| No Ceilings | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Mixtape by | ||||
| Released | October 31, 2009 | |||
| Recorded | 2009 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 72:34 | |||
| Label | Young Money,Cash Money | |||
| Lil Wayne chronology | ||||
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| Commercial release cover | ||||
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No Ceilings is the ninth mixtape by American rapperLil Wayne. It was scheduled to be released on October 31, 2009, but was leaked before the official date.No Ceilings was officially released on October 31, 2009, with 4 additional tracks. The mixtape is available as a free and legal download[1] and it received widespread acclaim from critics. An abridged version was officially released to streaming services on August 28, 2020, excluding ten songs.
Two Lil Wayne tracks, "Wasted" and "Swag Surf," were leaked onto the internet on October 11. These were followed by "Run This Town" on October 25. The majority of the mixtape was leaked out to the public on multiple websites October 26, 2009. The mixtape contains various freestyles over popular rap and R&B songs' instrumentals and features artists from hisYoung Money label includingNicki Minaj, Short Dawg,Gudda Gudda,Shanell,Jae Millz, andTyga. It was officially released on weareyoungmoney.com via a liveUstream[2][3][4][5] video and included higher quality audio as well as four additional tracks. The song "Single" was released on May 11, 2010 as a single on iTunes titled "I'm Single", and charted on theBillboard Hot 100 chart. The single was also released on Wayne'sI Am Not a Human Being album. The song "No Ceilings" was released to iTunes under the title "Pop That" on theLoyalty EP, which also included Birdman's new single "Loyalty", which featuredTyga and Lil Wayne.[6]
When police pulled over Wayne's tour bus after claiming to smell marijuana, the rapper pleaded guilty to "attempted criminal possession of a weapon."[7] Although pleading guilty still landed Wayne in Riker's Island Prison for a year, it greatly reduced his possible sentence. Wayne was dealing with his arrest and charges while writing the mixtape, and he actually mentions his arrest multiple times in lyrics throughout the tape.[citation needed]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Consequence of Sound |    [8] |
| FACT | 3.5/5[9] |
| MSN Music (Consumer Guide) | A−[10] |
| Pitchfork | 7.7/10[11] |
| Rolling Stone | [12] |
| Sputnikmusic | 4.5/5[13] |
| Tom Hull – on the Web | A−[14] |
Reviewing in April 2010 forMSN Music,Robert Christgau hailedNo Ceilings as Lil Wayne's best release sinceTha Carter III and a "welcome alternative" to his contemporaneousrock albumRebirth (2010). Noting a richness and humor in his lyrics, the critic said that Lil Wayne "recycles beats fromDirty South throwaways whose originals you need never think of again, showsFabolous how fabulous the 'Throw It in the Bag' remix might have been, holds his own withJay-Z and theBlack Eyed Peas, and eases the mixtape's title onto every track".[10] In another piece forThe Barnes & Noble Review, Christgau elaborated on his praise, but also offered points of criticism: "[T]his is a gift except when some dolt like Tyga or Jae Milz [sic] gets a verse ... though the boasts are mostly prime and the rhymes fun enough, it's all pretty surface—there's nothing as tricky as 'Walk It Out,' much less 'I Feel Like Dying.' And the occasional references to his forthcoming [prison bid] are strictly by the book."[15] Christgau later rankedNo Ceilings as the 18th best album of the year.[16]
A sequel mixtape,No Ceilings 2, was confirmed on the 6-year anniversary of the original mixtape's release by Mack Maine on his Twitter page. Lil Wayne performed his freestyle overFuture's "Where Ya At?" at an event prior to its release and two 30-second clips of that performance can be found online. He also recorded his freestyle overDrake's "Back To Back" before an interview.[citation needed]
No Ceilings 3 was released on November 27,2020, which is a mixtape hosted by American record producerwho Lil Wayne has previously worked with before.
On August 28, 2020, over 10 years from the initial free release, the mixtape was released to streaming platforms.[17] The commercial release omitted all 3 skits and 7 songs, presumed to be due to sample clearance issues. A bonus track titled "Kobe Bryant" was also included. It is a rework of Wayne's 2009 song with the same title.
| No. | Title | Original instrumental | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Swag Surf" |
| 4:10 |
| 2. | "Ice Cream" | 3:25 | |
| 3. | "D.O.A." | 4:32 | |
| 4. | "Skit #1" (featuringGudda Gudda) |
| 1:18 |
| 5. | "Wasted" |
| 4:13 |
| 6. | "Watch My Shoes" |
| 4:39 |
| 7. | "Break Up" (featuring Short Dawg and Gudda Gudda) | 3:48 | |
| 8. | "Banned from T.V." | 2:54 | |
| 9. | "Throw It in the Bag" |
| 2:55 |
| 10. | "That's All I Have" (featuringTyga and Shanell) |
| 3:55 |
| 11. | "Skit #2" (featuringShanell) |
| 1:39 |
| 12. | "Wayne on Me" | 4:15 | |
| 13. | "I'm Good" (featuring Lucci Lou) |
| 2:26 |
| 14. | "Poke Her Face" (featuringJae Millz) |
| 2:16 |
| 15. | "Run This Town" |
| 2:49 |
| 16. | "I Got No Ceilings" (featuringMack Maine) | 3:46 | |
| 17. | "Skit End" | 1:36 | |
| 18. | "No Ceilings (Pop That)" (featuringBirdman) |
| 3:58 |
| 19. | "Oh Let's Do It" | 3:46 | |
| 20. | "I'm Single" |
| 5:33 |
| 21. | "Sweet Dreams" (Beyoncé featuring Lil Wayne andNicki Minaj) |
| 4:47 |
| Total length: | 1:12:34 | ||
The mixtape's 2020streaming edition excluded 10 tracks, 3 of them being skits, while adding the song "Kobe Bryant".
| Chart (2020) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USBillboard 200[18] | 18 |
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