''Dedication 4'' is a

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

by Lil Wayne, hosted by DJ Drama. The mixtape was originally supposed to be released on August 15, 2012, but got delayed several times and was released on September 3, 2012. It is the fourth installment of

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman, joining ...

's ''Dedication'' series, following its predecessors '' The Dedication'', ''

Dedication 2 ''Dedication 2'' is the fifth mixtape by Lil Wayne, hosted by DJ Drama. It is a sequel to Lil Wayne's previous mixtape, '' The Dedication'', and is second in DJ Drama's ''Gangsta Grillz'' series with Lil Wayne. It is one of the few mixtapes in ...

'' and ''

Dedication 3 ''Dedication 3'' is a mixtape by Lil Wayne, hosted by DJ Drama. It is the sequel to its predecessors, '' The Dedication'' and the highly successful '' Dedication 2'', becoming the third in Lil Wayne's "Gangsta Grillz" series. Lil Wayne also told M ...

''. It's also the fourth installment of

's "Gangsta Grillz" series.

Background

On July 15, 2012, Wayne announced that the mixtape will be released some time in August, 2012 stating "''Dedikation 4 coming next month.''"

DJ Drama Tyree Cinque Simmons (born April 22, 1978), professionally known as DJ Drama, is an American DJ, record executive and music promoter. He is the co-founder (with Don Cannon) of Generation Now, an Atlantic Records imprint with artists including ...

revealed to MTV that Cortez Bryant told him that Wayne "''had been mentioning it and was gearing up''", and during a stop of

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

's Club Paradise Tour Bryant told him "''it was a 100% go".'' On August 1, 2012, Lil Wayne confirmed the release date of the mixtape when he called into DJ Drama's Hot 107.9 radio show. Wayne then also named three instrumentals ("Cashin Out", "I Don't Like" and "Burn") that he had already rapped over. On August 15, 2012,

Mack Maine Jermaine Anthony Preyan (born July 28, 1982), better known by his stage name Mack Maine, is an American record executive, songwriter, and rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana. Mack Maine has been the president of Young Money Entertainment since 2 ...

wrote that the release date of the mixtape got pushed back to a then unknown date. Maine also said that

would announce the new release date, and "''something special''" (which later turned out to be the track "No Lie") by stating "''Announcement and something special will be delivered by @LilTunechi today....#stayTUNEd''". Lil Wayne later explained he didn't release ''Dedication 4'' on August 15, because his friend and fellow rapper

2 Chainz Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (or Tity Boi), is an American rapper. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he initially gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip hop duo Playaz Circle, a ...

released his debut album '' Based on a T.R.U. Story'' on August 14, and he wanted all the attention on 2 Chainz. The official artwork was released through Wayne's Facebook page on August 16, 2012. On August 17, 2012,

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accents ...

confirmed that she features on the mixtape. On August 24, 2012, Lil Wayne announced the mixtape would be released on August 30, 2012 by stating "''D4 aug-30''", however on August 30 it was confirmed by

that the mixtape would be pushed back to September 3, 2012. The mixtape got pushed back again because Cortez Bryant wanted DJ Drama to properly set it up. On September 3, 2012, the mixtape was released for free download on multiple mixtape websites at 12:00PM EST which then got pushed back to 4:00PM EST and was finally release at 4:30PM EST.

Critical reception

Upon its release, ''Dedication 4'' was met with mixed reviews from

music critic '' The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mu ...

s. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7 ...

score of 60, which indicates "mixed or average reviews" based on 7 reviews. Kevin Jones of ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' said, "Wayne's current stylistic tack of relying entirely on rap metaphors, along with a thematic scope limited almost exclusively to sex and periodic sprinkles of king-of-the-hill braggadocio, leaves listeners awash in an endless streams of exhausting wordplay, with relatively few moments of genuine, smirk-inducing entertainment." William Ketchum III of

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...

said, "''Dedication 4'' won’t have the iconic, game-changing longevity that the series’ first two did, but it's still a snack-sized offering that offers glimpses of the New Orleans youngster who proclaimed himself as the "Best Rapper Alive" Regardless, seeing ''Dedication'' in the title will likely inspire listeners to turn up previous classics like "Cannon," "Georgia…Bush" and "Motivation." Jody Rosen of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' said, "This summer, Lil Wayne told a radio station that rap had become "boring," and that he prefers to spend time on his skateboard. Yet on much of this mixtape, he sounds less bored than he has in years, drawling filthy, funny rhymes over beats borrowed from Rick Ross, 2 Chainz and more." Jayson Greene of

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

said, "The worst I can say about ''Dedication 4'' is that there isn't one moment where I wouldn't rather be listening to the often mediocre originals. There are a dozen or so good punch lines scattered on D4, enough to make it fun enough for one listen "

Track listing

All tracks were arranged by DJ Drama.

References

{{Authority control 2012 mixtape albums Lil Wayne albums DJ Drama albums Sequel albums Young Money Entertainment albums