Lil Wayne and DJ Drama's Dedication 2 Mixtape Turns 20: A Retrospective
By
Tom Breihan
Front-window bakery material. Catches the eye, delivers the goods.
Summary
A retrospective on Lil Wayne and DJ Drama's Dedication 2 mixtape, which turns 20 years old. The article explores how the mixtape was never intended to be an album but rather part of a street-level bootleg tradition, and how both Lil Wayne and DJ Drama used the mixtape format to develop their voices and build their reputations in hip-hop.
Key quotes
· 5 pulledIt wasn't an album. It wasn't supposed to be an album.
In concept and execution, there was nothing album-ish about it.
It was a mixtape, an artifact that was supposed to be bootlegged and disseminated through street channels.
DJ Drama built his name on the mixtape, and that tradition is the reason that people still love to hear him bellow his echo-drenched catchphrases today.
Lil Wayne wasn't new to the mixtape, either. He'd used the form to develop his voice and his approach.
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