There have been few rappers who have managed to dominate a specific area of hip hop quite like the way Dwayne Mxichael Carter Jr. did with the mixtape circuit during the 2000s. Weezy’s ascension from Hot Boys standout to the best rapper alive wasn’t just due to dropping studio albums, but rather from crushing mixtape cuts.
Dive deep into his discography, and you’ll find masterpieces like Dedication 2, Da Drought 3, and No Ceilings, classic projects that showcased the New Orleans MC’s exceptional lyrical gymnastics and boundless creativity. These weren’t just tapes; they were monumental statements, dispatches from a prodigy who was hungry, relentless, and ready to snatch the crown. Each track, each bar, echoed with the ethos of a man on a mission. When we talk about Lil Wayne’s greatness, we can’t forget the mixtape era, where he didn’t just participate – he redefined it, leaving a legacy hard to match, let alone surpass.
So let’s get into it. From destroying Jay-Z’s “Show Me What You Got” to timeless cuts like “I Feel Like Dying,” we rank the top 25 best Lil Wayne mixtape tracks of all time.
25. “Something You Forgot”
A master of witty one-liners and clever wordplay, Lil Wanye doesn’t seem like the type to drop love ballads, but on “Something You Forgot”, he somehow pulls it off. With some of his rawest bars ever and an expressive presence on the mic, the song is one of his most emotional to date. Balancing technical skill with lyrical depth, the heartbreak ballad is among Weezy’s most powerful tracks.
24. “Grew Up A Screw Up”
Freestyling over the classic Ludacris track of the same name, Luda’s original performance sounds tame compared to the braggadocious bars of Wayne and 2 Chainz, spitting some of the hardest rhymes of their careers. Hyping themselves up with no shortage of play on words, it only took three minutes for the veteran MCs to prove why they’re on top of the South.
23. “Triggaman”
Up there with Weezy’s most underrated tracks, “Triggaman” shows off all the skills that make Wayne a GOAT contender. His flow is relentless, spitting verse after verse without catching a breath, finding a million creative ways to hype up his status in the streets. Passing the mic to Curren$y for a quick storytelling verse, an album’s worth of ideas are crammed into four action-packed minutes.
22. “David Banner”
Flexing his effortless mic presence, few tracks capture Weezy’s technical mastery better than “David Banner”. A masterclass in breath control and delivery, the Southern veteran spits quotable after quotable, his flow growing more intense as his violent brags get more brutal with every line. Tearing apart a punching instrumental, you could take away the beat and Wayne’s ferocious rhymes would be enough to keep the track engaging.
21. “Run This Town”
The original “Run This Town” is nice, but Wayne’s legendary freestyle easily outshines the chart-topping song from Hova. In classic Weezy fashion, the mixtape master flexes his lyrical prowess with a dozen clever punchlines and a dozen more play on words, crafting a lyrical puzzle of effortless brags so impressive there’s no reason to listen to the Jay-Z track over this one.
20. “Get High Rule the World”
Dwayne Carter may not have the voice of Lauryn Hill or the conscious pen game of Nas, but he’s got the flow to make up for it. Imagining his own perfect world of women and riches, he never runs short on witty one-liners to turn the classic Nas track into a Weezy essential. With a swaggering flow to make every bar hit hard, the Southern MC dominates the iconic instrumental.
19. “Birds Flyin’ High”
A blunt-smoking anthem, “Birds Flyin’ High” is Wayne’s laidback ode to smoking it up. Trading rhymes over a tripped out Nina Simone sample, Weezy and Juelz rap with a relaxed delivery like they were high when they recorded the classic mixtape cut. Although Juelz can’t match his opponent’s lyrical skill, his swaggering bravado is enough to keep up with the mixtape legend.
18. “Swag Surf”
Doing what Weezy does best, “Swag Surf” is another mixtape classic where the MC takes a chart-topping hit and renders it obsolete. Tearing up the funky instrumental for “Swag Surfin’”, Tunechi outperforms the one-hit wonders like it’s as easy as breathing for the rapper. Rubbing salt in the wound, Wayne borrows lyrics and melodies from the original track, proving he does F.L.Y.’s style better than F.L.Y themselves.
17. “Watch My Shoes”
Spitting into the mic for almost five minutes straight, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call “Watch My Shoes” one of the best rapping performances of 2009. Fully embracing the rugged mixtape style, the song is an endless stream of quotables with no hooks to interrupt Weezy’s relentless flow, earning his title as one of the best rappers alive with one monster of a verse.
16. “I’m a Beast”
Another example of Wayne in prime form, the MC’s limitless rhymes hit hard enough to rival some of the best highlights off Tha Carter III. Rapping over some hardcore production as explosive as Weezy’s bars, the MC rises above the bombastic instrumental with an urgent delivery and commanding presence to hook the listener on every word. A lyrical spectacle and a technical masterwork, “I’m a Beast” was an instant classic.
15. “D.O.A.”
When Jay-Z bodies a beat, Wayne steals the instrumental to prove he can do it better, and “D.O.A.” is no different. Flexing his superhuman ability as a lyricist, Dwayne Carter’s witty rhymes are packed with double entendre and mind-boggling play on words. “D.O.A.” is the type of track where you have to rewind after each verse, because no listener can catch every quotable with just one listen.
