Lil Wayne’s ‘Da Drought’ Mixtape Series Hits Streaming

Key Takeaways:

• Fans can now stream Lil Wayne’s Da Drought mixtapes on Apple Music and Tidal.
• The series, released between 2003 and 2007, showcases Lil Wayne’s lyrical dominance and early collaborations.
• This drop continues a trend of classic mixtapes going digital, reshaping how Hip Hop history is preserved.

Lil Wayne fans can rejoice! The New Orleans rapper’s Da Drought mixtape series is now officially available for streaming. As reported by Complex on Tuesday (Aug. 5), Weezy’s Da Drought, Da Drought 2 and Da Drought 3 are all now available on Apple Music and Tidal.

The first Da Drought was originally liberated as a mixtape back in 2003. The project reportedly consisted of songs that Tunechi created for Tha Carter, but due to changes in musical direction, instead of being shelved, they were flipped into a mixtape. The proper Tha Carter album would be released a year later in June 2004. Da Drought 2 followed in late 2004.

Da Drought 3 came out in 2007 and remains a favorite project among diehard Weezy fans. Originally a double CD, it featured Lil Wayne going in on what were the hottest instrumentals of the time — like Beyoncé’s “Upgrade U,” Rich Boy’s “Throw Some D’s,” JAY-Z’s “Show Me What You Got,” Jeezy’s “I Luv It” and more. Guest features also included a then-up-and-coming female rapper named Nicki Minaj, Juelz Santana and Curren$y.

Mixtape Weezy was a beast, and other critically acclaimed projects from that era of his musical output that are already on streaming platforms include No Ceilings and the Dedication series with DJ Drama.

While Apple Music and Tidal users are free to enjoy this newer drop, the projects are not yet available on Spotify.

The once-teenaged rapper — he signed to Cash Money Records when he was just 11 years old — continues to thrive as a Hip Hop veteran. In June 2025, he dropped Tha Carter VI, his 14th official album. The LP often plays like a mixtape with its exorbitant number of guests, including 2 Chainz, Big Sean, Bono of U2, Kodak Black, Mannie Fresh and many more.