Why Lil Wayne’s ‘Sorry 4 The Wait’ Is a Classic Mixtape

Fifteen years ago, Lil Wayne was going through it. He was finally home from 8 months in prison on Rikers Island, but his next album Tha Carter IV kept getting delayed.

So as an apology to fans who had to keep waiting, he did what he does best: drop a classic mixtape.

Lil Wayne is one of the best mixtape rappers of all time, and Sorry 4 The Wait captures him at the height of his powers. He’s loose and freewheeling, rhyming about his own greatness over instrumentals from the biggest hits in the world at the time. It's documentation of a special moment in time.

For years, you could only hear the project on sites like DatPiff, but now you can finally hold it in your hands on special red and black vinyl, available on Complex Shop.

To celebrate, we’re diving deep on the tape. As we flip through the record’s liner notes, it becomes obvious why it'll go down in history as a classic tape.

Collaborators:

Let’s be honest. When Wayne is in mixtape mode, he doesn’t even need collaborators.

He takes beats from the biggest songs in the world and raps so hard you forget about the original. This time, he tackled hits like Kreayshawn’s “Gucci Gucci,” Drake’s “Marvin’s Room,” and even Adele's "Rolling in the Deep."

Only peak Lil Wayne could rap about Stan Van Gundy and Tyrese over an acoustic Adele instrumental and end up with the hardest shit you ever heard. Crazy.

But this is Lil Wayne we’re talking about, so of course he called up some of his friends and had them join in on the fun, too. (Even if he didn’t need to.)

Lil B was on top of the world in 2011, and Wayne got a classic verse from him on “Grove Party.” He also got Gudda Gudda on "Throwed Off," plus Thugga, Raw Dizzy, Flow, and T@ on the remix to "YM Inkredible." And on the 2022 streaming re-release, he added four new songs, including features from Lil Tecca on "Anti-Hero" and Allan Cubas on "Cameras."

Lyrics:

We could break down double entendres for days, but the best Lil Wayne bars are the simple ones that are arranged in a way that no other human would think of. Like on the title track when he raps:

“And I stink 'cause I got a lot of shit on my mind
They say numbers don't lie, is that a six or a nine?
I stand in front of the clock 'cause I'm ahead of the time.”

Wayne is a very technically proficient rapper, but moments like this show his gifts at twisting words in a ways that no one else can.

Rather than simply bragging about being ahead of the curve, he paints the picture of literally stepping in front of a clock. Instead of plainly rapping about having a lot on his mind, he brings olfactory senses into play to drive home the point. And we all know Wayne will never pass up a good sex joke (six nine).

The lyrical theme that you’ll hear the most on Sorry 4 The Wait, though, is a simple one: an apology. He slips the refrain “sorry for the wait!” into every single song, making sure he plugs Tha Carter IV throughout the tape. You’ve got to respect the commitment.

Did You Know?

Lil Wayne was cranking out songs at an unreal pace during this era, and rumor has it, the entire project was recorded in just a couple of weeks.

A Note From the Artist:

Wayne didn’t do a lot of interviews about the mixtape, but one of his only quotes about it gets straight to the point: “The mixtape is called Sorry for the Wait, and it's because [manager Cortez Bryant] pushed the album back so, sorry for the wait."

Special Edition Vinyl:

If you love this project as much as we do, you’ll want it in your home. This limited edition split vinyl variant is only available on Complex, and supplies are limited. Get yours before they’re gone.