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Lil Wayne’s new mixtape No Ceilings has hit the Web four days before its planned Halloween release — and less than a week after Tha Carter III rapper pleaded guilty to gun charges in New York City. With a prison sentence looming, rhymes like “T.I., hold your head” in the opener “Swag Surfin’ ” feel pretty weighty. But overall, it’s a stellar mixtape that features Wayne rapping over beats from some of the biggest hip-hop cuts of 2009. Nah Right has the goods.
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Wayne is in full alien mode on No Ceilings, weaving together pop culture references from all over the map into his lyrics. He name checks three football players alone in his version of Jay-Z’s “D.O.A.” — Deion Sanders, Tim Tebow and former Saints QB Aaron Brooks — carves similes out of 300 and Nicole Kidman and conjures up lines that only a mad scientist like Tha Carter could concoct.
Jigga’s “D.O.A.” and “Run This Town,” The-Dream’s awesome “Fancy” and even the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling” get Carterized on No Ceilings. “Young Money baby, and the building grows. As we look up, where did the ceilings go,” Lil Wayne raps in “Wasted,” giving the mixtape its title. No Ceilings looks like it’s the first phase of what promises to be a prolific Weezy in the months before he’s sentenced to prison, with Rebirth reportedly due out December 15th and Tha Carter IV possibly on the horizon.
No Ceilings track list:
1. “Swag Surfin’”
2. “Ice Cream Paint Job”
3. “D.O.A.”
4. “Interlude”
5. “Wasted”
6. “Watch My Shoes”
7. ...
Article Source: Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily