Wiz Khalifa had samurai sword-sharp marketing tactics long before he had the kind of weight major label money carries.

Gritty and grimier than the bright poppiness of his latest, very cuddly radio cut, “Roll Up,” and the glittery free-fall of his breakout mixtape, last spring’s Kush and Orange Juice, Cabin Fever seems an attempt to reassure Wiz’s rabid underground fan base that regardless of the sudden and ubiquitous radio presence Atlantic’s bought him, he is not selling out.

After all, Cabin Fever’s been a year (or more?) in the coming. Even before the release of Kush and Orange Juice, the Halloween-inspired single “Cabin Fever” leaked. Yet the masterminds behind the Wiz machine held onto the tape until now.

With one exception, “Middle of You,” a danceable, spacey song that seems to borrow the synth drum line of Ghost Town DJs, “My Boo,” the tape’s sound isn’t radio friendly. It is, however, monotonous.

No use pointing the finger at Wiz, though; he always raps about women and weed. But the production on his past tapes, much of which was handled by the team at Pittsburgh’s ID LABS, was varied enough to at least change the backdrops behind Wiz’s cruise.-controlled chill. Cabin Fever, on the other hand, is largely in the hands of Lex Luger (Rick Ross, Waka Flocka Flame). Nothing wrong with having a signature style—The Neptunes’ touch, for example, is immediately recognizable—but Luger’s brand of beats is particularly limited. So far, he’s dealt in barely contained frenzy or peeping-out-the-window paranoia. Period.

That said, the mixtape is likable, which has more to do with Wiz’s high times charisma than his lyrical ability. What other rapper, besides Curren$y, would open a mixtape with the adlib, “Usually I be smokin’ weed on the intro, but I’m drinkin’ water”? That’s from “Phone Numbers,” featuring Trae Tha Truth and Big Sean, a memorable track due to it being produced by Drumma Boy and a funny chorus, “Now when I get paid, my checks be lookin’ like phone numbers.”

Cabin Fever probably is the antithesis of Wiz Khalifa’s debut album on Atlantic, Rolling Papers, which is due March 29^th. As often as Wiz has issued the “nothing changes” promise regarding his deal, nothing ever stays exactly the same. Atlantic knows the gold mine they won, and won’t let anything spoil such a precious plot. But even as Wiz’s weed references begin to get Febrezed out, at least commercially, you can depend on this: On his next tour, Wiz will enter to “Taylor Gang,” the gang will chant along manically, and a great cloud of weed smoke will envelope them all.

Download Cabin Fever here.