so the beats are responsible...

[no_tom&jerry]

anyone else notice how on d5 when wayne goes over an old school beat (and not one of these new ultra slow, skittish trap beats) his flow comes back? could it all just be a matter of beats this whole time?! think about it...

C4 - hip hop beats were becoming much slower, yet hadn't gone full electronic trap style yet and weezy responded with a super slow flow that put a lot of us fans to sleep. almost like it was going so slow he couldn't make that many dope lines anymore.

D4 - beats were now officially different... instead of rapping too slow, he started to go double time, which made for more excitement, but also made it seem more random and crazy without giving him enough time to ever stick to any punchline at length. but wait.. green ranger (an OLD beat) brings back his OLD flow (kind of)

IANAHB2 - the D4 style continued, but worsened. his voice became really grating and his voice continued going up at the end of every bar instead of down. more like questions than comments.

D5 - suddenly it all becomes clear on beats like cream, fuckin problems, you song, started, still got, etc. his old flow came back! seriously, some of these sound like D2/DD3-era weezy and yall cant deny that. especially cream, fuckin problems and you song. he even slips in some skateboard and pussy lines that would sounds corny elsewhere, but they sound dope! he needs that extra space for his delivery because that's what he was trained on! then the next track is a super modern beat and BAM! we get the same problems back again. although i gotta admit he is doing better on the new beats now than he has before (see: levels) it's still quite a phenomenon.

so here's my theory: mid-tempo hip hop beats are weezy's comfort zone. he has not fallen off, he just has more words than he can fit into a foreign new beat. he wants to be at home on the beat so badly but it just aint him sometimes. i just wish he would stick to his comfort zone.

[IAmChristian_]

[Lil wayne prezident]

this a reach.

[danielnfl36]

this a reach.

i agreee with op somewhat.. everything is shitty trapbeats today i dont like the style personally.. unless waynes on it .. like j cole and kendrick are some of the only people who arent on trap beats that are actually... top tier artists.. i miss when beats had like... samples of voices and stuff in them such as dear annes beat... or stan or something you forgot ..etc not a fan how all beats these days have same drum patterns and shit..

[YMCMB357]

You're looking into this too much =/

[no_tom&jerry]

i don't knowwwwww...proof is in the pudding i say. listen to the songs on d5... do you think it's an accident that the most classic weezy sounding tracks use old mid-tempo hip hop beats and not trap beats? it's like he just comes alive on the old school ones, he's got more space to put his words and seems more comfortable with the flow. it fits his laid back stoner persona - the trap beats make him sounds like a crackhead sometimes, hopping from subject to subject.

there's a line on one of the d5 songs where i always think "this is a perfect example of weezy getting better". granted, it's on the track with the cell phone line, lol, but whatever. he goes "got two choppers, that's chopsticks" - okay. now, in recent history he might have ended the line there, which would've caused a lot of groans... but he proceeds to say "eat your block up like shrimp fried rice" or whatever he says. now THAT makes it a good line. it was a little meh before that, but he added a second thought which is WHAT HE HAS BEEN MISSING! the shrimp fried rice line is the weezy wit and genius we all fell in love with!

[WeEeEeEzZzZyYy]

well what about his flow on the d4 song with j cole

that was an old beat and to me it sounded like "new wayne" on it

[TyIquan]

Green Ranger is dope. Fuck whoever says Wayne ain't snap on it. If that was a hidden track niggaz would appreciate it more. Especially if it was hidden at the end of a shortened Luv.

[wfbpcb]

i agreee with op somewhat.. everything is shitty trapbeats today i dont like the style personally.. unless waynes on it .. like j cole and kendrick are some of the only people who arent on trap beats that are actually... top tier artists.. i miss when beats had like... samples of voices and stuff in them such as dear annes beat... or stan or something you forgot ..etc not a fan how all beats these days have same drum patterns and shit..

You forgot Big K.R.I.T.

[b_roll_ya]

i feel u cuz wen he spit on dat wu tang cream beat, he was goin in.....

[Bill Laimbeer]

You forgot Big K.R.I.T.

Big K.R.I.T's beats are classic southern beats that he makes himself. His beats aren't trap at all.

[mode]

its always been about the beats w wayne,


they determine his approach, im not sure if theres a comfort zone.. but hteres defnitely beats that he respects enough to rapp well on, or w the pace that we like from him.


im 100 w this tho, it really reallly depends on the beat.