I have been intrigued by tattoo clad, Dwayne Michael Carter’s (aka. Lil Wayne) music for quite some time and a recent performance on MTV’s VMA’s coerced me in to action. From the sweet, guitar laden little love song that is ‘How to Love’, Lil Wayne transformed in to a mad man on, ‘John’ I was captivated. The following day, I was trawling the internet to listen to his most recent release, ‘Tha Carter IV’. Although I have heard a lot of Lil Wayne’s music over the years, I have not sat down and took note as much as I have with the likes of 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Kanye West and the likes. I am still to complete listening to Lil Wayne’s back catalogue, but have seen, read and heard enough to want to spend the time and effort to do so.
A brief history of Lil Wayne before we dig in to the album review: At just nine years young, Lil Wayne joined, ‘Cash Money Records’ and became the youngest member of the label as well as half of the duo, The B.G.'z. Six years later in 1997, Lil Wayne joined, ‘Hot Boys’ where Lil Wayne gained most of his success with their big album, ‘Guerrilla Warfare’ 1999. In the same year, Lil Wayne released his platinum selling debut album, ‘Tha Block Is Hot’, selling over one million copies in the U.S. Wayne’s following two albums, ‘Lights Out’ 2000 and, ‘500 Degreez’ in 2002 were not nearly as successful, but he soon attained enhanced popularity with, ‘Tha Carter’. Another string to his bow this year was the appearance on, ‘Destiny's Child’ worldwide hit single, ‘Soldier’. In 2005,
‘Tha Carter II’ dropped and in the two subsequent years, Lil Wayne released a number of mixtapes and appeared on various successful rap and R&B singles.
‘Tha Carter III’, Wayne’s most successful album to date was out in 2008 and hosted songs such as, ‘Lollipop’. This also attained a Grammy award for best rap album. A diversion was then taken in the release of his debut rock album, ‘Rebirth’ in 2010 which generally received a cold reception from critics. In early 2010, Lil Wayne began serving an 8 month prison sentence at Rikers Island in New York having being convicted of criminal possession of a weapon three years prior. ‘I Am Not a Human Being’ was released from prison and featured fellow record label artists like, Drake and, Nicki Minaj. This, his ninth studio album, ‘Tha Charter IV was eventually released on August 29th following numerous delays and perhaps thanks to a massive leak onto the Internet.
‘Intro’ is a great start to the album. The beat and rhythm is one that I really appreciate…not dissimilar in many respects to another hip hop favourite of mine, 50 Cent. It’s difficult for me to talk to lyrics as hard hitting and harsh as these, but lyrics like “Life is a crazy bitch, Grace Jones” and “Here no evil, see no evil, Penn and Teller” work for me. ‘Blunt Blowin’ that follows is a fairly dramatic synth and theme to it…the chorus is as catchy hell, but the tune that accompanies is like something I played on keyboard at six years old.
‘MegaMan’ has a crazy beat to it that never subsides. This leads to a three minute long spit/rant by, Wayne. This is Weezy at his best. Despite the tune not being great, Wayne displays what he does best. He’s second to Eminem in this department as far as I’m concerned. Creepy synths resemble a murder movie theme and Wayne rips through one ferocious verse after another. Despite being released several months back, ’6 Foot 7 Foot’ is one of the albums strongest tracks. With, Cory Gunz accompanying with some great raps, the beat is fantastic. Again, Lil Wayne rants and raves as only he can.
Kicking off with a piano riff that would be more expected of, John Legend or, Alicia Keys, ‘Nightmares of the Bottom’ is easy listening, but in the weaker category as far as this album is concerned. It’s autobiographical in many senses - “It’s like I have it all, but I don’t have to worry. Married to the money, a true love story. Only God can judge me, I don’t need a jury. Nothin’ is standing in my way, like nothing is my security.”
‘She Will’ features fellow, Young Money artist, Drake and is one of the strongest tracks on the album that displays, Wayne’s more sensitive side. The beat is cracking, the lyrics are powerful. Not to mention the lyrical deliver which emphasizes that Weezy is more than just a shouter and bawler. ‘How to Hate’ is a collaboration with his good friend, ‘T-Pain’ in this auto-tune-tastic rap ballad. This is chill out tune with some pretty bitter and strong lyrics. The auto tune cripples it for me.
‘Interlude’ gets is back on track pretty promptly. With, Tech N9ne and, André 3000 represented on this song, it’s a recipe for success. These top artists fire off some crazy raps on this. ‘John’ featuring, Rick Ross was the second song performed on the MTV VMA’s. It’s laden with aggression and angst. A catchy song in the background, but constant mentions of various weaponry grinds on me a little…it’s decent at best. ‘Abortion’ kicks off with, Wayne seemingly morphing in to Prince for the intro. It’s an oddly named track given it has absolutely nothing to do with the subject of abortion. Some quirky and likeable lyrics.
‘So Special’ is a ballady little number featuring crooner, John Legend who I have never really been that fond of. In not such a charming manner, Wanye basically boasts about his sexual prowess in the bedroom and has, Legend in the background to provide the soulful hook for the ladies. ‘How to Love’ that follows is the track that really took me by surprise when, Lil Wayne performed this at the MTV VMA’s. He came out smiling with his definitive grill and waltzing down the stage with a gentleness and sensitivity that I didn’t expect of this rough cut rapper. The lyrics matched his tenderness in his delivery. This acoustic driven ballad is a little sappy, but I like it.
‘President Carter’ is a solid track, with plucking guitars, traumatic keyboards and a hypnotizing beat accompanying some wonderful lyrics, this a great song home to a couple of memorable one liners. It’s a really good mix on this track. In ‘It’s Good’ takes a shot at, Jay-Z and Beyoncé in true rapper fashion. This is a great sound somewhat soured by an unnecessary jibe at the rap mogul. The
‘Outro’ is probably the biggest track on the album. With a rap posse as phenomenal as this one (Bun, Nas, Shyne and Busta Rhymes), it’s difficult for this not to succeed. Busta Rhymes has to have the most unique vocals in the game.
Overall, ‘Tha Carter IV’ is a good album with several tracks in the noteworthy category. Lil Wayne flipped hip hop and pop upside down on, ‘Tha Carter III’. It's been a tumultuous three years since then, but Lil Wayne's retains his status as the world's greatest living rapper. There’s a fair amount of variation with, ‘Blunt Blowin’ and ‘6 Foot 7 Foot’ high in intensity as, Wayne still fires off some of his best lyrics to date. It’s quite the opposite in, ‘Nightmares of the Bottom’ where, Wayne opens up to some of his more intimate fears. The highlights here range from anti war rant, ‘President Carter’ to the Rick Ross duet, ‘John’ – “If I die today, remember me like John Lennon.” Difficult for me to compare against previous Lil Wayne releases, but I have played, ‘Tha Carter IV’ to death over the past two weeks. Rating 7.5/10
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