The man. The myth. The legend. Those are the titles that every rapper in the game aspires to have associated with their name. And for the last few years, Lil Wayne has used those words as inspiration to dominate the mixtape circuit with countless guest appearances and body-bag inducing performances that have set the streets and the industry on fire. With the hype surrounding him at a fevered pitch, (arrests, talk of syrup addiction and most recently his diss to mixtape DJ’s are the best marketing money doesn’t have to buy) Weezy has timed the release of Tha Carter III (Cash Money) just right. But can any album, especially his own, live up to that much hype?
Wayne opens strong with the L.A. Lakers-inspired “3-Peat.” The rap game’s Kobe Bryant gets a chance to set the mood, but doesn’t hit it off just right until he gets a chance to go one-on-one with the “Mike Jordan of Recordin’” – Jay-Z on the Infamous produced, “Mr. Carter.” The former Def Jam president gives Lil Weezyana one of the best subtle co-signs ever when he spits, “I’m right chea/In my chair/With my crown/And my dear/Queen B/As I share/My time/With my heir…” It adds a considerable notch to the Young Money/Cash Money president’s belt, but somewhere Memphis Bleek is screwfacin’ hard.
The mixtape staple and the instrumental that every MC is trying to body, is the Bangladesh produced “A Milli.” Weezy goes silly over the chant driven production, spitting spectacular bars with excellent delivery that show that the boy from N’Awlins has come a long way from saying, “Wobbly, wobbly, drop-drop it like it’s hot.”
But for the past few years we’ve been treated to a new Wayne all-around, so his extraterrestrial persona shouldn’t be too much of a stretch over the T. Pain collabo – “Phone Home.” With an abundance of swagger, the former Hot Boy manages to do the Cool & Dre beat justice with lines like, “We are not the same, I am an “Elian/Like Gonzalez/Young college/Student who done just flipped the game like Houston/I’m used ta’/Promethazine and two cups/I’m screwed up.”
But it’s not all spaceships and ruthless gun talk from one of the game’s brightest. With a sequence that brings the mood down a few, the joints like “Comfortable,” featuring an interesting collaboration with Babyface, to “Shoot Me Down” (both produced by Kanye West) take the tone from street fueled hip-hop to somber syrup music. “Get Money” falls short of capturing the spirit of the dollar as T-Pain and Lil Wanye fail to find their rhythm on this would-be club banger. The Streetrunner crafted “Playin’ With Fire” looks to keep the 500 Degreez lyricist on top of his game, but with lukewarm lyrics like, “I don’t rap/I film movies/With my rap/You can call me/Mr. Director’s Chair/And that’s a wrap…” you wish Wayne would take the time to write things down occassionally.
With all the artistic direction and different subject matter, Lil Wayne steps up his storytelling with “Dr. Carter,” a hip-hop diagnosis of three patients over a David Axelrod sample surprisingly attributed to Swizz Beats. Kayne West – who provided four beats on the album – let’s Wayne do his “thang” on “Let The Beat Build.” The chemistry between these two is definitely apparent and the game deserves to hear more from them together.
Tha Carter III is a solid effort despite the initial thoughts. With “the best rapper alive” being bodied for the most part by guest appearances from Busta Rhymes, Juelz Santana, Fabolous and Jay-Z the crown isn’t leaving the head of Marcy’s favorite son just yet. If they would’ve trimmed the fat from this 16-track effort, the disc could’ve been one to talk about. Wayne is not running out of material, but he seems to be running on repeat when he should be moving ahead of the class.
<p>Facebook Live Is Loading....</p>