A classic tale of North meeting South, or even the best of both worlds unveils with the collaboration of Cash Money’s Lil’ Wayne and Dipset’s Juelz Santana in I Can’t feel my Face.

The album opens with snippets from each of the artist’s own individual projects, each giving shout-outs to their labels. The young phenom’s go toe-to-toe in the much talked about mixtape.

Although the two are not engaging in a head-to-head battle to claim the “best rapper alive” title. They keep listeners wondering in the backs of their minds, who really is the best?

It’s a controversial album title. I Can’t feel my face, a line taken from the 2001 film “Blow” starring Johnny Depp, relates tremendously to the lyrics in the 26 tracks on the album.

Much of the album is drug related and delivers a hard reality of the streets in its cut throat and blunt depiction of drug dealers and users.

Aside from this mixtape, the two are definitely thinking about recording an album together. They were together on the Up Close and Personal tour with and Lil’ Wayne plan on expanding this mixtape into an album to be released early next year. New Orleans’ own Lil’ Wayne took his entire record label on his back after most of the artists left the label and he hasn’t looked back since. Although he is not the average mainstream rap artist, he demands much respect in his “true to life” lyrics.

By his latest record sales of “Tha Carter Volume 2,” he is indeed getting it. Junior Brittany Dixson from Raleigh, N.C. said, “I could have easily burned his album off of LimeWire, but I chose not to simply because he is great rapper and want to see him do extremely well.”

The young rapper has come a long way since he first stepped on the scene with The Block is Hot in 1999. After it dropped, the Cash Money frenzy died down a little bit. During the two years between his second album Lights Out and the third 500 Degrees, Cash Money rid itself of initial members Juvenile, Turk and B.G while keeping only Lil’ Wayne.

500 Degrees sold tremendously and gave Lil’ Wayne his much deserved fame. Soon after 500 Degrees, he dropped the first volume of Tha Carter. The album driven by the hit single “Go DJ” produced by former close friend and producer Manny Fresh. With the success of this album, Lil’ Waynebecame president of the Cash Money Label.

In addition to working on this mixtape, Lil’ Wayne has been working on Tha Carter III and a collaboration with rapper Baby, entitled Like Father, Like Son.

Oh boy, who would ever thought the Harlem-born rapper and raised fellow would make it so big. Much time has passed since the success of him and the Diplomats’ first single “Oh Boy.”

Since then, Santana has become the vice president of Diplomat records. When he first set foot on the scene in 2003 with his first album From Me to You, he received lukewarm reviews and medium-album sales. In 2005, he released his second album, What the Game’s Been Missing.

Unlike the first LP, this album received raving reviews and sales sky rocketed. The album was led by popular singles “There it Go. (The Whistle Song)” and “Shottas” It was only natural that these two talented young men come together to make a sensational album that will surely make history.

“This mixtape is one of the best I’ve heard this year. I can listen to it from beginning to end, without skipping any songs,” said sophomore Kevin Spruill from Greensboro, N.C.

• Brittney Hannah