is my favorite rap album of all-time), I was blown away by the life Skateboard P breathed into the original track. While The Weeknd's sound is distinct and the production on his work is usually world-renowned, I would love to see him start getting in the booth with the legends. I am sure the end product would be nothing short of extraordinary. Precious little diamond...