Dedication 2 is a 2006 mixtape by DJ Drama and Lil Wayne. It is a sequel to Lil Wayne's previous mixtape, Dedication, and is second in DJ Drama's Gangsta Grillz series with Lil Wayne. It is one of the few mixtapes in the hip hop genre to be both financially successful and critically acclaimed. Despite its illegal use of unlicensed instrumentals and samples, it is sold through iTunes and retail stores such as Best Buy and FYE, widely reviewed in the mainstream media, and even though a mixtape that almost only exclusively sold digitally it peaked at #69 on Billboard's "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums" chart. The cover shows Lil Wayne with "Fear God" tattooed on his eyelids. Much of the mixtape showcases Lil Wayne's free associating rhymes and "liquid non-sequiturs."

Dedication 2 appeared on year-end top ten lists from the New Yorker critic Sasha Frere-Jones,New York Times critic Kelefa Sanneh, the Baltimore City Paper's Jason Torres, and a panel of critics at the Washington City Paper. Tom Breihan of The Village Voice proclaimed it the best summer album of 2006, praising DJ Drama's "impeccable beat selection". "SportsCenter" was complimented for its "free associating brain bursts." "Georgia... Bush" was also acclaimed for its "mesmerizing indictment" of President Bush. In 2009, Rhapsody ranked the album at number fifteen on its 100 Best Albums of the Decade list.

Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. (born September 27, 1982), better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included rappers Juvenile, B.G., and Young Turk. Hot Boys debuted with Get It How U Live! that year. Lil Wayne gained most of his success with the group's major selling album Guerrilla Warfare, released in 1999. Also in 1999, Lil Wayne released his Platinum debut album Tha Block Is Hot, selling over one million copies in the U.S.

Although his next two albums Lights Out (2000) and 500 Degreez (2002) were not as successful (only reaching Gold status), Lil Wayne reached higher popularity in 2004 with Tha Carter, which included the single "Go D.J." Wayne also appeared on the Destiny's Child top ten single "Soldier" that year. In 2005, the sequel to Tha Carter, Tha Carter II, was released. In 2006 and 2007, Lil Wayne released several mixtapes and appeared on several popular rap and R&B singles. His most successful album, Tha Carter III, was released in 2008 and sold over 1 million copies in the U.S. its first week of release. It included the number-one single "Lollipop" featuring Static Major. It also includes the singles "A Milli" and "Got Money" featuring T-Pain and won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album.

Tyree Cinque Simmons (born April 22, 1978) better known as DJ Drama is an American hip hop artist and the official DJ for Grand Hustle/Atlantic recording artist T.I. He is best known for producing mixtapes, including the successful "Gangsta Grillz" series and Dedication 2, which the New York Times called one of the "10 best recordings of 2006".

DJ Drama, Don Cannon, and DJ Sense founded Aphilliates Music Group in 2003. The Aphilliates Music Group inked a label deal with Asylum Records in 2006, signing rapper Willie the Kid. As of January 2011, The Aphilliates now operates as its own entity, due to DJ Drama recently cutting ties with La the Darkman and Embassy Entertainment.