Lil Wayne – Tha Carter III

Rapper’s Rewrite

The moniker Lil Wayne is a contrast on its own when describing the self-proclaimed best rapper alive, so it is no wonder that the New Orleans emcee seems to be conflicted with clashing views on Tha Carter III. Weezy wants to cater to the popular masses on cuts like “Got Money” and “Comfortable” while keeping his mixtape mavens satisfied on “You Ain’t Got Nuthin'” and “Shoot Me Down,” making this album a mixed bag of hits.One minute, Weezy wants to brag about his leather so soft on “La La,” a fun, xylophone-assisted track featuring Busta Rhymes, then reflects on New Orleans in ruins on “Tie My Hands” featuring Robin Thicke, whose falsetto contrasts nicely with Wayne’s roughness. He boasts about his sexual exploits on “Lollipop,” where he perfectly utilizes the vocoder to enhance the song instead of date it, only to get political minutes later on “Don’tGetIt,” which has a seven-minute album-ending monologue on everything from hating on Al Sharpton to youths in prison.

As single tracks, almost every song wonderfully showcases the witty repertoire and fidgety flow of the rapper except for the sped-up chorus on “Mr. Carter,” which sounds dated and disappoints following his last collaboration with Jay-Z on “Hello Brooklyn 2.0” off Hova’s 2007 American Gangster. To add, the Kanye West-produced “Let the Beat Build” does not hold true to its title, remaining repetitive until the final verse. Despite these missteps, Lil Wayne has recorded some fine tunes that unfortunately just do not flow together. Therefore, the album should be downloaded and listened to as separate tracks, especially the hypnotic “A Milli,” the haunting “Playing with Fire,” and the hokey “Lollipop.”