Tha Fix Before Tha VI

* Album
* Animated

### **Producer(s)**

808-Ray \ Bobby Raps \ Charlie Handsome \ Cool & Dre \ FNZ \ Foster \ Julian Munro \ Manny Galvez \ Murda Beatz \ R!O \ Rogét Chahayed \ Self B Tru \ Streetrunner \ Swede \ Tarik Azzouz \ Wheezy

***Tha Fix Before Tha VI*** is the 29th mixtape by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was released through Young Money Entertainment and Republic Records on September 29, 2023. The record features guest appearances from Jon Batiste, Euro, and Fousheé.

## Synopsis

For decades Wayne's made a habit of dropping mixtapes to tide over fans while they wait for the latest installment of his beloved *Tha Carter* album series, from his free *Da Drought* downloads throughout the 2000s to the *Sorry 4 the Wait* tapes in the 2010s. There's no telling when he might drop the long-awaited *Tha Carter VI*, but 10 new tracks from the Louisiana legend are a small consolation in the meantime.

With Wayne the highs are always high (like "Kat Food," an interpolation of Missy Elliott's "Work It" that finds dozens of new ways to express his favorite subject, the joy of cunnilingus), and the not-so-highs are fascinating: His "Tity Boi" bars rise and fall like arpeggios before exploding into an absurdly horny EDM rager. Then again, it sometimes takes a few years for the rest of us to catch up to Wayne's vision: People thought he was crazy for *Rebirth*, his 2010 rock record that predicted the emo-rap renaissance to come. Following guest spots on pop-punk blockbusters from the likes of Machine Gun Kelly in recent years, the rap-rock hybrid "Tuxedo" has Wayne sounding vindicated, dropping trademark zingers like "Don't know who these rappers are, that shit sound like salad bars."

## Background

The lead and only single "Kat Food" was released on September 1, 2023, which was speculated to be for Wayne's album *Tha Carter VI*. Instead, he announced its precursor project *Tha Fix Before Tha VI* on September 20, 2023; seven days ahead of his 41st birthday. The pre-save link was available on music streaming services Apple Music and Spotify, though the release date was not disclosed, merely stating "Coming soon."

On September 27, the single "Brand New" with Tyga and YG was dropped, Wayne also revealing the mixtape's release date and track listing.

## Critical reception

Alec Siegal of *HipHopDX* described it as an "aimless throwaway set," where he felt Wayne arranged viable scrapped material "through the desktop trash bin." He added, "packed with ill-considered hooks, forgettable beats, and verses unworthy of a man that once credibly claimed the mantle of the best rapper alive." Similarly, AllMusic remarked, "When the project is at its weakest, there are some contenders for career-worst songs." They further assessed, "if *Tha Fix Before Tha VI* is any indication of where he's going next, it might usher in the sad realization that the days when Wayne could confidently proclaim himself the "best rapper alive" are behind him." *Clash*'s Robin Murray was equally unimpressed, opining, "contains numerous experiments, collaborations, and drafts, indicating his willingness to continually step outside convention—yet it doesn't always land." Wyatt Westlake of *HotNewHipHop* positively wrote, "highlights both his acclaimed skill set and the least palatable qualities of his music" and concluded, "his songwriting is still inconsistent and the project is tainted by lazy choruses and poor production selection. Let's hope that Lil Wayne is saving his best material for *Tha Carter VI*."

## Track listing

Sample credits
* "Kat Food" contains samples of "Work It," performed by Missy Elliott.
* "Slip" contains samples of "Banned from TV," performed by N.O.R.E. featuring Styles P, Jadakiss, Nature, Big Pun and Cam'ron.

## Personnel

Musicians
* Britanny "Fousheé" Foushee – featured artist, writer
* Dwayne "Lil Wayne" Carter Jr. – main artist, writer
* Eufradis "Euro" Rodriguez – featured artist
* Jon Batiste – featured artist

Technical
* Bryan Montesano – A&R
* Cameron "Cam'ron" Giles – writer
* Christopher "Big Pun" Rios – writer
* Christopher Stein – writer
* Colin Leonard – mastering engineer
* Cool & Dre (Marcello "Cool" Valenzano and Andre "Dre" Lyon) – producer
* Cristal Viramontes – recording engineer
* Darryl McDaniels – writer
* David "Styles P" Styles – writer
* Deborah Harry – writer
* Fabian Marasciullo – immersive mix engineer, mixer
* FNZ (Michael "Finatik" Mule and Isaac "Zac" De Boni) – writer, producer, programmer
* Jason "Jadakiss" Phillips – writer
* Jermain "Nature" Baxter – writer
* Jocelyn Donald – writer
* Joseph Simmons – writer
* Joshua Berkman – A&R
* Julian Munro – writer, producer
* Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean – writer
* Khalif "Self B Tru" Muhammad – writer, producer, programmer
* Manny Galvez – writer, producer, recording engineer
* Mario "R!O" Jefferson – writer, producer, programmer
* Melissa "Missy" Elliott – writer
* Paul Simon – writer
* Rayshon "808-Ray" Cobbs Jr. – producer
* Robert "Bobby Raps" Richardson – writer, producer, programmer
* Rogét Chahayed – producer, programmer
* Ryan "Charlie Handsome" Vojtesak – producer, programmer
* Sloane Esme – assistant mixer
* Victor "N.O.R.E." Santiago – writer
* Wesley "Wheezy" Glass – writer, producer, programmer

## References

1. ↑ Blake, Cole (September 20, 2023). "Lil Wayne Announces New Project Dropping Before "Tha Carter VI"". *HotNewHipHop*.
2. ↑ Ruiz, Matthew (September 27, 2023). "Lil Wayne Details New Mixtape *Tha Fix Before Tha VI*". *Pitchfork*.
3. ↑ Siegel, Alec (October 6, 2023). "Lil Wayne 'Tha Fix Before Tha VI' Should Have Never Left the Vault". *HipHopDX*.
4. ↑ "Tha Fix Before Tha VI". *AllMusic*.
5. ↑ Murray, Robin (September 29, 2023). "Lil Wayne – Tha Fix Before Tha VI". *Clash*.
6. ↑ Westlake, Wyatt (September 29, 2023). "Lil Wayne's "Tha Fix Before Tha VI" Mixtape Review". *HotNewHipHop*.

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