C4 (mixtape) explained

C4 is the third solo mixtape by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, then known as K.Dot, released on January 30, 2009, through Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE). Heavily inspired by Lil Wayne's sixth studio album Tha Carter III (2008), the mixtape primarily consists of freestyles over the production from Tha Carter III, in addition to a few original songs.^[1] C4 includes guest appearances from Lamar's TDE label-mates Ab-Soul, Punch, Jay Rock, Schoolboy Q, and BO.

Critical reception

When retrospectively speaking on the mixtape, Mosi Reeves of Rolling Stone described it as "a wrongheaded homage to a year-old, well-worn album."^[2] Peter A. Berry of XXL wrote: "Compared to what he would evolve into over the next five years, fans have argued that the rapper didn't really find himself or his sound by the time this project came out. K-Dot's starpower resided in the future rather than present at this point in his catalog."^[3]

Track listing

Notes

• "Best Rapper Under 25" is a remix of "3 Peat" by Lil Wayne.
• "Mr. Carter 2 (New Wayne Verse)" is a remix of "Mr. Carter" by Lil Wayne and Jay-Z.
• "A Milli" is a remix of "A Milli" by Lil Wayne.
• "Bitch I'm In the Club" is a remix of "Got Money" by Lil Wayne and T-Pain.
• "West Coast Wu Tang" samples "After Laughter (Comes Tears)" by Wendy Rene and interpolates "Bring the Pain" by Method Man and "Method Man" by Wu-Tang Clan.
• "Phone Home" is a remix of "Phone Home" by Lil Wayne.
• "Compton Chemistry" is a remix of "Dr. Carter" by Lil Wayne.
• "Take Off Your Pants" is a remix of "Tie My Hands" by Lil Wayne and Robin Thicke.
• "Shot Down" is a remix of "Shoot Me Down" by Lil Wayne.
• "Play with Fire" is a remix of "Playing with Fire" by Lil Wayne and Betty Wright.
• "Friend of Mine" samples "I Just Wanna Love U (Give it 2 Me)" by Jay-Z and Pharrell Williams.
• "Still Hustlin" is a remix of La La by Lil Wayne, Brisco, and Busta Rhymes.
• "Welcome to C4" is a remix of "You Ain't Got Nuthin" by Lil Wayne, Fabolous, and Juelz Santana.
• "G Code" is a remix of "Let the Beat Build" by Lil Wayne.
• "Famous Pipe Game" is a remix of "Mrs. Officer" by Lil Wayne, Bobby V, and Kidd Kidd.
• "Misunderstood" is a remix of "DontGetIt" by Lil Wayne.
• "Young & Black" samples "99 Problems" by Jay-Z.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Kendrick Lamar (aka K.Dot) – C4 (Throwback Mixtape)). October 30, 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20111106081232/http://hiphopfiend.org/2011/04/kendrick-lamar-aka-k-dot-c4-throwback-mixtape/. November 6, 2011.
2. Web site: Mixtape Primer: Reviewing Kendrick Lamar's Pre-Fame Output. Rolling Stone. Reeves. Mosi. July 14, 2017.
3. Web site: Every Kendrick Lamar Project Ranked. XXL. Berry. Peter. February 25, 2021.