ALBUM REVIEW: Lil Wayne - Tha Carter IV

What up hip-hop heads!  So here we are.  Tha Carter IV.  After a year in prison, much anticipation was built for Lil Wayne’s 9^th studio album.  Many people wondered, which "Lil Wayne" will we get? The hungry Wayne who shamelessly boasted that he was the "best rapper alive (since the best rapper retired) on the first two Carter installments? Or the happy, syrup-sippin, swagged-out spitta who rapped over the game-changing beat "A Milli"?  Or the autotune singing, rockstar who crafted Rebirth? For some reason, the album that comes to mind when I think of rappers fresh outta jail is...you guessed it: All Eyez On Me.  Sure, Lil Wayne and Pac are in two completely different leagues as far as their place in history books - but there is a level of hunger that I am expecting prior to listening to anyone's album who just got released from jail.  TI, Styles P and Cassidy, also come to mind. Let's see how Young Tunechi measures up...

Ok.  Listening to Tha Carter IV feels like you're listening to another installment of Sorry For 4 Tha Wait.  It feels like a mixtape. From the "Intro", "Blunt Blowin", "MegaMan", "6 Foot 7 Foot"...all mixtape joints.  Perhaps it is his subject matter.  Perhaps it is his beat selection.  It just feels like a mixtape:  spittin, droppin punchlines over dope beats with no true concept behind the song.  It's not until “Nightmares of the Bottom” where it starts to take on the feel of an album, as far as story goes.   Sonically, there’s no new ground covered, but he definitely picks some hot instrumentals, which is expected.  “MegaMan”, “Abortion” and “I Like the View”’s beats all monstrous.

Wayne also sticks to his Carter I and II format, with the rapping-interludes, only this time he allows a slew of all-star heavyweights (and Shyne) to do the boasting for him, aside from the initial "Intro" track. While I feel like the art of collaboration has been mercilessly abused to no end these days, I can say that I enjoyed every rapper's contribution on the interludes aside from the horrificable (yes, horrificable) Shyne, who laid down probably one of the worst verses I've ever heard in my life.  No hate, just honesty.  Aside from him, I think every rapper held it down and will be the topic of debate as far as "who murdered who".  Personally, Nas gets my vote. 

While the highlights on this album like "She Will" feat. Drake, "Mirror", "So Special" feat. John Legend stand out, I must say the true gem is "How to Hate" feat. T-Pain.  This is one of the rare moments where Wayne steps outside of his swagged out, blood-reppin, emcee-bashin persona and opens up with a true life story that is relatable: 

"...she used to always say, fuck my niggas

And when I went to jail, she fucked my niggas

Well, I guess I’m single for the night

And you can sit right on my middle finger for the night

And if I sound mad, then you caught me

But this shit explains that you’re the one that taught me (how to hate a bitch)..."

Now...the problems.  The album lacks direction.  Period.  With his first Carter albums, he seemed to stick to the "greatest rapper alive" theme very well, while also weaving in street tales and balancing out the highs and lows of his life, in a way that made for a cohesive body of work.  For every "Go DJ" he had "I Miss My Dawgs", for every "Money On My Mind" he also had "Hustla Musik" or "Receipt".  I can't say the same for this one.  There are several times during the course of this album where I'm wondering, "WTF is he talking about?".  On his first Carter albums he'd dedicate full songs about something "life" related, now he recites "life is a bitch..." metaphors in almost every bar, which has been overused by him since I Am Not A Human Being. 

Tha Carter IV is in no way an "All Eyez On Me" album, in regards to being that monumental album that lives up to the hype upon being released from prison.  This is more like the mixtape warm-up project that is released a month before the actual project.  As a listener, I felt cheated.  Think about it:  here is Lil Wayne, arguably the #1 rapper of today's era, fresh outta prison.  Who knows the thoughts, emotions, and epiphanies that he must have had during that year long bid.  We've seen the extreme things prison can do to someone: we've seen Detroit Red transform into Malcolm X.  On a smaller scale, we've seen Prodigy reform into somewhat of a conscious rapper.  We've seen Shyne, for better or worse, change religions.  I wanted to see what prison did to his thoughts.  How did prison change him?  Good and bad?  Did he learn anything?  Something.  Anything with some substance. Something that contains a story of some sort.  I felt like he was holding out on us.  I understand he has an audience he is obligated to please, but he balanced it out well on Tha Carter II and parts of Tha Carter III.   

Other problems on this album are small compared to the bigger picture.  What turned out to be a nineteen-song project could have easily been cut to twelve.   Also, it would have been great to see Wayne shine on his own a little more and not rely so heavily on features.   I understand that is the trend of the game these days, but Lil Wayne is enough of a household name and has enough artistic tricks up his sleeve to where  he doesn’t need them.   In addition to the length and the features, I must say Wayne went overboard with the metaphors.  Just on a technical level as a rapper, sometimes I’d wish I wrote his lyrics down.   It seemed like for every punchline he spit that was clever and made sense, he’d drop another one that is just flat out wack.  While I’m more lenient of the “real G’s move in silence like Lasagna” line from "6 Foot 7 Foot", he has some others that are unforgiving:

"All about my riches/ my name should be Richard"

"Don't fuck up with Wayne/ 'Cause when it Waynes it pours."

"I keep some bud/ like Rudy Huxtable"

I only say this because I know the potential Wayne has as a rapper.  We've seen him kill Jay-Z on his own beat, we've seen him demolish the mixtape circuit, we've seen him flow effortlessly over some of the best beats the game has to offer, and we've seen him craft countless memorable songs. This was his moment to show some growth.   Plus, he’s supposed to be the “greatest rapper alive”.  I didn't see it here.  

If you enjoyed No Ceilings, I Am Not A Human Being and Sorry 4 Tha Wait, you will LOVE Tha Carter IV.  If you want to see Wayne grow as an artist, you might have to wait a little bit longer for that.  The album is decent, but definitely not the album I'd put out immediately after doing a prison bid. 

Grade:  D- (5/10)

Standout Songs: "She Will", "How to Hate", "Mirror", "Outro"