''Tha Fix Before Tha VI'' is the seventeenth

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

by American rapper

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

, which serves as a prelude to his fourteenth solo studio album '' Tha Carter VI''. The mixtape was released by Young Money Records and

Republic Records Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, it was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially ...

on September 29, 2023. It consists of 10 tracks, including the single " Kat Food", and features guest appearances from

Jon Batiste Jonathan Michael Batiste (born November 11, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, composer, bandleader, and television personality. He has recorded and performed with artists including Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, Prince (musician), ...

Euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

Cool & Dre Cool & Dre are a record production and songwriting duo from North Miami, Florida, consisting of Marcello "Cool" Antonio Valenzano and Andre "Dre" Christopher Lyon. The duo were first discovered by New York rapper Fat Joe and began their career ...

, and

Fousheé Britanny Fousheé (born August 1, 1990), known simply as Fousheé, is an American singer-songwriter. She came to wide notice when the vocals for her song "Deep End" were used on a hit song by rapper Sleepy Hallow in 2020. She released her RCA Reco ...

Promotion and release

The mixtape's first and only single " Kat Food" was released on September 1, 2023. It charted at number 4 on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

. On September 20, 2023, he posted a link to pre-save the album on his

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

and

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

pages, as well as revealing the cover of the album. The cover is reminiscent of his 2011 mixtape ''

Sorry 4 the Wait ''Sorry 4 the Wait'' is the tenth mixtape by American rapper Lil Wayne, named as an attempt to apologize for the continued delay of his ninth album, ''Tha Carter IV''. Wayne said the mixtape would have about ten songs and be similar to '' No Cei ...

''. He then revealed the album's track list on September 27, in which he also announced that the album was going to release on September 29, 2023.

Critical reception

''Tha Fix Before Tha VI'' received negative reviews from critics. AllMusic stated that his discography "includes some of the most incredible music to ever grace the rap genre, but 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." Robin Murray of ''Clash'' said that the album "contains numerous experiments, collaborations, and drafts, indicating his willingness to continually step outside convention – yet it doesn’t always land." ''HipHopDX''s Alec Siegel said, "It’s impressive that Wayne’s storied recording schedule has evidently remained consistent three decades into his career." But he then called the album "a potent reminder that some music is best kept stashed in the vault" ''

HotNewHipHop ''HotNewHipHop'' (HNHH) is an online publication that covers daily news about hip hop and pop culture, including streetwear, sports, and Sneaker collecting, sneakers. In addition to its editorial content, HotNewHipHop also produces the video seri ...

'' said "Wayne is clearly a gifted rapper, but 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."

Commercial performance

"Tha Fix Before Tha VI" debuted at number 40 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, moving 19,000 units.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fix Before Tha VI 2023 mixtape albums Lil Wayne mixtape albums Young Money Entertainment mixtape albums Republic Records mixtape albums