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Lil Wayne review – chaotic but charismatic race through greatest hits
The hitmaker’s latest album might receive a pass from most but his eclectic tour opener proves why he’s still standing
Early on, the crowd – which ranged from teenagers in fresh tour merch to thirtysomething mixtape heads in Fendi buckets to a small army of influencers who dotted the floor surrounded by their camera crews – buzzed with anticipation if not certainty as Wayne ran through mostly new songs. From his mid-aughts mixtape blitz (Dedication 2, Da Drought 3, No Ceilings) to the Grammy-conquering apotheosis of Tha Carter III, his best work was never about polish, rather an uncontainable marriage of force and sheer volume that hasn’t quite been matched in popular music since. But Wayne live – even when unrepentantly tardy and careening through abbreviated versions of songs – still delivers jolts of charisma through his formidable wordplay and flow, especially when he leans into the loose, strange brilliance that once made him one of the most compelling artists on the planet.
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