Since Tha Carter III made him a legitimate pop star, Lil Wayne spent eight months in jail and released three albums, including a collaborative effort with his Young Money crew.
But he also forgot the art of songwriting.
That 2008, Grammy-winning blockbuster succeeded because the genius of free association rhymes found discipline: Nearly every Carter III track had a theme, storyline or single emotion for Wayne to wrap his witticisms around.
Tha Carter IV proves an unworthy successor. It piles on metaphors, similes, double-entendres and word-images that work as punchlines but don’t cohere. You’ll chuckle along to that distinctive raspy voice and then wonder: What was that all about? Missing a golden opportunity to reflect on his time locked up, away from the spotlight, Wayne reveals little. His world is chock-full of words, empty of meaning.
Not that he needs to make a point with every tune. Some of Wayne’s best work has been on similarly scattershot mixtapes. And both the album Intro and 6 Foot 7 Foot are thrilling examples of carefully considered but ultimately vacuous wordplay, the latter including Wayne’s now-classic pronouncement that “real G’s move in silence like lasagna.”
But lyrical laziness drags down How To Hate, Blunt Blowin and Megaman. And does So Special really reference Lorena Bobbitt? In 2011? President Carter, using a sample from Jimmy Carter’s inauguration, makes some half-hearted nods at politics but falls back to nonsensical braggadocio: “I’m beneficial, I’ve been official. I say you rappers sweet, tiramisu.”
The New Orleans rapper does find ways to make listeners snap to attention. A sinister beat and cocky chorus from Drake propels She Will. Interlude features punishing verses from Tech N9ne and Andre 3000. And Wayne uses It’s Good to respond to Jay-Z’s recent dismissal of Young Money on H.A.M. with a threat to kidnap Beyonce and hold her for ransom. No moving in silence there.
Easily the most prolific top-tier rapper, Wayne has been praised in the past for generously putting out free mixtapes that, with online buzz, upstaged many of his peers’ heavily marketed studio albums. This time it’s the opposite: A disappointing high-profile release following his bizarre performance at MTV’s Video Music Awards.
There, Wayne showcased two of the album’s least inspired songs: the Auto-Tuned How To Love, which features a syrupy melody manufactured specifically to win back the many fans of 2008’s Lollipop; and John, essentially an expansion of Rick Ross’ I’m Not A Star, the opening track from last year’s well-regarded Teflon Don album.
Here’s hoping the diminutive 28-year-old shows some musical growth on Tha Carter V.
Photo: File Photo
Missed opportunity?: Lil Wayne released Tha Carter IV.
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