Lil Wayne

The term "mixtape" has become so overused in hip-hop circles that it's almost lost all meaning. Any free-to-web release is now a "mixtape," whether it's a producer-driven tape with multiple MCs (something that's actually an album in all but name) or, like Sorry 4 the Wait, an MC spitting over other people's instrumentals. Sorry 4 the Wait ― so named because Wayne's ninth full-length solo album, Tha Carter IV, has been pushed back multiple times ― isn't Weezy's best work. Some of the songs on Wait are classic Wayne; his re-imagining of Kreayshawn's "Gucci Gucci" and Waka Flocka's "Grove Street Party," with a mildly incoherent, hilarious guest spot from Lil' B, feature Wayne at his gangsta-meets-free association best. Unfortunately, his version of Drake's "Marvin's Room" and "Tunechi's Back," from Rick Ross's "Tupac Back," feel mailed in. Given what Wayne's capable of, this sort of half-assed effort isn't acceptable. That said, Sorry 4 the Wait has enough good material to make it worth a listen, and more than enough to get fans salivating for Wayne's next official effort.