14. “Kush”
Another weed-smoking classic from Weezy F. Baby, the mixtape master has a hundred clever ways to rap about his drugs of choice. Flowing over a soulful beat to match the laidback vibes of his lyrics, Wayne slows things down on “Kush”, spitting lyrical gems with a relaxed delivery, like it doesn’t take him any effort to craft another lyrical masterclass.
13. “Sportscenter”
In the running for Wayne’s best verse ever, “Sportscenter” is a three-minute barrage of straight bars. With tight rhyme schemes, a determined flow, and dozens of clever one-liners, the Dedication 2 highlight is Weezy at his most technically precise and lyrically unbeatable. Juggling all sorts of references with the sharp pen game to tie them all together, few mixtape verses are as mind-boggling as this one.
12. “I Can’t Feel My Face”
Like every track from Da Drought 3, “I Can’t Feel My Face” is another lyrical work of art. Here, the Southern MC shreds apart the beat for “Everlasting Bass” with his razor-sharp rhymes. Spitting bars with a nonchalant presence, the fast-paced banger has all the genius wordplay you would expect from the GOAT contender.
11. “Prostitute Flange”
As autotune took over the mainstream, Wayne decided to hop on the trend, and the result is one of his finest tracks ever. A melodic ballad about falling in love with a prostitute, the song isn’t a hardcore banger or a compilation of punchlines, but his slick, autotune-layered vocals are enough to make it a highlight. The precursor to classic cuts like “Lollipop”, this was the beginning of a new chapter in Weezy’s career.
10. “Get ’Em”
One of many gems on Dedication 2, this game-changing banger is proof that Wayne was the best rapper alive in the 2000s. A braggadocious set of iconic bars, the lyrical menace proved his worth with this three-minute monster, shooting down every hater and hyping up his talents as a once in a lifetime MC. After “Get ‘Em”, it wasn’t an opinion to call Wayne one of the best to ever do it; it was a fact.
9. “Cannon”
Wayne is no stranger to having guests on his tracks, but rarely does he wash his opponents like he does on “Cannon”. Freeway and a few others offer decent verses, but after Weezy’s lyrical explosion in the first minute, they can’t match his show-stealing performance. “Cannon” is evidence that, no matter how many MCs you throw at Lil Wayne, he will always outrap them.
8. “Upgrade”
When Wayne was in his prime, no beat was safe. Whether it was a Jay-Z classic or a David Banner hit, Weezy could master any instrumental, even pop tracks like Beyoncé’s “Upgrade U”. With no shortage of swagger and a list of quotable punchlines, “Upgrade” is proof that Weezy can turn any song into a lyrical slaughter. While the original track had a feature from Hov, Jay’s verse is laughable compared to Wayne’s freestyling genius on “Upgrade”.
7. “Wasted”
Borrowing a glamorous beat from Gucci Mane, Tunechi cooks up another Southern classic with some of the sharpest rhymes of his whole career. Rapping until he’s breathless with a record-number of laugh-out-loud punchlines, Wayne proves that he is in his own lane, with his ferocious delivery and comedic pen game unleashed to its fullest potential.
6. “We Takin’ Over (Remix)”
As if stealing the show from DJ Khaled wasn’t enough, Wayne decided to steal his whole song by remixing “We Takin’ Over” and removing every other MC. Turning his thirty-second verse into a two-minute lyrical spectacle, Weezy used the remix as a flex to prove he had more skills than every rapper on the original.
5. “Sky is the Limit”
Using beats from other artists is part of Wayne’s brand, but when he took Mike Jones’ “Mr. Jones”, it didn’t feel like an homage; it was straight up disrespectful. Spitting an iconic hook on top of his wordplay-laced bars, Weezy hijacked Mike’s track and turned it into his own, outshining the original in every possible way. It’s got to the point where people don’t even realise the beat was used by someone else – Wayne’s performance is just that iconic.
4. “Georgia…Bush”
Politics aren’t usually Weezy’s forte, but “Georgia…Bush” is an exception. Taking aim at President George Bush after the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, Wayne sounds more determined than ever, spitting ferocious bars with more anger and passion than he had ever laid on a track before. Rather than a diss track, “Georgia…Bush” sounds like a protest anthem, and stands as one of Carter’s most emotional highlights to date.
3. “Dipset”
Boasting possibly the slickest flow of his career, “Dipset” is a masterclass in technical ability where Wayne’s confident mic presence is at its most entertaining. Delivering some of the hardest bars of the decade over an equally hardcore instrumental, this track is the full package, with all the raw lyrical talent that made prime Wayne an unstoppable force.
2. “Dough is What I Got”
After three years in retirement, Jay-Z burst back on to the scene with “Show Me What You Got”, but it was obvious he was past his prime. It wasn’t long until Wayne borrowed the beat to show Hova how it’s done, delivering his signature swaggering rhymes with a hungry delivery that blew Jay’s performance out of the water. The song that made Jay-Z question himself, “Dough Is What I Got” will always be Wayne’s most legendary moment.
1. “I Feel Like Dying”
Walking the line between enlightened and addicted, “I Feel Like Dying” is a drug-themed anthem where Wayne sounds his most miserable and most relaxed at the same time. Laying the blueprints for trap stars like Future, his drug-addled rhymes showcase some of the MC’s most creative writing, as well as his most mesmerising delivery. Putting a creative spin on the classic theme of getting high, “I Feel Like Dying” is mixtape Wayne at his most innovative, passionate, and lyrically unbeatable.
