Lil Wayne’s new album takes away from his legendary status

A few years ago, Lil Wayne claimed he was the “best rapper alive!” For those who don’t…

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Lil Wayne comes out with his new album and doesn’t live up to expectations.

A few years ago, Lil Wayne claimed he was the “best rapper alive!” For those who don’t think that his frequently repeated slogan warranted an exclamation point, his nasally yell — reminiscent of Fran Fine’s from “The Nanny” — left us no choice but to let our eardrums suffer as the phrase became associated with the New Orleans native.

Then, times changed. Weezy was on pace for a VH1 episode, “When Lil Wayne Ruled the World,” but blew his shot when his last album, the highly anticipated “Tha Carter IV,” was scorned by critics.

Just like the Barry Bonds home run record ball, the album has an asterisk next to it. Lil Wayne had only recently returned from a jail sentence, giving both critics and fans alike a scapegoat upon which to blame Wayne’s letdown. After a few failed attempts at piggybacking on others’ tracks, Lil Wayne quietly faded into the background for the first time since “Tha Carter III” dropped in 2008.

But it now seems Lil Wayne has tried to adopt the motto from the Disney classic “The Sandlot” that states, “legends never die.” Being the huge sports fan that he is, Wayne has doubtlessly seen this film, but maybe the years of bodily abuse have caught up to him in his latest mixtape, Dedication 4, in which he butchers the immortal words of a ghostly Babe Ruth.

The album’s title track, “So Dedicated (featuring Birdman),” begins with the Birdman and the Birdman Jr. who are set up by a man who sounds as if he is covering the microphone in spit as he yells, “This one here, this one is for the sport!” The sport that he mentions is the same with which Lil Wayne made headlines just under a month ago when he chose trucks and decks over his rap career.

“Some of you mad the current sport happens to be skateboarding,” yells the unidentified man, seemingly knowing he has just entered into one of the biggest rap debates of the decade thus far. Wasting no time in punctuating his argument, he continues to his rebuttal: “But that gives us four wheels to run over you.” A bass-heavy DJ Drama beat drops, and Wayne enters.

The second track on the album is just as violent as the first. It’s all right hooks, no jabs. Either Lil Wayne has a great sense of irony, or “Same D*mn Tune,” the second song, is just a poor choice for a name, because much of the song mimics its predecessor. Reverting back to Lil Wayne’s roots, the song combines battle rap lines and bragging without a quotable line in sight, and Wayne gives the listener no choice but to hit the ‘next’ button.

“I’m Tunechi / I do me!” he says, still trying to convince the rap world that it’s OK to follow in Michael Jordan’s footsteps and take a brief retirement from his craft. Unfortunately, it seems that he has attempted to follow Jordan’s saga a little too closely, striking out on countless new career opportunities that seem to be out of his element. Nonetheless, Dedication 4’s 2 million views since Monday seem to suggest that whatever Wayne’s decision for his future, his fans will give him a shot.

Dedication 4 continues with a variety of remixes. First up: “Mercy.” This popular Kanye West, G.O.O.D. Music collaboration has been bumped at countless pregames and parties. Just like in previous mixtapes (think No Ceilings), Wayne had to give the hottest track around a shot.

Enlisting the help of Nicki Minaj who leads off atop the slightly augmented “Mercy” beat, Wayne makes good use of his ability to rap over blaring bass. It’s as if the artist gains some sort of special power when a beat rattles the rear-view mirrors or the neighbors come banging on the door asking residents to turn down the music.

This was his chance to show off, and he didn’t disappoint. Queue the ’80s part of the track and dim the lights. With his usual swagger, Wayne makes us laugh, grit our teeth and question his sanity all at the same time with one of the mixtape’s only impressive performances.

The second of the two big-name remixes is Lil Wayne’s rendition of Meek Mill’s hymnal “Amen.” It may be more upbeat than the authoritative bump of “Mercy,” but Wayne can’t seem to muster up one more solid track and fails to come close to the quality of the track’s original lyrics. Preach.

It may not be cause to give Lil Wayne back the title belt, but if you’re looking for some beats that will test your speaker system’s bass and some whiney pump-up tracks, Dedication 4 isn’t a bad place to start.