Lil Wayne offers a taster of Dedication 6, releases two new tracks

Here's an early Christmas present for rap fans.

Stepping outside of the cave he's been hiding in for a brief moment, Lil Wayne gifts fans with two new tracks ahead of the release of his new mixtape that arrives Christmas Day. Dedication 6 will be the latest instalment from his critically-acclaimed series - ok, so maybe just the first few that are acclaimed - and it's the first project Wayne has released since July's In Tune We Trust EP. The self-branded martian has been a bit of a recluse as of late, in an almost Kanye West on-a-mountain-in-the-middle-of-nowhere type of way - this is mainly down to his ongoing legal battle with his Cash Money Records label boss and real-life legal guardian, Bryan "Baby" Williams. With that said, we still await Wayne's highly anticipated Tha Carter V album. Regardless of the mountains of controversy surrounding Lil Wayne at this time it's good to see him still exercising his creative flair and lyrical capabilities on the newly released "Blackin Out" and "Bank Account". Putting his own spin on 21 Savage's "Bank Account", Wayne continues the Dedication mixtape tradition of hopping on other peoples' beats. Walking the line between autotune singing and non-enhanced rapping, his delivery is actually pretty sharp on this go round. The more interesting of the two tracks released is "Blackin Out". Taking on Jay-Z's "The Story of OJ", this is not the first time he's offered up his own version of a Jay record -  "Moment Of Clarity" or "Run This Town" anyone? Featuring Euro, Wayne rides the beat like we know he can. Confident, and at times playful, Wayne spits: "The shells fallin' to the ground, shakin' make you do the James Brown/ I still wear the same crown, light-skin or light-brown." While we continue to wait on Tha Carter V, enjoy these tracks and make a note in your calendars to pick up Dedication 6 when it hits the net on the same day the fat bloke with the white beard in the red suit drops off your Christmas presents.